Definitions of Assessments

AIMSweb    

• RCBM Fluency probe

• MAZE probe    

AIMSweb is a benchmark and progress monitoring system based on direct, frequent and continuous student assessment. The results are reported to students, parents, teachers and administrators via a web-based data management and reporting system to determine response to intervention.

• The RCBM Fluency Probe measures how fluent a child reads (uses appropriate rate and expression when reading aloud)

• The MAZE probe measures how well a reader can comprehend what he/she reads.

For more information go to: http://www.aimsweb.com/

CTOPP - Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing

The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) assesses phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming. Persons with deficits in one or more of these kinds of phonological processing abilities may have more difficulty learning to read than those who do not. The CTOPP was developed to aid in the identification of individuals from kindergarten through college who may profit from instructional activities to enhance their phonological skills. Because the test battery spans such a wide range of ages, and the abilities it taps are so varied across the ages, it was necessary to develop two versions of the test. The first version, developed for individuals ages 5 and 6 (primarily kindergartners and first graders), contains seven core   subtests and one supplemental test. The second version, for individuals ages 7 through 24 (persons in second grade through college), contains six core subtests and eight supplemental tests. In both versions the supplemental tests are provided to allow the examiner to more carefully assess specific phonological strengths and weaknesses. Both versions are individually administered, taking about 30 minutes to administer the core subtests.

DSR- Developmental Skills Record

Individually administered assessments of the full range of skills that children develop from Pre-Kindergarten  (letters, sounds, etc.)

GORT-4  - Gray Oral Reading Test or

 The GORT-4 provides an objective measure of growth in oral reading and helps diagnose oral reading difficulties. The GORT-4 is widely used to identify students who are significantly below their peers in oral reading proficiency, to determine reading strengths and weaknesses of individual students, and to document reading progress as a consequence of intervention.

NWEA - MAP - Northwest Education Association - Measure of Academic Progress

NWEA is an acronym for Northwest Educational Association, the company that created the MAP test or Measure of Academic Progress. The MAP test a computerized adaptive test that tests students in math, reading and language arts.

 When taking a MAP test, the difficulty of each question is based on how well the child answers the previous question which is what makes it adaptive. If a child answers a question correctly, the next question will be more difficult. If a child answers a question incorrectly, the next question will be less difficult. In an optimal test, a child will answer approximately 50% incorrect and approximately 50% correct. The final score is an estimate of the child's achievement level.

For more information go to: http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/Parent%20Toolkit_0.pdf

PALS - Phonological Awareness of Literacy Screener

The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) is a research based screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring tool. Wisconsin teachers use PALS to identify students at risk of developing reading difficulties, diagnose students' knowledge of literacy fundamentals, monitor progress, and plan instruction that targets students' needs. Student data collected from PALS provides a direct means of matching literacy instruction to specific literacy needs.

Wis. Stats. 118.016 requires an early literacy screener to be administered to all 4-year-old kindergarten to 1st grade students enrolled in public school districts and charter schools.  Beginning with the 2014-15 school year this requirement was expanded to also include all 2nd grade students enrolled in public school districts and charter schools. As of 2016-17, DPI relaxed this rule. Districts must still assess their students phonological awareness, but may select their own assessment tool.

For more information go to: http://oea.dpi.wi.gov/assessment/PALS

Running Record

A running record is one method of assessing a child's reading level by examining both accuracy and the types of errors made. This is useful for the child's teacher in two ways. First, it gives the teacher an indication of whether material currently being read is too easy or too difficult for the child. Secondly, it serves as an indicator of the areas where a child's reading can improve--for example, if a child frequently makes word substitutions that begin with the same letter as the printed word, the teacher will know to focus on getting the child to look beyond the first letter of a word. Running records may be done frequently or only occasionally to assess a child's reading progress.

SRI  - Scholastic Reading Inventory

Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI)  is a reading assessment program which provides immediate, actionable data on students' reading levels and growth over time. SRI helps educators differentiate instruction, make meaningful interventions, forecast growth toward grade-level state tests, and demonstrate accountability.

WI Forward

During the 2015-16 school year, Wisconsin rolled out a new assessment called the Wisconsin Forward Exam. The Exam is designed to gauge how well students are doing in relation to the Wisconsin Academic Standards. These standards outline what students should know and be able to do in order to be college and career ready. The Forward Exam is administered online in the spring of each school year at:

• grades 3-8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics,

• grades 4 and 8 in Science and,

• grades 4, 8, and 10 in Social Studies.

WJ III - Woodcock Johnson III

• Phoneme/Grapheme Knowledge Cluster sub-test

• Fluency subtest

Provides a comprehensive system for measuring general intellectual ability, specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language, and academic achievement.

• Diagnostic sub-test that assess a student's abilities in the areas of word attack and spelling of sounds.

• Diagnostic sub-test that assesses the rate at which a student can read aloud and with the correct expression.

For more information go to: http://www.cps.nova.edu/~cpphelp/WJIII-ACH.html