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Bullhead City trustees approve quarterly benchmarks for next school year
Summary
The Bullhead City School Board voted to adopt quarterly, district-created benchmark assessments after a staff presentation on new testing options and teacher input concerns.
The Bullhead City School Board on June 10 voted to adopt quarterly benchmark assessments designed by the district, replacing the company‑preset three‑benchmark schedule used this year.
District staff presented options after acquiring a new assessment platform that lets the district select questions by depth of knowledge and track standards across tests. The presentation said the new system allows the district to create quarter‑specific benchmarks tied to pacing guides and to include a few items from prior quarters so teachers can check retention.
"We could start out, like, quarter 1 with the quarter 1 standards," said Jen, a district staff member who led the assessment briefing. She told the board the district’s leadership team — principals, assistant principals and central office staff — discussed three options (the current three preset benchmarks, district‑created quarterly benchmarks, or a combined model) and voted unanimously for the quarterly approach.
Advocates said quarterly benchmarks should better measure growth and guide intervention. "It would encourage more embedded practice versus isolation," a principal told the board during the workshop discussion, the presentation said.
Board members asked about teacher input and testing time. Jen said an assessment committee with one representative from each school discussed the plan and did not oppose it, but acknowledged teachers were not polled directly prior to the discussion. Board members pressed for strong teacher involvement going forward.
The board also heard practical impacts: a benchmark administration generally takes a single class period (about 40 minutes), while state testing can take a full week. Jen said the district also plans to keep teachers’ common formative assessments, which would allow staff to track student progress on standards between benchmarks.
Board President Melinda Sobrowski moved to accept the benchmark option presented by staff; the motion passed unanimously.
District staff said the Renaissance FastBridge math screener will be added next year to fill a gap in math screening tools, and the vendor Galileo is ending support, which accelerated the district's shift to the new assessment system.
