iAssessment Helps LAUSD Produce Highly Qualified Educators
In March, the Los Angeles Unified School 
District (LAUSD) selected iAssessment to design a two-year program for special education needs assessment that measures teacher, para-educator and administrator expertise on a professional development continuum. Schools in the district will use the assessment results to plan and implement staff development opportunities that will move staff from one level to the next within the continuum. For example, LAUSD hopes to move its teachers up the scale from basic awareness to a knowledgeable level to mastery of skills. Special education needs will be addressed within the district's comprehensive, multiyear staff development program rather than in isolation. Data can also be used to assess progress against the district's priorities, including supporting curriculum areas such as literacy and mathematics achievement.
iAssessment (www.iassessment.com) helps educators effectively apply technology resources to their curriculum development and lesson plans. The company's products can be used to manage assessment, professional development, grants implementations, systemwide reporting and resources. They can also be used to improve individual and institutional decision support. All of these factors facilitate NCLB compliance with Title I, II, V, VI, IDEA/Special Education and other regulations. In addition, iAssessment confidentially combines data for planning and designing differentiated professional development activities in a way that accommodates each user.
"Needs assessment and training are tantamount to success in our nationwide goal of improved student achievement," says Dan Cookson, co-founder of iAssessment. "If educators and administrators are not proactively provided with resources to help develop and improve their skills, then classroom effectiveness will suffer."
This article originally appeared in the 08/01/2003 issue of THE Journal.