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Assessment

New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System

In September, 2017 the New Hampshire Department of Education announced that American Institutes for Research (AIR) was approved as the statewide assessment vendor for English language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8, and science in grades 5, 8, and 11.

The NH Statewide Assessment System (NH SAS) for English language art/writing and mathematics are computer adaptive tests aligned to the NH Academic Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics. The assessments are unique to NH and can be adjusted to meet NH’s needs. These assessments are administered to students in grades 3 through 8 in the spring.

The new science assessments are aligned to the newly adopted NH Academic Standards for Science and will create a new baseline for science assessment data. The NH SAS for science is administered to students in grades 5 and 8 in the spring.

More information can be found at https://nh.portal.cambiumast.com/families.html

MAP Growth Logo

MAP Growth is a computer adaptive test created by NWEA that students take three times per school year. The results helps schools and teachers know what your child is ready to learn at any point in time. Teachers can see the progress of individual students and of their class as a whole.  Since students with similar MAP Growth scores are generally ready for instruction in similar skills and topics, it makes it easier for teachers to plan instruction. Principals and administrators can see the progress of a grade level, school, or the entire district.

The MAP Growth tests include multiple choice, drag-and-drop, and other types of questions. You can view the  WarmUp Tests to get an idea of what the questions look like.

After each MAP Growth test, results are expressed in the form of a RIT score that reflects the student’s academic knowledge, skills, and abilities. Think of this score like marking height on a growth chart. You can tell how tall your child is at various points in time and how much they have grown between one stage and another.

The RIT (Rasch Unit) scale is a stable, equal-interval scale. Equal-interval means that a change of 10 RIT points indicates the same thing regardless of whether a student is at the top, bottom, or middle of the scale, and a RIT score has the same meaning regardless of grade level or age of the student. You can compare scores over time to tell how much growth a student has made.

 

Graphic of adaptive assessment screen

Computer adaptive tests adjust to each student’s learning level, providing a unique set of test questions based on their responses to previous questions.

As the student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down in difficulty.

 

Resources

Parent Guide to MAP Growth

MAP Growth Student Progress Report Quick Reference

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Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures used to regularly monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills.

The DIBELS measures were specifically designed to assess the Big Ideas in Reading.

The purpose of the DIBELS Benchmark goals is to provide educators with standards for gauging the progress of all students. The Benchmark goals represent a level of performance for all students to reach in order to be considered on track for becoming a successful reader.  They indicate the probability of achieving subsequent early literacy goals.

For a child with a score at or above the benchmark goal at a given point, the probability is high for achieving future goals; the probability of needing additional support in order to achieve future goals is low.

Teachers can use students’ performance to identify students who will most likely require more intensive instruction at the beginning of the school year to prevent the likelihood of the student being a struggling reader at a later time point.