Taos Charter High Schools: Vista Grande Charter High School in Taos, New Mexico

Taos High School

 

 

How will students’ academic progress be assessed?

Assessment
Vista Grande High School is a project-based school, which means that students learn by doing projects in addition to studying books and taking tests. We believe that assessment is an integral component of good instructional methods. VGHS students will earn traditional credits for classes such as Math, Humanities, and Science. In addition to the New Mexico Standards Based Assessment, Vista Grande High School will administer, from time to time, standardized exams such as SAT and ACT for comparative purposes and to inform instruction.

VGHS will use standardized tools such as these for two very different purposes: assessment of learning (summative assessment to compare students to criteria) and assessment for learning (formative assessment that points out areas for growth and allows teachers to modify instruction to meet student needs).
Transcripts and test scores are good pieces of a holistic assessment plan.

However, a collection of letter grades and test scores can never tell us much about the projects students complete and the growth they experience during their career at Vista Grande High School. Daily assessment that is for learning is crucial for students to appropriate skills and content; ongoing assessment is also valuable for teachers to assess their own teaching in order to alter curriculum and instruction as needed. At Vista Grande High School, the following features of assessment are what create reliable and accurate data on student achievement:

• Good assessment addresses both process for learning and outcomes of learning.
• Good assessment requires the use of thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Good assessment is comprised of open-ended questions to necessitate higher-level thinking.
• Good assessment is an instructional method.
• Good assessment provides descriptive feedback designed to scaffold student improvement.
• Good assessment encourages students to evaluate their own work.
• Good assessment is supplemented with observations, interviews, reflective journals, and student portfolios.

Digital Portfolios
In order to gather personal and meaningful information about student work at Vista Grande High School, student learning will also be assessed by the development and presentation of a Digital Portfolio. This portfolio will demonstrate skills the student possesses and will be an invaluable tool when applying to colleges, jobs, and other post-secondary endeavors. The portfolio will contain a resume, work history, letters of recommendation, and samples of each student’s best work.

Celebration of Learning
At the end of each semester, VGHS will host a Celebration of Learning. This will be a time for students, parents, VGHS staff, and community members to get together to celebrate the authentic work of our students. Due to the nature of student work, the Celebration of Learning is also a venue for authentically sharing products and student research with interested community members.

10th Grade Passage
10th graders are required to pass the New Mexico High School Competency Exam before advancing to the 11th grade. Students who do not pass the exam will be required to pursue additional test preparation and will be provided opportunities to retake the exam.
10th graders also participate in a Digital Portfolio Review. Students will be required to defend their body of work in front of a panel of teachers, students, parents, and community members. This review will be assessed as pass/fail and students not meeting the requirements will be provided opportunities to revise their portfolios.

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What are the credit requirements for graduation?

All students will be required to complete at least 24 academic credits--four full years of science and humanities courses, at least three years of mathematics, at least two years of modern language courses, and several elective courses.
Four Year Plan at Vista Grande High School (24 required credits)

VGHS
Courses

 Freshman Credits Sophmore Credits Junior Credits Senior Credits
Humanities
2
2
2
1
Math
1
1
1
Internship*
1
Senior Project*
1
Science
1
1
1
1
Foreign Language
1
1
Fine/Practical Arts
1
Electives
1
1
3
TOTAL
6
6
6
6

*The junior year Internship and the Senior Project will meet the requirements for all content areas.

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How is Instruction and Curriculum Designed
to Promote Success on Standardized Tests?

Standardized Tests
Across America, standardized tests like the SAT, ACT and/or the Stanford 9 and standards based assessments, such as the NMSBA are used to compare student achievement from different schools across the state and the country. Vista Grande High School believes in long term, responsible preparation for these very important exams.

Vista Grande High School courses will routinely focus on fundamental mathematics and verbal skills that are needed for these exams. Short-cycle assessments will be taken regularly by students to identify particular academic areas that individual students need to improve upon, and students will help set their own goals to improve. Specific practice, exposure, and guidance will be offered as needed to help individual students prepare.

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What is a Digital Portfolio?

The Digital Portfolio
All Vista Grande High School students are required to develop a digital portfolio of pertinent information, work samples, evaluations, critiques and reflections on learning. Portfolios are formally assessed throughout the year, and these assessments are included in each student’s overall grades. Digital portfolios are reviewed at the end of each year to assess competencies and readiness to progress to the next year of study.

Parents, teachers, and students will be able to monitor student progress by viewing their portfolios via the Internet, as much of the student portfolio is intended to be in digital format. Vista Grande High School plans to implement a system for delivering narrative assessments by teachers and assessing the school’s learning goals. This system will make feedback about student work available to all stakeholders—students, parents, faculty, and administration.

Linked with the digital portfolio program, the system will help teaching teams monitor student progress. It will also provide concrete examples for faculty and student discussions about standards for student work.

Digital portfolios will be a compilation of a student’s best work that can be used when applying to colleges, jobs, and other post-secondary endeavors.

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What Kind of Technology Will be Used at VGHS?

• Vista Grande High School students will receive rigorous instruction in the use of technology as a tool.

• School technology resources will reflect those used in workplace settings, and will also reflect the constantly changing landscape of technology.

• The teachers of Vista Grande are committed to integrating technology into the curriculum, and will make class and course information available and accessible online.

• Thematically-linked, project-based, multi-week Learning Expeditions will integrate technology with core subject areas, providing students with experience using Macintosh and IBM computers, GPS navigation units, digital cameras, scanners, and other peripherals, and software for editing music, movies, images, and web content.

• Through the school’s local area network, students will work on interconnected curricular projects where they will access and participate in shared folders, chats, and forums.

• Students will be “information literate” by learning a systematic process to conduct Internet research. They will learn how to find, use, apply, evaluate, and present information to specific academic needs and tasks.

• Technology applications will support higher-order thinking by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks within collaborative learning contexts. Additionally, technology and the arts will be combined in digital photography and video projects.

• Students will design a personal website and develop and maintain a digital portfolio, a compilation of their best academic work. Digital student portfolios and teacher narratives will describe individualized progress over time and will be online and accessible for students, parents, and teachers from school and home.

• Students will use industry-standard software such as Microsoft Office Suite 2000; AutoCAD; Adobe Illustrator, PageMaker, Macromedia Flash, Photoshop, Premiere, iMovie, iPhoto, Garage Band, and Dreamweaver, among others.

• Vista Grande aims to provide each student with a laptop computer, which will go everywhere the student goes, allowing for access to coursework and class collaboration before, during, and after school hours.

• Vista Grande upper-grade students will have the opportunity to concurrently enroll in UNM Taos technology courses, and pursue select IT (Information Technology) certifications.

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For more information, contact Vista Grande High School
at (575) 758-5100 (Main Office) or (575) 758-5102 (Fax)

Taos Charter High School: Vista Grande Charter High School in Taos, New Mexico

 

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Vista Grande High School
P.O. Box 850
Taos, NM 87571

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Taos Charter High School: Vista Grande Charter High School in Taos, New Mexico