In Rockwall ISD the focus is on the whole child. However, under the current system, one has to stop and breathe in order to keep that focus in check. Students are expected to achieve at a competitive level with other school students, yet our truest focus within our profession has to be on the quality of the “learning journey,” not just on the “learning vehicle,” or at least, not on the wrong “learning vehicle” – one test.
Under the current system, schools in general are being criticized for letting one test determine its entire curriculum. Yet, in the plan to move education into the 21st Century, a test has to be used as a measurement of “what was learned,” not as “what is to be learned.” In Rockwall ISD, our goal is for learning to be engaging for all students, which means it has to be relevant and valuable to each individual child.