After a two-year hiatus, Hampshire Country School (HCS) is resuming standardized testing for students the week of March 4, 2024. Over the past two years, HCS has reconsidered the role of student assessment for our twice-exceptional population. Many students who meet the HCS profile have struggled with testing processes in the past or experienced a lapse in school attendance.
Head of School Beth Venable shares, “With very high-ability students, we have taken multiple steps over the past few years to revamp our academics. Adding the accountability of general assessment and data collection is one of the last steps in the current Strategic Plan goal to increase rigor and evaluate the performance of our integrated, interest-driven, experiential curriculum.”
True to the HCS mission to be a Place of Possibilities, students are testing in pairs with options for breaks and full accommodations for neuro-different learners. Visual aids have been placed throughout the Main House school building to reinforce norms and expectations during testing times. These aids have been constructed to help students understand the social story of testing in addition to the functional.
Data from these assessments will be leveraged to better understand student and teacher performance. The baseline data from this round will have four years to build upon before HCS engages in its re-accreditation process in the 2028-2029 school year.
About Hampshire Country School (HCS)
Hampshire Country School is a Place of Possibilities for up to 20 high-ability, neurodivergent boys entering upper elementary or middle school. The nonprofit boarding school and Timbertop summer camp programs offer understanding, light-heartedness, and structure to educate boys in a family-style, supportive, and calming learning community. Our nearly 2,000-acre campus and working farm in southern New Hampshire allow for plenty of time and space for students to learn and grow at their own pace.