Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

Instruction & Assessment: Our Beliefs & Practices

Student learning and growth is our common goal.

Collaborate to create common expectations and identify learning targets for grade levels, courses, and grade spans; Refer to learning targets in the daily life of a classroom; Use common assessment criteria; Allow for redrafting of work coupled with reteaching; Continue to improve, grow, and learn as professionals; Support professionals to improve student learning

Students learn best when they are engaged.

Design instruction that is meaningful, authentic, and relevant; Teach students using their concerns and interests; Challenge students to help design the work; Collaborate to find best practices to enhance student engagement; Use reflection and feedback to help students set goals, develop tools for learning, and assess their own work

Students learn in a variety of ways and at different rates.

Facilitate the use of multiple pathways to demonstrate knowledge and skills; Allow multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning; Offer enrichment opportunities in and out of the classroom; Build support systems that can happen as close to the moment when a student needs help as possible and during the regularly scheduled day; Commit to a mindset of continuous improvement for all students; Give students time to grow in their learning

Students need practice and feedback before being expected to demonstrate learning.

Assist students to practice formatively and demonstrate summatively; Provide opportunity to practice and make mistakes; Give specific, descriptive feedback; Communicate progress & performance clearly with students and families; Ask students to reflect on their learning goals and growth

Students need to develop habits of work.

Consider habits of work separately from academic skills and knowledge; Develop work habit criteria for the group and goals for individual students; Teach and help students practice habits of work; Provide feedback on habits of work

Professionals use evidence from student work, behavior, and feedback to inform decisions.

Collect evidence from multiple sources of information; Store data in a consistent manner so that it can be accessed; Analyze and use data; Improve curriculum, instruction, assessment, and systems based on evidence; Create structures and practices to support students academically, socially, and emotionally

Visit the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Dashboard to access information regarding student demographics, per pupil spending, school safety, and other data about Maine schools, including Falmouth Public Schools.

*Curricular resources are continually evolving as we learn more and as our students’ interests change.  In an effort to provide a more relevant, engaging, and responsive curriculum for our students we are undergoing a curricular review K-12 in all content areas.  Our updated, detailed units and course outlines are currently in progress and will be made public soon.