It was difficult to help students pass the test without knowing
what they struggled with. So it made sense to get involved in the scoring
process when it came around. The scoring involved stacks of paper that
were used to record the data as we collected it. The process was long, and
at the end of it, I still had no ideas of how to help the students that I worked
with.I went prepared with an Excel spreadsheet to the next scoring
session, and the process has continued to expand each year.
The test analysis component has grown to the point that we’re providing academic prescriptions for each student, detailing what questions were answered incorrectly,
what mistakes they made, and what performance indicators should be taught to remediate the student.
What began as simplifying a scoring process has grown to be a program that gives
specific feedback, and is capable of guiding the AIS process. Now, with Achieve4 Test Analysis, we can provide each teacher with the information they need to provide specific remediation services while the student is still working with the same standards. This allows our teachers to better prepare their students for the next grade, thus working to close the ever present gap that is widened with non-mastery of standards.
Our goal is to minimize the time spent on gathering and organizing useful data for educators and administrators, so they can make more informed decisions in a timely manner.
How does this affect your School?
If you are able to relate to our district’s situation, you may be interested in further solutions that we have developed that are available to other districts for the first time this year.
Since AIS services can vary in intensity, we like to make informed decisions using all of the data available. Our educators are in agreement that one test shouldn’t be the only determining factor when considering an AIS placement.
In an effort to make more meaningful decisions for our students, the Achieve4 program has now made it possible to gather results from each standardized test, as well as in-house assessments that you are already using. When you’re ready for your Student Profile, you just select the student, and you will be able to see all data associated with that student. As you’re completing the school year, your teachers will be able to sit down with their student profiles,
and using professional experience as a guide, they will be able to assess the profile and make recommendations for each student.
How effective is your AIS program?
When I first began teaching in AIS, I was discouraged to find that most of my students would not meet their goal of passing the state exam. As a veteran teacher of 18 years, I was not satisfied with the large numbers who
were “not meeting minimum standards”. Additionally, I saw that the numbers of students entering the program was growing, indicating we were moving farther from achieving our goals. That’s when I realized that something had to change.
When it came time for test scoring, my electronic score sheet underwent another change.
This time, I programmed it to keep track of questions that students were missing.
Later, I provided test
prescriptions showing what questions each student had missed. I was able to analyze that information for my own students. For one student in particular, I noticed that the first half of Part One ELA exam was correct. After the half way point, each remaining question was answered incorrectly. I consulted with the student’s IEP, and determined that perhaps giving a break after a certain point would improve the focus of the student. I followed my plan for testing, and this student passed the test! The correction was very simple, and we achieved our goal with that student.
As I am able to focus more on the individual students,
I’m beginning to see improvements. In a report that I ran in March, I discovered
that in a group of 8 students in my 5th grade ELA/AIS program, all but two
students were projected to have passed the test taken in January. Already
encouraged by this improved result, I noted that the two students who had not
achieved a passing score were already experiencing a modification of their
program based on data that had been gathered during the test scoring process and in-house assessments.
What are you doing to move your students from Level 3 achievers to Level 4?
The state mandates that AIS services be provided for students not earning the minimum on State Exams. We provide AIS services to move students to position of 3. What do we do to move the 3’s to 4’s? Using these same Prescriptions, Achieve4 will continue to focus on providing remediation for indicators showing lack of mastery. For indicators showing mastery, we provide an Enrichment opportunity to build a deeper understanding of a related indicator in preparation for the next test. Again, we have developed a simple solution to address a complex problem.
In process now, with an anticipated availability of 2010/2011 school year is an extension to the academic prescription. Teachers will be able to quickly pull resources according to focus areas, including weekly probes to test for mastery.
Where is Achieve4 heading?
Achieve4 is based on traditional test analysis procedures and automates a great deal of data manipulation. The feature that makes it exemplary is that it gives
specific feedback regarding a path for remediation and enrichment. Very simply, it optimizes technology to satisfy educational needs.
The philosophy behind this program is that
teachers can provide a better educational program if they are able to identify
the needs of their students. Achieve4 is a program designed to provide the
proper tools to assist teachers as they work to provide a solid educational
program. Schools collect a lot of useful data, and Achieve4 analyzes and
stores it until you're ready for it.
When the state reports come back, you can import the scale scores and levels into your program, building student history that can travel with a student to the next grade or even the next school district.
What is included in the Annual Subscription?
Grade
|
Data Organization
|
Student Profile
|
Test Analysis
|
Academic Rx (16 tests per school each year)
|
| K-2 |
Yes
|
Yes |
No |
No |
| 3-8 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| |
|
|
|
|
• Data Organization: Gathers all assessment data (Dibels or equivalent assessment that can be imported from an Excel Spreadsheet), and demographic information input at the school site.
• Student Profiles: Allows user to collect available data of preference for individual students (selectable) or all students collectively. Excellent resource for teacher use in program decision-making, dissemination of AIS services, and RTI.
• Test Analysis (16 exams): For all tests in each grade level, using *Part One Multiple Choice selections input from user in addition to scores from Parts 2 (and Part 3 when applicable), Test Analyzer provides graphs for all parts, sorts and graphs according to varied criteria, projects levels based on raw scores, and completes error coding to identify trends with distracters and non-mastery of performance indicators.
*Scoring of Part 1 is to be done when answer sheets are returned from
scanning process.
• Test Prescriptions: Using data gathered in Test Analysis, Prescriptions maps test and provides individual feedback. For a question answered correctly on the test, an Extension performance indicator is provided. For questions answered incorrectly, the performance indicator associated to that question is provided. This feature allows for immediate and specific remediation and enrichment opportunities for student advancement.