STUDENT LEARNING ASSESSMENTS
Statewide Assessments (often called “high stakes tests”). These accountability assessments are administered to students statewide. These tests are permanently recorded in the student record and serve as a key input in educational decision-making. BRT works with state departments to extend statewide test and ensure proper training of administration. We consider the use of accommodations in the standard test, the reduction of complexity for students taking alternate assessments judged against modified achievement standards (2%), and the reduction of breadth and depth for students taking the alternate assessment judged against alternate achievement standards (1%).
Curriculum-Based Measurements (often used within a ‘response-to-intervention’ model). While many educators are highly focused on state tests, it is important to consider that over the course of a year, teachers can build in many opportunities to assess how students are learning and then use this information to make beneficial changes in instruction. These curriculum-based measures can lead to both diagnostic insights for identifying student needs as well as provide feedback loops for teachers to determine the effects from making instructional changes. An experimental model of instructional evaluation is the basis for decision-making.
