WATSONVILLE — Pajaro Valley Unified is partnering with Khan Academy and another education nonprofit to pilot a new diagnostics tool in the classroom — aiming to harness assessment data to help students to fill the gaps in their education.
The district is among five nationwide selected to pilot the new tool, called MAP Accelerator. Students at 17 Pajaro Valley Unified schools are slated to start using the tool this year. Nationwide, more than 180,000 students are expected to use the new assessment tool this year.
Teachers and students at Pajaro Valley Unified have used resources from Khan Academy for years to support individualized learning. The education nonprofit provides free online lessons in mathematics and a range of other topics.
Now the district hopes to take its focus on individualized learning even further. Students will be assessed three times this year using the MAP Growth tool, developed by NWEA, an education nonprofit formerly known as the Northwest Evaluation Association. Teachers can view the results to determine which students are falling short, what they need to learn to catch up and which students are ready to tackle more advanced topics.
The tool pairs the assessment data with Khan Academy’s curriculum to make it easy to identify which topic a student is ready to learn next and set them on the path to progress. In its first year, MAP Accelerator is offering assessments in mathematics, English and Spanish, targeted at students in grades 3-8.
“This partnership is an exciting opportunity to provide access to authentic personalized learning for our students and support their academic performance in mathematics,” said district Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez in a statement.
In a video announcement, Khan Academy founder Sal Khan said he hopes to see the tool expand to be used by tens of millions of students worldwide. “It sounds delusional to say tens of millions — because we’re seriously talking about moving the dial for countries,” Khan said.
“Our partnership helps teachers make better decisions about the next instructional step for every student through a close connection between MAP Growth assessment results and suggested Khan instructional resources,” said Chris Minnich, CEO of NWEA, in a news release. “Teacher-informed and teacher-driven, MAP Accelerator enables students to focus on their own needs, and empowers teachers to support them every step of the way with actionable data.”
With more than 20,000 students in grades K-12, Pajaro Valley Unified is the largest school district in Santa Cruz County.
The Pajaro Valley Unified schools participating in the pilot are: Alianza Charter, Ann Soldo Aptos Jr, Bradley, Calabasas, EA Hall, Freedom, Hall District, Lakeview, Landmark, Mar Vista, Mintie White, Ohlone, Rio Del Mar, Rolling Hills, Valencia and Watsonville Charter School of the Arts.
Other participating districts include California’s Madera Unified School District and Glendale Unified School District, Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky and Clark County School District in Nevada.
