Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Assessments
Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grades:
Formative (Beginning and Middle of the Year): A formative assessment is a tool for evaluating student learning during teaching in order to gauge whether students are understanding the material at the time. It is a learning tool, not a final evaluation of mastery. Formative assessment helps instructors alter their approach to the concepts if students are struggling.
Beginning of Year
- Study Island Benchmark -Reading and Math
- Star Reading and Math Diagnostic Assessments
Mid Year
- Study Island Benchmark- Reading and Math
- Star Reading and Math Diagnostic Assessments
Summative (End of Year): They are used to determine if students have mastered specific competencies and to identify instructional areas that need additional attention. The goal of such summative assessments is to make a judgment of student competency – after an instructional phase is complete.
- Study Island Benchmark -Reading and Math
- Star Reading and Math Diagnostic Assessments
Study Island Assessment: This assessment helps students in kindergarten through 12th grade master state-specific, grade-level academic standards in a fun and engaging manner. Study Island combines rigorous content that is highly customized to specific state standards in math, reading, writing, science, and social studies with interactive features and games that engage students and reinforce and reward learning achievement.
(by Study Island)
Lexile Assessment: It is a unique resource for accurately matching readers with text. Unlike other measurement systems, the Lexile Framework evaluates reading ability based on actual assessments, rather than generalized age or grade levels. The true power of the Lexile Framework is its ability to measure both reading ability and text complexity on the same developmental scale. (by MetaMetrics)
Star Reading and Math:
Star Assessments are short diagnostic tests that provide teachers with learning data. Star tests are computer adaptive, which means they adjust to each answer your child provides. This helps teachers get the best data to help your child in the shortest amount of testing time (about one-third of the time other tests take).
Teachers analyze the data they get from Star Assessments to learn what students already know and what they are ready to learn next, to monitor student growth, and to determine which students may need additional help. Star Assessments are heavily researched and scientifically proven to help teachers guide each student on his or her unique path to mastery. By pinpointing exactly what your child knows, teachers can personalize your child’s practice to keep them growing.
(by Renaissance)
Given in Spring:
Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA): The benchmark assessment includes tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics which are taken by students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Students in grades 4 and 8 are administered the Science PSSA. The English Language Arts and Mathematics PSSAs include items that are consistent with the Assessment Anchors/Eligible Content aligned to the Pennsylvania Core Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The Science PSSA includes items that are aligned to the Assessment Anchors/Eligible Content aligned to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science, Technology, Environment, and Ecology. (by the PA Dept. of Ed.)