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Miss Watkins previews Elevate changes, district to pilot PAIR assessments and four-cycle testing
Summary
Miss Watkins told the Westminster School District board the Elevate strategic plan will shift assessment infrastructure from Casa to PAIR, move to four core assessment cycles with an optional fifth for some grades, and use teacher-led "matrix morph" sessions to realign standards and pacing.
Miss Watkins, who led the instructional update for the Westminster School District, told the board the district is in year three of its Elevate strategic plan and will change how it assesses student learning. She said the district will shift its assessment platform from Casa to PAIR and move toward four core assessment cycles (with an optional fifth cycle for third through eighth grades) so teachers can focus on 20 power standards across four cycles and have 1 to 2-week breaks between cycles to use data for reteach or acceleration.
The change, Watkins said, comes after teacher and principal feedback, curriculum council input and pilots of PAIR. "We have teachers piloting PAIR assessment and giving us feedback," she said, adding that PAIR was selected because it was the most user friendly for teachers. Watkins said teacher representatives from every grade level will participate in a "matrix morph" to reorganize and align standards and to address issues such as lengthy tests, pacing and platform reporting.
Watkins highlighted district survey results and early data points to justify the change: "We liked this little highlight of 92% agree that rigorous program follows our state standards," she said, and noted that teacher and parent priorities—academic support and small class size—were aligned in recent LCAP survey results. She emphasized that the fifth cycle remains optional for some upper grades so teachers and sites retain flexibility while the district standardizes reporting and coherence.
Trustees asked how often Data Reflection Sessions (DRS) occur and how teacher feedback is collected. Watkins said DRS sessions happen about every five to six weeks and that feedback comes through CAPE meetings, PLC/DRS sessions, curriculum council and principal leadership discussions. On cohort tracking, she said the district will use multiyear instructional data to follow cohorts as they progress through grades.
The presentation was framed as a study-session update; Watkins said more detailed materials and notes from curriculum council meetings would appear in the board journal and future sessions. No formal board action on assessment adoption was taken during the study session.
