Board Approves Policy on Taking Home Tests

The Avon Board of Education approved amendments to a board policy on tests and research papers at its Oct. 15 meeting, clearly defining the rules in writing authorizing students to bring home graded tests and papers. 

While Avon did not have a written board policy banning students from bringing home graded tests, a parent came to the Avon Board of Education's Policy Committee last year with a concern that their child was not able to take home a test. It used to be an unwritten practice in Avon schools that students couldn't bring home certain district assessments but that parents could review the results with their child's teacher in the schools. 

"We received a flurry of emails from other parents with similar concern," Katharine Zirolli, school board and Policy Committee member, said at a previous meeting. "Part of the conversation the Policy Committee heard was that there was a practice taking place where certain teachers weren't giving these.... Maybe some were, some weren't. Our goal is to make sure all teachers realize they are to return the tests to the students as soon as they're graded."

The Tests and Research Papers policy was first adopted on March 18, 1986, affirmed in 1998 and last amended in 2007. 

The policy deems tests and research papers "an integral part of the educational program" and "essential tools used to assess student learning, the curriculum and instruction." It states that "testing should be planned and relevant to the instruction and learning objectives delineated in the district's approved curriculum" and that research papers "should provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter through their writing, critical thinking and research skills." 

The changes, which the Policy Committee suggested, seek to "be really clear that certain things such as standardized assessment measures, commonly referred to as benchmark assessments," like the Connecticut Mastery Test and Degrees of Reading Power exams, will be reviewed at parent-teacher conferences.

The Communications Subcommittee said in its Board of Education Brief series that the policy issue has been resolved. The Policy Committee plans to review attendance policy next "to ensure it conforms to new State laws," according to the board. The Policy Committee plans on discussing ways to make board policies more visible to the public.