Students will be informally assessed each day by their teachers who will check for understanding, or gather and respond to data collected through questioning and observation techniques. Teachers will incorporate minute-by-minute (thumbs up, thumbs down, hand signals, whiteboards) and end of lesson (exit ticket, take a stand, small group sampling) checks for understanding in their daily lessons.

All teachers will provide assessments at the end of each unit that establish proficiency levels. The assessments will be aligned to Arizona College and Career Ready Standards (ACCRS) and student learning objectives established by the School Director and the Dean of Academics.

Results gathered from the NWEA pre-test, given to students at the beginning of the year, will help teachers effectively plan and differentiate instruction at the beginning of the year. Students will take three additional benchmark assessments throughout the year to measure learning gains and/or identify any deficiencies in students’ learning. Teachers will regularly meet to analyse data from these benchmarks to inform and modify instruction, as needed. The benchmark assessment used by Ethos Academy CFA is NWEA, which is endorsed by TeamCFA and will be administered to students at the end of the first, second, and third quarters.

Ethos Academy’s students will take all state required summative assessments (currently AZMerit) to measure student achievement and teacher effectiveness as directly related to the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards. The standardized assessments will take place at the end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth quarter.