District Local Assessment Model | NY Inspires
Curriculum GenieStart a conversation
DISTRICT LOCAL ASSESSMENT DESIGN MODEL

From a portrait
on the wall to a
portrait in action.

Turn the curriculum you already teach into a connected story of competency, career readiness, and student growth.

Explore the modelSee the district roadmap
New York student learning montage with the city skyline and community settings
Every student. A visible story of growth.Curriculum → Competency → Future readiness
A shared vision.
A local pathway.
ONE CONNECTED APPROACH
Everyday learning
→
Authentic evidence
→
Meaningful opportunities
THE VISION

Start with what teachers
already teach.

A coherent, sustainable local assessment system that develops, measures, and documents students' Portrait of a Graduate competencies.

Begin with manageable changes to everyday teaching. Grow into authentic performance assessments, interdisciplinary capstones, and career-connected learning—while preserving local flexibility and educator professional judgment.

01

Build skills every day

Connect academic standards and PoG competencies within existing lessons.

02

Make learning visible

Capture authentic performance, reflection, and growth across time.

03

Connect to what comes next

Bring learning into college, career, and community contexts.

NEW YORK'S PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE

Six attributes.
A shared direction.

Every chapter connects back to the same six attributes, with room for districts to shape their own learning experiences.

01

Academically
Prepared

02

Creative
Innovator

03

Critical
Thinker

04

Effective
Communicator

05

Global
Citizen

06

Reflective &
Future-Focused

THE CONNECTED MODEL

Eleven chapters.
One learning-to-evidence system.

Explore how community ownership, classroom practice, and district visibility fit together. Select a chapter to look inside.

Where could your district begin?

Let's connect the model to your curriculum, community priorities, and next steps.

Talk through the model
Student Portfolio product example showing a student project, artifacts, and assessment details
FROM LEARNING TO EVIDENCE

A portfolio that tells
the whole story.

Bring together Mini-Mastery activities, unit assessments, capstones, and career-connected experiences in a longitudinal body of evidence.

  • Keep evidence connected to lessons, standards, competencies, and rubrics.
  • Give students a voice in choosing their strongest work and reflecting on growth.
  • Use AI to surface evidence and suggest feedback, with teachers validating consequential ratings.
Discuss student portfolios
GROW EDUCATOR CAPACITY

Professional learning.
Demonstrated in practice.

A progressive pathway meets teachers where they are and develops the internal leadership needed to sustain the work.

White Belt – Aware
WHITE BELT

Aware

Understand the PoG and recognize opportunities in existing instruction.

Curriculum mapping &
Mini-Mastery planning
Yellow Belt – Applies
YELLOW BELT

Applies

Design, implement, and evaluate curriculum-embedded performance tasks.

Unit PBAs &
student evidence
Green Belt – Integrates
GREEN BELT

Integrates

Facilitate deeper learning, interdisciplinary assessment, or authentic inquiry.

A complete advanced
learning & assessment cycle
Black Belt – Leads
BLACK BELT

Leads

Support colleagues and sustain high-quality implementation across the district.

Coaching, calibration &
shared exemplars

Build capacity from within.

Let's map a development pathway that fits your district's pace and priorities.

Talk about professional learning
COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP

Designed with the people
who make it last.

A superintendent-led District PoG and Local Assessment Design Council connects educators, teacher unions, students, families, employers, higher education, community organizations, and regional partners.

Teachers and union representatives participate from the earliest design stage. Student and family voice shapes decisions. Shared ownership helps the system evolve through leadership transitions.

Shared visionProfessional trustEquitable opportunity
Educators and community members collaborating around a table
PHASED DISTRICT IMPLEMENTATION

Start small.
Build a system that lasts.

Districts do not have to implement every component at once. Choose a phase to see the priorities and expected deliverables.

An illustrative district roadmap. The pace depends on district readiness and should evolve with NYSED's official competency, rubric, and reporting requirements.

Find a starting point that fits your district.

Bring your priorities and readiness questions to a conversation with our team.

Discuss your implementation roadmap
A student discussing a portfolio with an educator
THE STUDENT OUTCOME

More than a record.
A story of readiness.

Students build a personalized body of evidence showing what they know, how they think, how they contribute, and how they have grown across years.

They curate work that reflects their strengths and aspirations—for student-led conferences, high-school transitions, college applications, career decisions, and future opportunities.

"A demonstrable story of learning, growth, contribution, and future readiness."District Local Assessment Design Model
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS

A thoughtful path
to implementation.

Have a question specific to your district?

Ask our team
Does this replace our existing curriculum?

No. The model begins with existing curriculum, lessons, and academic standards. Teachers embed short competency-building activities and strengthen selected assessments within current instruction.

How much assessment is expected?

The presentation offers an illustrative target of two unit-level PBAs per subject teacher each year. Across four or five core subjects, that may produce approximately eight to ten PBAs per student annually. This is a flexible planning target, not a fixed requirement.

Does every teacher need to lead a capstone?

No. Capstones are an advanced option. Districts may start with one per participating grade-level team or interdisciplinary cohort each year. An appropriate capstone can fulfill an existing unit-level PBA rather than add another assessment.

Who makes consequential competency decisions?

Teachers review and validate consequential competency ratings. AI can help identify evidence, connect it to rubric indicators, suggest proficiency levels, and generate feedback. Qualified educators retain responsibility for school-based competency determinations.

How should districts use dashboard information?

Use it to support instructional improvement, equitable opportunity, and accountable implementation. It should not become an automated ranking system for individual educators. Aggregated reporting should protect student privacy and distinguish local indicators from official state accountability measures.

YOUR DISTRICT. YOUR COMMUNITY. YOUR NEXT STEP.

Bring your Portrait
of a Graduate into action.

Start a conversation about a pathway grounded in your district's existing curriculum, educator expertise, and community priorities.

Talk with our team