Venture Alternative Assessment Design

The Venture Program developed an alternative assessment system in order to accurately and reliably assess student progress and performance over time and thus better prepare the students for the workforce. Throughout each term, the faculty and administration devote hours and work as an integrated collaborative team to both create and implement this system.

To begin the assessment process, the faculty developed eleven skill areas by which students are measured. Within each skill area are corresponding performance indicators, or specific content area skills, mapped to the workforce. Instead of receiving arbitrary points or letter grades at the end of each quarter, student performances are communicated in a report detailing the skills addressed by each course. All assignments and activities are correlated to skills, which gives the students direct and meaningful feedback on their performance. All courses include Self Management and Responsibility and other skill sets as appropriate by course content. It is our intention that this alternative assessment system will be helpful in preparing students for the workforce.