SCDSB System Assessments

Assessment Tool / Why this assessment is used / How the assessment is administered / Support Documents
Oral Language Assessment / The Oral Language Assessment assesses students’ receptive language and working memory. It highlights student strengths and weaknesses in the ability to listen to and understand the complex structures of spoken English. Difficulties with the structures of oral English, inhibits their ability to communicate in the school environment. / The OLA is administered individually. The tool takes approximately 2 minutes per child.
For details of how to administer the task go to the staff website: Teaching  KindergartenOLA How to / The Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten Program (draft 2010)
Guide to Effective Instruction in Reading K-3 (Chapter )
Activate Early Learning / The Activate Early Learning tool helps teachers identify students whose oral language skills fall significantly below expected levels. The resource then provides focused instruction to improve oral language skills, knowledge of academic concepts, and social skills. / The AEL tool is administered individually, preferably in a quiet location. It takes approximately 15 minutes per child.
The assessment protocol, recording sheets, and directions of how to administer the assessment are included in the administration guide in each AEL kit. / The AEL lesson manual
Guide to Effective Instruction in Reading K-3 (Chapter )
The Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten Program (draft 2010)
PM Benchmarks / The PM Benchmarks Kit is an informal reading inventory that assesses decoding skills as well as fluency and comprehension. It provides teachers with information that can be used to inform instruction and assessment. / PM Benchmarks are administered individually. One running record takes approximately 5 minutes. The time for the complete administration depends upon the number of texts a teacher presents to the student.
Information of how to administer and interpret a running record can be found at eworkshop.on.ca
Additional Information regarding the full PM Benchmark protocol can be found on the staff website: Teaching Literacy / PM Benchmark administration guide
Guide to Effective Instruction in Reading K-3
Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words / The Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words task is used to assess students’ phonemic awareness, ability to link sounds to letters (phonics), and knowledge of letter formation. This will help teachers identify the students’ abilities to record their ideas in a written format. / The HRS task can be administered to small groups of students. The teacher may wish to individually assess students who have significant difficulty communicating in writing.
Administration takes approximately 5 minutes. Scoring takes an additional minute per student.
For administration and scoring information refer to An Observation of Early Literacy Achievement. Two copies of this resource have been provided to each school along with the Early Success kits. / An Observation of Early Literacy Achievement
Early Success / The Observation Survey is used to provide an overview of the student’s early literacy behaviours. The information informs teaching before Early Success begins and provides a final objective assessment of skills as Early Success support ends.
The running records provide ongoing information to inform teaching and monitor progress. / Specific information about how to administer and interpret Observation Survey data can be found in the book An Observation of Early Literacy Achievement.
Information of how to administer and interpret a running record can also be found at eworkshop.on.ca / An Observation of Early Literacy Achievement
Early Success Data Collection available on the staff website under TeachingAssessment and Evaluation Early Success Data Collection
CASI
Reading Assessment (Comprehension, Attitude, Strategies and Interest)
Full CASI – Completed by all students once per year
Partial CASI (Q 1,3, 6, 7) –
Grade 4-8 students who havenot completed a CASI assessment in September or who scored level 2 or belowcomplete the partial CASIassessment.
Students reading below level 27 should be assessed using PM Benchmarks or the SCDSB alternate Benchmark Kit. / The CASI assessment is used to diagnose each student’s strengths and learning needs to provide appropriate programming for students and to chart their growth as readers. CASI includes several assessment tools and is meant to be used in conjunction with other assessment practices already in place (e.g., teacher observation, conferencing, journals, art work).
The questions align with the four categories of achievement (i.e., Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking. Communication, Application). / Studentsread a self-selected text from the kit and answer eight questions.
If the student cannot access the CASI passage for his/her grade there are several steps that can be taken:
-Consider having the student read a CASI passage from a lower grade level
-Allow students to provide oral responses or to use Assistive Technology that allows them to share their thinking.
Completed tests are scored against exemplars.
The teacher determines levels of achievement for each component of the achievement chart.
The partial CASI consists of questions 1, 3, 6, and 7.
Information about the administration is available on the staff website under Teaching literacyJunior supportsCASI assessment / CASI Reading Assessment Teacher’s Guide second edition
Guides to Effective Literacy Instruction Grades 4-6
CASI Frequently Asked Questions available on the staff website under Teaching literacyJunior supportsCASI assessment
Prime (Number Sense) / The PRIME Number Sense diagnostic tool is a way to identify a student’s developmental phase on the math continuum. This information is helpful for planning lessons to support students as they progress through the continuum. Instruction within the zone of proximal development allows students to access new ideas that are close enough to what they already know to make the new learning feasible. Students operating outside their zones of proximal development are often not benefiting from the instruction. / Suggestions for the selection and administration of the diagnostic tool are outlined on pages 2 to 6 of the “Number and Operations Diagnostic Tools” booklet.
Additional information is available on the staff website under Teaching numeracyelementary  assessment / Use open questions and parallel tasks to differentiate instruction.
Gap Closing
Leaps and Bounds
Guides to Effective Instruction in Mathematics