TESSERACT SCHOOL INCORPATES PORTFOLIO
PRESENTATIONS FOR UNIQUE HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSMENTS
PARADISE VALLEY, ARIZONA –January 22, 2009– Tesseract School, a non-profit,
independent private school—preschool through ninth grade, with its inaugural 10th-grade class
starting fall 2009—announced today that its ninth-grade students marked the close of their first
semester with portfolio presentations, a unique and engaging assessment method.
Tesseract incorporates both examinations and high school portfolio presentations to measure
and assess students’ development, and their knowledge and understanding of the curriculum,
throughout the year. To prepare for the presentations, students choose three subjects from
which they select projects that they feel illustrate their growth and progression for the semester.
Students are then required to write a reflection on themselves as a student, and as a member of
the community. The day of the presentation, students share the selected projects to a selfchosen
panel of peers, educators and other adults for 20 minutes followed by a 10-minute
question-and-answer session. Students are assessed on all three components of the portfolio
process—writing, presentation and discussion.
“We chose to utilize portfolio presentations, along with exams, as a means to provide students
with an authentic assessment that is driven by them in their own voices,” stated Chris LaBonte,
Tesseract’s director of middle and high school. “We are teaching to the future, preparing
students to excel in college and beyond. These assessments more closely reflect the
assessments students will encounter in the real world, enabling them the opportunity to
synthesize, analyze and present their findings to adults and peers—all skills they will need to
thrive throughout their lives.”
Tesseract opened its new middle and high school campus at 40th Street and Shea Boulevard in
September 2008. This opening marked the start of Tesseract’s new high school program,
enabling the school to build upon the proven practices of its existing educational approach,
while providing a high school program that truly resonates with students by tapping into their
curiosity through connections to real-world issues with hands-on, experience-based learning.
Tesseract’s innovative programs include increased focus on international and sustainability
issues, and educating students to be critical and innovative thinkers, prepared to excel in
college and beyond.
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