SECEP South Eastern Cooperative Educational Programs

Coordinator for Accountability

 

Last Updated: November 2007

 

Murray Ritter joined the SECEP staff as the Coordinator for Accountability in June 2005. Previously he worked in the Newport News Public Schools as a mathematics teacher, softball coach, and lead teacher at Ferguson High School and later at Woodside High School. He was an assistant principal at Gloucester High School in Gloucester County after leaving Newport News Public Schools in 1999.

 

The 2007-2008 school year will be Dr. Ritter’s 15th year in PreK-12 public education. Additional teaching experience comes from his assignment on the faculty at the United States Military Academy and as an adjunct faculty member for Thomas Nelson Community College. He holds both a master’s and doctorate of education degree from George Washington University. The doctoral dissertation was on the roles of climate and culture in the newly opened high school building.

 

As SECEP Coordinator for Accountability, Dr. Ritter is responsible for the data collection and analysis design that supports the SECEP leadership team in their mission of providing comprehensive educational programming for a diverse population of students with challenging needs through high quality instruction within a safe and nurturing environment.

 

Specific areas of responsibility include:

  • The Standards of Learning accountability program.
  • Student behavior data analysis and reporting.
  • Staff training in the areas identified above.

 

Testing

 

Our students are found in grades pre-kindergarten through high school and come to SECEP from the eight surrounding school divisions:

  • Chesapeake
  • Franklin City
  • Isle of Wight County
  • Portsmouth
  • Norfolk
  • Southampton County
  • Suffolk County
  • Virginia Beach

 

 

 

Virginia State Assessment and Local School Division Programs

 

Our students take part in the Virginia assessment programs as well as programs that are part of the student accountability and assessment program for the school division from where they came. SECEP students will follow the test calendars followed by their home school division unless otherwise excused. School divisions with test calendars on their web site are found in pull-down menus in the upper left corner of this page. In the Spring of 2007, our students took about 1510 SOL tests and 275 students participated in the alternative assessment program.

 

Besides the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment program, SECEP students take part in both the VAAP (Virginia Alternative Assessment Program) and the VGLA (Virginia Grade Level Alternative Assessment Program).

 

The VGLA alternative to SOL testing is available to students in grade 3 to grade 8. Eligibility for participation is determined on a test specific basis by the student’s IEP committee. VAAP program participation is also based on an IEP committee determination. It permits students and teachers to collect evidence of student understanding of SOL material as an alternative to SOL testing.

 

Program details can be found by following this link to the Virginia Department of Education: Division of Assessment and Reporting web site. Both programs have been revised for the 2007-2008 school year.

 

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/home.shtml

 

Benchmark Testing

              Benchmark tests are given in the core academic areas in the Fall and at the end of the first semester to provide the teacher and student with a means of checking their current level of performance. They are modeled after the state SOL assessment program in both content and style.