Curriculum & Achievement

At Portage Township Schools, we use a teacher-led process called curriculum mapping to help all students succeed. This process organizes what students learn based on the Indiana Academic State Standards, and breaks the school year into smaller sections (like quarters or semesters) to make sure lessons are taught in the right order.

Our teachers meet in teams—by grade, subject, and across multiple grades—to carefully plan what’s taught and make sure students don’t miss important information as they move from one grade to the next. These maps are reviewed and updated regularly using data from student assessments.

We also use special tools to check how students are learning:

• Power Indicator Assessments help us measure student understanding of key concepts during the school year.

• End-of-Course Assessments are given at the end of a course or term to see how well students have mastered the material.

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Accelerated Reader (AR)

Students in all grades use Accelerated Reader (AR) to improve their reading and comprehension skills. Here’s how it works:

1. Students take a reading test (like the NWEA) to find their Lexile score, which helps them choose books at the right level.

2. Students read books within their range.

3. After finishing a book, they take a short quiz on the computer.

4. If they score 80% or higher, they’ve “mastered” that book!

Higher-level books have more questions, but all books are chosen to help students grow as readers—and hopefully develop a love for reading!