Academy of READING & Academy of MATH
END OF YEAR POST-TESTING
As the end of this school year approaches, it is time to plan for and administer the Academy of Reading/Math post-tests. This is an important process to determine those students who have closed their achievement gap in reading/math – and those who have not and will need to continue the Academy intervention next year. This guide details the step-by-step procedures to assign, administer, prepare, analyze, and print your end of year Gains Reports.
ASSIGNING POST-TESTS
From the Snapshot report, identify those students who have completed 50% or more of their Program Complete, or 10 or more hours of time on task in the Academy of READING, or 6 or more hours of time on task in the Academy of MATH. Those students who meet the above criteria should be assigned a post-test.
To assign a post-test, follow these step-by-step directions:
1. In your Instructor’s Resource Guide, read the module titled “Measuring Student Gains” to familiarize yourself with performing post-tests.
2. Follow these instructions to assign the post-test;
· From the Academy Management System, select the Classes tab at the top
· On the left-hand side, select Test Schedules
· Click on the box next to the student’s name to indicate which student(s) will be post-tested, or select the box in the title bar to select the entire class
· Select a new post-test date, and click Apply New Date.
· Do not post-test those students who pre-tested at the Graduate level. Click on Reports, and Class Test Results to identify those students.
· Schedule post-tests before year-end finals, and plan on several days to complete post-testing to allow for absenteeism or students who need to re-do post-tests (see Important Notes below).
PROPERLY PREPARE STUDENT’S FOR POST-TESTING
Students should understand that the post-test is very important as it measures the results of their hard work and training. Students who understand the importance of the post-test are motivated and mentally prepared to do their best and will achieve greater, more accurate results. Following are recommended best practices for testing:
· Prepare student’s by giving them a “pep talk” and discuss the following:
Academy of READING:
“You have worked very hard on your Academy of READING training this year. Today you will be taking an assessment to measure how you have improved your reading skills. Take your time to read each paragraph carefully, and then choose the word you think best fits that sentence. After you have finished the passage, re-read it to make sure it makes sense then make corrections, if necessary. Many words are similar, so eyes should travel to the end of each word to make sure the correct word is being selected. Do not rush – this assessment is not timed. TAKE YOUR TIME and DO YOUR BEST!”
NOTE: The I’m Done button appears when the student has completed a story. If the button does not appear, the student has not answered all of the questions. Look at the bottom of the screen to see how many questions were answered, then look for empty blanks in the story.
Academy of MATH:
“You have worked very hard on your Academy of MATH training this year. Today you will be taking an assessment to measure how you have improved your math skills. Take your time to read each question carefully, and then select the correct answer. Don’t guess – use scratch paper to find the correct answer. Do not worry if the questions appear too difficult at first. This assessment is adaptive and will find your level by measuring the accuracy of the questions you answer. Every question at each level is checking knowledge of a different skill area (addition, multiplication, division, etc.) so if you don’t know the answer to one question, it does not mean you will not know the answers to all of the questions at a particular level. Do not rush – this assessment is not timed. TAKE YOUR TIME and DO YOUR BEST!”
NOTE: The I’m Done button appears when the student has answered all ten of the questions in the current level. If I’m Done does not appear, the student has not answered all of the questions. Look for a blue button on the left, and have the student go to that question and answer it.
Teacher Tips:
· Teachers must be visible during the assessment. Encourage students to do their best and help students realize the importance of this assessment.
· Do not test at the end of a day or week when students are tired. Testing near holidays or other fun activities can result in lack of attention to the task and may result in poor outcomes.
· Students need to be in a good frame of mind and properly motivated to do their best. If students are having a bad day, their scores will reflect how they feel.
· Allow at least a full class period, and tell students to not rush. This is not a timed assessment.
· During the test, monitor students to ensure they are actively engaged. Watch for students who are going through the assessment too quickly.
· Academy of MATH students will need scratch paper and pencil to work out correct answers.
· If students appear fatigued or run out of time, the test can be completed at a later time. Simply have the student click on Lobby to exit the program. Next time they log in and select the classroom, they will be returned to the post-test.
· Students should not begin a post-test on the same day they do other training in the Academy. It is important that students understand that the post-test is not just another training activity.
· Do NOT test on the last day of school. If a student has rushed through the test and not made his/her best effort, you do not have the opportunity to talk to them and have them repeat the test.
IMPORTANT NOTE!
· If a student has no or negative gains, go to the Student Gains or Level Change Report to compare the pre-test and post-test Time on Test. In most cases, the post-test time is lower than the pre-test time which indicates a student who rushed through the test or was not motivated to do their best. After speaking and showing the level report with the student to ensure he/she understands how the Academy measures accuracy and results, reassign the post-test and ask them to take it again, ideally the next day or class period.
· The highest scores are 10.0 (Academy of READING) or 9.0 (Academy of MATH)
· Class gains averages are based on the students who took the pre-test and post-test only
· Students may continue to train after post-testing, and will resume training in their Individualized Training Program after completion of the post-test.
PREPARE & VIEW GAINS REPORTS
Gains reports provide information on the gains achieved by student, class, and on a school-wide basis. Post-test scores reflect absolute gains in grade-equivalent scores from the pre-test to the most recent post-test. Post-test data should also be used to determine if intervention is necessary for students next year, so analysis of the data is important to make informed educational decisions about students.
Refer to Module 10 (Academy of READING) or Module 6 (Academy of MATH) in your Instructor’s Resource Guide. Before viewing the Gains Reports for the year, it is important to “clean up” the class lists to improve the accuracy and integrity of the data by performing the following:
1. Select the Classes tab at the top and the Class Registry report on the left-hand side.
2. Remove all students who were not actively training or did not meet the time on task criteria of 10 hours in the Academy of READING, or 6 hours in the Academy of MATH by selecting the check box next to their name and choosing Remove from Class at the bottom of the page.
3. Delete classes that were inactive or contained students who were inactive.
There are 3 gains reports, each showing the gains data in a different view. Select the Reports tab (top) and on the left-hand side select:
1. Test Results. From the View drop-down menu, review reports; 1) Pre-test, 2) Post-test, and 3) Level Change. The Level Change report is the best report to identify student gains as it compares the pre-test to the post-test score. It is very important to pay particular attention to the amount of time the student spent on the Pre-test vs. the Post-test. Students who show no or negative gains may have spent less time on the Post-test than the Pre-test. If a student shows negative gains, it is important to show the student this report and his/her results, and ask the student to re-do the post-test encouraging them to DO THEIR BEST this time! You will need to assign the post-test to the student again. Please do not re-test on the same day. Comparing the pre-test to the post-test levels is excellent way to compare gains, and an important diagnostic tool if the student will be continuing Academy training in the next school year!
2. Student Gains Report – From the Class Test Results Report, select the students name to locate the Student Gains Report. In the Test Summary column, you will see a blue hyper-link for each test the student has taken. Click on the test links to see the Student Level by Level Report.
3. Gains Details – shows the gains from the Pre-test to the Post-test.
4. You may prefer to sort the class by clicking on the column heading, i.e. to view gains reports by grade or performance levels; for instance, 5th Grade-All Students, or 5th Grade – Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, Graduate, etc.
5. Gains Summary – a valuable report because it shows the Performance Level Distribution Change.
Share the results! Show students their reports! Be sure to congratulate students in the Proficient and Advanced categories as they are now performing at or above grade level! Students who are still in the Below Basic or Basic category are not yet performing at grade level. Plans should be made to ensure these students continue Academy training until they post-test at Proficient or Advanced.
PRINT GAINS REPORTS
Print or Save any/all reports you need. You will not have access to these reports after the transition from one school year to the next has occurred. Print or Save the following reports for your records:
1. Class Snapshot Report; provides class usage data including % of Program Complete and Time on Task
2. Class Gains Report; provides class data average and individual student performance compared to class average.
3. Student Training Progress Report; select Progress Over Time, which shows what skills were completed, how long it took to master, and their performance of each skill. This report illustrates student strengths (green symbols) and skill deficiencies (orange or Teacher Time symbols), and should be part of an RTI or student improvement plan.
4. Student Gains Report; shows the student results, gains, and a summary of the student’s progress.
5. Student Level by Level Report; from the Student Gains Report, select the Pre-Test and Post-Test links. This report shows the algorithmic data of each level. Print the reports to compare and analyze level increases, decreases and time differences. This report should also be part of an RTI or student improvement plan.
· NOTE: Reports can also be saved in PDF format to save paper. Many schools like to reorganize the data and create classes based upon the way they want to view the data, for example, by Tier, grade, subgroup, or performance level. Please contact your Education Technology Partners Certified Trainer if you need assistance.
REVIEW TEST RESULTS WITH STUDENTS
1. Click on the Reports tab, and on the left-hand side select Test Results. From the View drop-down box, select Level Change.
2. To view a student’s individual results, click on their name. From the Student Gains Report, click on the Pre-test link, then the Post-test link to show the student how they performed level by level. Praise the student who made gains! Note the gains or where the student spent less time or scored lower on a level in the post-test than the pre-test. Note the change in the Independent, Instructional, or Frustration levels from the pre-test to the post-test.
3. If a students’ post-test score went down, review the student results with the student to discuss why. In most cases, student scores go down because less time is spent on the post-test than the pre-test., or lack of motivation. Before asking the student to retake the test, show the student how they performed level by level on the pre-test vs. the post-test. You will need to reassign the test, and ask the student to DO THEIR BEST this time!
STUDENT MOTIVATION AND REWARDS
§ Acknowledge, celebrate and reward students who have completed their ITP’s and/or have successfully achieved gains from the Academy of READING or Academy of MATH training!!
§ If you are using a Grading Rubric, reward students who make gains with extra points or a good grade. Students usually perform better when they know a grade is associated with gains. If you are not using a grading rubric, acknowledge and reward students who make gains. They worked hard on their Academy training, so reward them for their success!
§ Show students their test results. From the Reports tab, select Test Results. Select the student’s name, and click on the Pre-test link to review level by level how the student did, then select the Post-test link to compare progress level-by-level. Sometimes student’s Post-test score will not show a gain, but looking at a level-by-level comparison you can see progress based on the higher % of accuracy. For instance, a students post-test may remain 6.0, but levels 1-5 could have increased in % of accuracy, PLUS the student may have gone on to levels 7, 8, 9 or 10 which was not achieved during the pre-test. Even if a student did not score Independent on a level, if he/she moved from Frustration on a level of the pre-test, and scored Instructional on the Post-test shows progress. For example, a score of 46% (Frustration) to 68% (Instructional) is a 22% increase and a GREAT indication of growth.