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Board hears community questions on student assessments and who chooses school photo vendors
Summary
During communications, residents raised questions about AIMSweb screening vs. state standardized testing and whether families can opt out; trustees also clarified that building-level PTAs may select photo vendors though centralized contracts have applied in prior years.
During the board’s communications segment, a resident relayed parent concerns about the district’s use of AIMSweb alongside state-standardized tests and asked whether families can opt out of state assessments. The board and staff replied that AIMSweb is a progress-monitoring tool used to track individual student interventions, while state tests (grades 3–8 ELA and math and grade-level science at certain grades) remain part of the district’s accountability and assessment program.
District staff said families can opt out of the grades 3–8 state exams and that the district communicates opt-out procedures to families, but added the district works to explain the importance of participation because results help guide intervention decisions tied to AIMSweb data. “They go hand in hand,” a presenter said.
Separately, a parent asked who chooses the school photographers. A board member said buildings historically used the same contracted vendor to achieve consistent pricing after a district-wide arrangement several years ago; staff clarified that responsibility for selecting a photographer rests with the building PTAs/PTOs and building administrators, especially at the elementary level. Staff said they would re-affirm that building groups have the authority to change vendors and would communicate that to families.
Why it matters: assessment schedules, opt-out policies and building-vendor choices affect classroom time, family decision-making and local school fundraising. The resident asked whether testing “is really a 5 day process”; staff said cumulative assessment time across multiple instruments could approach multiple days over the school year but not as a continuous block.
Next steps: staff said they will reaffirm building-level authority on photographer selection in communications with PTA/PTO groups and continue family outreach on assessment policies and opt-out procedures.
