Curriculum and Instruction
The Forest Hills Public Schools Instruction Office provides resources and services to district teachers that support high quality instruction in every school.
We are committed to ensuring high levels of learning for every student. Our practices are grounded in the science of teaching through the use of effective evidence- and research-based instructional practices, and the art of teaching, through the use of student-centered innovative and promising practices.
Assessment
Coordination of all district, state, and national assessments is facilitated through the Instruction Office. Forest Hills teachers use multiple types of assessment to support students’ academic growth and development. Administrators and district staff use assessment results to continually improve instructional practices and ensure our curriculum meets or exceeds state and federal expectations.
Forest Hills Public Schools complies with all state and federal requirements for annual testing of students. Annual assessments include:
- M-STEP – grades 3-8, 11
- MI-Access – grades 3-8, 11 (Alternative assessments for students whose IEP teams have determined that it is not appropriate for them to participate in the state’s general education assessments)
- PSAT – grades 9 and 10 (spring) grade 11 (fall)
- SAT – grade 11 (spring)
- Workkeys – grade 11
- WIDA – kindergarten through grade 12 (English Learners only)
The State of Michigan has produced resources to provide families with information on student testing. Links to several resources are provided below:
M-STEP
- How to Read Your Child’s Score Report for Grades 3-8 (PDF)
- How to Read Your Child’s Score Report for Grade 11 (PDF)
- M-STEP/MME Parent Report (YouTube) – This video walks viewers through how to read and interpret student scores within the M-STEP and Michigan Merit Exam Parent Reports.
- M-STEP: What it is, What it means – and What it Offers Presentation (PDF)
- M-STEP: What it is, What it means – and What it Offers, available in multiple languages (PDF)
- What can students expect?
- Online Practice for M-STEP ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies – Provides an opportunity for families and students to familiarize themselves with the online M-STEP interface. (Available at selected times during the year)
MI-Access: Michigan’s Alternate Assessment
If you are interested in learning more about the historical performance of Forest Hills students and graduates on state assessments, please visit the website: MISchoolData.org
NWEA MAP
To support our families as they learn more about how they can use NWEA’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) results at home to help support their children’s academic success, we offer several resources:
from FHPS…
- Understanding the Student Progress Report (Video)
- MAP Assessments: A Guide for Families 2016-17 (Print)
from NWEA…
- A Parent’s Guide to MAP
- A Parent’s Guide to MAP (Spanish)
- MAP Parent Toolkit – This is an older resource, but the information is still useful.
- NWEA’s College Explorer – This tool links to MAP scores for students in grades 5-9 to colleges and university based on the median ACT and SAT scores of students who were admitted and enrolled in those institutions.
