TRUE PROGRESS SCHOOLS
Every student should move forward
True Progress Schools share a commitment: to understand where each student is actually learning and make sure every student is moving forward.
Students in the same classroom can be learning at very different levels. One student may be working well below the middle of the class. Another may already be years ahead.
True Progress Schools want to see both.
They are independent schools, charter schools, and public school districts committed to understanding each student, responding to a broad range of learning needs and abilities, and knowing whether every student is making meaningful progress.
A grade does not describe a classroom
Students may share a classroom, a teacher, and a grade level without sharing the same learning level.
In a single class, some students may be working well below the middle of the group, others close to it, and others well above it. In some classrooms, that spread can extend more than two years in either direction.
That creates a particular challenge for schools committed to knowing every student well.
The student who is struggling needs to be understood at the level where learning is actually happening.
So does the student who is already far ahead.
True Progress is built to give schools visibility across that entire range.
ASSESSMENT
See what each student can actually do
When students are learning across a wide range of levels, assessing everyone only at the same grade level can leave important information out of view.
A student working substantially below the middle of the class needs an assessment capable of reaching the learning that comes before.
A student working substantially above the middle needs an assessment capable of reaching the learning that comes next.
True Progress assessments work across learning levels, giving educators meaningful information about students who are behind, students working near the middle of the group, and students who are already well ahead.
PROGRESS
Different starting points. Progress for every student
A student working below the middle of the class should move forward.
A student working near the middle should move forward.
A student already working well above the middle should move forward.
The starting points are different. The expectation of progress is not.
True Progress allows schools to see whether students are advancing from their own starting points—not simply whether they have crossed a common threshold.
TRUE PROGRESS SCHOOLS
The name describes a commitment
True Progress Schools are independent schools, charter schools, and public school districts that share an expectation for their students.
- They want to know every student as an individual.
- They recognize the broad range of learning levels inside their classrooms.
- They want assessment to show what each student can actually do.
- They pay attention to students who are struggling without losing sight of students who are already thriving.
- They use professional judgment to determine what students need next.
- They want to know whether their instruction and interventions are producing progress.
- They expect every student to move forward.
That is what we mean by a True Progress School.
Different schools. A shared commitment.
True Progress has spent fifteen years working alongside independent schools and also serves charter schools and high-achieving public school districts.
Their structures and communities differ. What they share is a commitment to seeing the full range of learners in their classrooms and knowing whether each student is moving forward.
Independent Schools
Schools committed to knowing students individually and using professional judgment to respond to a broad range of learners.
Charter Schools
Schools using their flexibility to build deliberate approaches to assessment, instruction, and student progress.
Public School Districts
Districts seeking greater visibility into individual learning levels and progress, including students performing well above as well as below the middle of their grade.
EVERY STUDENT MEANS EVERY STUDENT
Struggling. Thriving. And everyone in between.
Students who are struggling deserve careful attention to what they need and whether the help they receive is working.
Students who are already thriving deserve the same attention to their continued progress.
True Progress gives schools visibility across the full range—from students who need significant help to students ready to move substantially beyond the expected curriculum.
No student should become less visible simply because of where that student falls in the class.
A TRUE PROGRESS SCHOOL
Know every student. Keep every student moving.
A True Progress School sees the student who needs substantial help.
It sees the student working near the middle of the class.
It sees the student who is already years ahead.
And it wants to know whether each one is moving forward.
Every student. Every learning level. Meaningful progress.