Assessment
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What assessments will my child be given?
Ongoing assessments help students and teachers determine what has been learned and what is to be learned next. Teachers use a variety of benchmark and curriculum based assessments to monitor learning and inform instruction. Additionally, they check for understanding in a variety of ways in each lesson. Students also learn to assess themselves and others using checklists, rubrics and work samples that show what mastery of skills and strategies look like at various grade levels. When students understand what success looks like, they are better able to apply the knowledge, skills and strategies they are being taught.
Here are some examples of benchmark and curriculum based assessments:
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Reading
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early literacy (Alphabet Survey, Phonemic Awareness Test, Concepts of Print, Sight Words, etc.)
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DIBELS
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Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment
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Running Records
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written responses
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unit tests (Intermediate grades)
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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments
Writing
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on-demand writing samples
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end of unit published writing
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Developmental Spelling Assessment
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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments
Mathematics
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pre, mid, and post unit tests
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exit tickets
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problem solving tasks and written responses
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Acadience Math Assessment (computation and concepts and applications)
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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments
STAR Assessments
In the fall, winter and spring, students in grades K-6 are given the STAR assessment in reading and math. This assessment is computer adaptive and takes 10-30 minutes for students to complete. Teachers, staff and administration use this information, along with other assessment data to monitor student learning and determine if sufficient progress and growth are being made. Teachers can create class and individual instructional plans with assessment results. Results are shared with parents at conferences.
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Smarter Balanced Assessment
Connecticut General Statute mandates that all public school students enrolled in Grades 3 through 8, and 10 or 11 participate in a “mastery examination” approved by the State Board of Education that measures essential and grade-appropriate skills in reading, writing, mathematics, or science. The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment is Connecticut’s mastery examination in English language arts and mathematics. It is a summative evaluation of student performance relative to the Connecticut Core Standards. It provides an efficient and reliable estimate of a student’s overall performance in a subject area relative to grade-appropriate standards that enable valid interpretations of student achievement and progress. In Connecticut, the Smarter Balanced ELA and mathematics summative assessments include a computer adaptive test; the mathematics test also includes a performance task.
Summative assessment results are viewed as one indicator among multiple sources of evidence such as classroom-based tests, and samples of student work when making decisions about student performance.
The NGSS Assessment is the “mastery examination” that measures content knowledge and grade-appropriate skills in science. It aligns to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students in grades 5, 8 and 10 are required to take this assessment.
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Smarter Balanced Parent Guides
Grade 4
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Grade 5
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Grade 6
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Smarter Balanced Informational Video