District presents 2025–26 assessment plan and calendar; board to act in June

The Edina Public Schools teaching-and-learning team presented the district’s 2025–26 assessment plan to the school board on May 5, saying the document separates a statutory assessment calendar (for board approval) from a narrative report that explains the purpose and use of district assessments.

Greg Gusweiler, teacher and data programming analyst, said the revised approach keeps the high-level assessment windows in the calendar to meet state statute and follows with building-level timelines to be refined over the summer. Jody De Saint Hubert, director of teaching and learning, highlighted language-program specifics for Spanish and French instruction and noted an asterisk for Read Act requirements: K–3 English assessments include three administrations per year under current Read Act guidance.

Board members asked how staff balance the need for diagnostic data with test time and student stress. De Saint Hubert and Gusweiler said the team examined total testing minutes and adjusted administration schedules where possible to minimize instructional time lost; they also described professional development for tools such as FastBridge and for new Spanish assessments.

The board did not approve the calendar at the May 5 meeting; staff said the assessment calendar must be published to meet statutory requirements and that the board will vote on the plan at its June meeting.