Job Description
Job Title
Position Title: Assistant Director - Assessments
Location: Fisher Building, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202
Salary: $70,000.00 - $95,000.00
Reports to: Deputy Executive Director, Assessment and Performance Management
Bargaining Unit: Non-Union Administrator
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Position Summary
The Assistant Director, Assessments is a key member of the Assessment and Performance Management department (APM). This department manages several major bodies of work for the district, including the comprehensive evaluation process for all district staff, state and District testing programs for students, and stakeholder survey administration for students, staff and families..
As the leader of the Assessments team, the Assistant Director is responsible for ensuring that all aspects of the district’s assessment systems are implemented in a way that puts students first and ensures we have the essential data we need to understand student learning and meet student needs. It is critical that the Assistant Director develops systems to ensure not only compliance with national, state and District assessment requirements, but also robust learning from assessment data for all stakeholders, including classroom teachers, school leaders, and district staff.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree and/or technical or equivalent experience in education required. Masters degree in education leadership or policy preferred.
Three years of school leadership or other comparable management experience, especially focused on leading assessment coordination and assessment literacy in the K-12 context
Five years of experience working in an urban public school district
Demonstrated record of implementing systemic improvements to complex problems
Knowledge of state accountability systems, especially related to student assessments
Strong professional development planning skills, including the creation of professional learning content for both live and self-paced trainings
Ability to distill and communicate key messages to a wide range of stakeholders
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Comfort working in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment
Preferred Qualifications:
Proficiency in statistical programming using R (preferred) or another programming language to analyze and present data visually,
Ability to interpret complex data and produce actionable insights
Experience publishing and presenting research findings and compelling insights for practitioner and technical audiences
Strong written and oral communication skills that enable you to work with stakeholders to define requirements and research questions, and to share back findings with both technical and non-technical audiences
Essential Functions
Design, manage, and continually refine a comprehensive strategy to administer national, state and district assessments, ensuring that all compliance requirements are fulfilled
Collaborate with other departments to plan and execute assessment data analysis and action planning processes for school and central office staff members
Consistently execute cyclical assessment participation and results reporting through the use of sorters, briefing books, powerpoints, etc. for District and school leadership
Successfully manage team members to design and publish on demand resources for assessment literacy for district staff
Manage and work alongside team members to train and support school-based assessment coordinators responsible for administering national, state, and district assessments
Supervise, support, and evaluate the work of Assessment team members, setting clear expectations and a vision for success that allows others to understand their role
With support, manage RFP and contracting processes for vendors, and hold vendors accountable to project expectations, including deliverables and timelines
Work closely with district staff in varied positions, including school administrators, teachers, and central office staff, to develop a deep understanding of assessment program successes and challenges
Facilitate an inclusive culture that allows all team members to contribute their best work
Utilize project management methods and establish a strong rhythm of business to support multiple workstreams within the Assessment team and ensure alignment between the team’s daily work and the District’s broader goals
Build relationships across internal departments to drive collaboration and project success; interact with and respond effectively and promptly to urgent requests from multiple internal and external DPSCD stakeholders
Keep other leaders informed of developments in assessment policy and research, identifying changes in proposed legislation, policies, procedures, and regulations affecting evaluation
Anticipate challenges in advance and identify resources needed for Assessment team to meet its expected outcomes
Perform other duties as assigned by the Deputy Executive Director, Assessment and Performance Management.
Security Clearance:
Internal Applicants
If you are a current Detroit Public Schools Community District employee, you do not have to submit to a new security clearance, unless your new role requires a different type of criminal background check.
External Applicants
In alignment with Michigan law, if you are hired to fill a position, you will be required to submit to a Detroit Public Schools Community District criminal background check. Information regarding required background checks will be shared at point of hire.
Method of Application:
Applicants must apply through the online application system. Only applications submitted through the online application system will be considered for any posted position and all applications require a resume to be considered.
All DPSCD employees are required to disclose their vaccine status, however COVID-19 vaccines are strongly encouraged but not required.
Successful candidates are required to submit official transcript(s) at point of offer to hire. Teaching service outside of the Detroit Public Schools Community District must be verified by the applicant's prior employer(s) prior to hire. It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all documentation (including copies) as requested.
Applicants requesting assistance during the application process should contact the Office of Human Resources via email at [email protected] or phone at (313) 873-6897.
DPSCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, transgender identity, disability, age, religion, height, weight, citizenship, marital or family status, military status, ancestry, genetic information, or any other legally protected category, in its educational programs and activities, including employment and admissions opportunities. Contact the Civil Rights Coordinator for more information at (313) 240-4377 or detroitk12.org/compliance.
