Standardized testing happens once a year for full time, full year students in grades 4-11.

Please feel free to to contact us by emailing here for further details.

All students entering Laurel Springs receive the Learning Styles Profile®, an effective way for parents and teachers to understand how their child best assimilates knowledge and develops skills. The Learning Styles Profile® is at the heart of personalized education, as it raises awareness about the unique strengths and talents of each child and equips parents and teachers to foster these talents. Many families find that education becomes a natural experience when the child's learning style is acknowledged and lessons are adjusted to fit the child's aptitudes.

You will receive your user name and password via email with instructions on how to log on to the online Learning Styles Profile. When you have done this you will simply answer each question until you come to the end of the assessment. Then you will receive, online, an in-depth report on results with recommendations on how to accommodate learning by reinforcing areas of strengths and interests. Laurel Springs employs a learning style specialist who offers further analysis and academic consultation for an additional fee.

Laurel Springs School is now using Acuity Standards-based Diagnostic Assessments in Mathematics and Language Arts. All students are required to take Diagnostic Assessments at the beginning of each school year.

Diagnostic Assessments are designed to provide parents, students and teachers with specific information about what skills the student has and has not mastered. The score sheets empower parents and teachers to pinpoint, assign and review those areas the student must master before moving on to more complex materials.

Please review our testing information below.

Acuity Assessment Introduction Letter

Acuity Student Experience Guide

Acuity Computer Requirements

To access the Diagnostic Assessments all students are given a username and password for the online learning site, acuityathome.com. The Diagnostic Assessments must be completed before course work can begin. Your teachers will want to discuss assessment results with you at your first conference in order to design your child's study focus. The Acuity system will generate a score sheet that your teacher can access and review with you. Even more importantly, Acuity assigns online homework tutorials on the skills that your child missed on the exam. The Tutorials are very detailed and a great way to start the school year.

In the last week of every course, students have the opportunity to evaluate the teacher, the course, and their own work. For K-8 there is one survey per grade; for 9-12 there is one survey per course.

In the last week of every course.

Students in grades 1 through 6 will begin receiving standards-based report cards beginning in the fall of each school year. These report cards will show the level of mastery the student has reached with regard to benchmarks of theCalifornia and National Educational Content Standards.

In grades 7-12, report cards include a letter grade, narrative feedback on strengths and areas for growth, and mastery levels on specific skills.

Semester and Final Evaluations.

Most milestone assignments and other projects are designed around rubrics. Rubrics help teachers and students to establish clarity at the outset about what's expected and how the assignment will be graded. A rubric score provides valuable feedback for skills mastery by defining performance standards.

Laurel Springs' teachers practice mastery-based teaching. What this means is that students are encouraged to redo assignments, lessons or tests as many times as they need to in order to master the material. Grades of C or better can be given on a lesson. Assignments submitted that are below C level will be recorded as incomplete and the student will be asked to try again. Teachers provide feedback so that students can understand the material and complete their course work in a timely manner.

In order to benefit from mastery-based grading, work must be submitted to the teacher one lesson at a time or in small batches. Parents and students should leave enough time in their schedule for possible re-dos. Stockpiling work and submitting large amounts at the end of the term may result in a grade of "Incomplete" and necessitate an extended enrollment, including extra charges. Most importantly, the regular submission of work best promotes the process of effort, feedback, and adjustment necessary for optimal learning.

Most classes, both text and online, contain culminating units or "milestone" assignments which are designed to measure ongoing student learning and growth. Depending on the course, milestones may be papers, tests, or other projects which serve as evidence of understanding and mastery.

There is a milestone at the end of each unit (a unit is 4-8 lessons).

Students in 4-8 grade will take their Capstone Assessments using the Acuity System. High School Students may either have a Capstone assigned or a Semester or Final exam. Laurel Springs' Capstones offer Answer Key Tutorials, which are graphically enhanced teaching modules that reinforce skills and knowledge. High School students take proficiency assessments in their subject area(s). As they submit answers, students may view each correct answer along with a short tutorial that reinforces the concept and relates it to other knowledge within the course. In this way, students get immediate feedback and are given the information they will need to master the knowledge on subsequent assessments.

Acuity Capstones are accessed via acuityathome.com, using the student login. High school students may have Capstones which will appear in week 35 in all courses.