Understanding End of School Year Assessments & Results

It’s hard to believe we are now entering the end of this school year. Just a bit over 8 months ago we were school shopping and attending open house events for our kids. As we head to the end of the year, I wanted to take some time to share some things to consider before school ends.

School grades

if your child receives letter grades, once you see a report card it will give you an idea as to whether or not he/she has passed the school year. But I am here to tell you that you do not have to wait until you get a report card to know how the school year ended. Online grade access or a quick note to the teacher may help give you an idea of how your child ended the school year. Keep reading below about end of school year testing.

Benchmark testing

Most if not all schools are required to administer and maintain benchmark testing. Benchmark testing provides teachers a way to measure growth and grade-level performance This throughout the school year. The tests are normally done three times a year to help schools determine growth levels in English language arts, math, and Spanish language arts, for immersion students. The results of these tests are almost always immediately available and used to make predictions and future academic decisions for all students. As a parent, you can ask to discuss benchmark testing results to get an idea of where your child began and ended the school year. It can also help you understand where your child stands (below, on, or above grade level) based on where he/she should be for language arts and math. The results of a benchmark test will also provide information about the needs and strengths of your child’s academic abilities as measured by the tests.

State tests

State tests are similar to benchmark tests except they are only done at the end of the school year, such as the smarter balanced language arts and math assessment. State test begins in third grade giving schools and parents the ability to compare growth from her to year. The last purpose of most state tests is to obtain academic performance information that will help states compare academic achievement from state to state and across schools and districts. State tests are aligned to national standards such as the national Common Core Standards. The Common Core Standards area set of high-quay academic standards that outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade level in English language arts and mathematics. The results of this assessment are not always available right away and some states mail out the results sometime during the summer months. Although results are not sent right away, teachers may have the results available to them. Inquire about the results of the state test to get an idea of where your child stands based on the most recent test.

Ongoing Response to Intervention Data

Ongoing interventions are provided to all students during the school day. When a student is struggling in reading and/or math they are given ongoing interventions to address areas of need. Depending on the school, students are scheduled into small groups based on skills needs to help re-mediate areas of struggle. I say all this to explain that this regular intervention is done with ongoing assessments. These assessments are used to inform future instruction and interventions. These also inform a student's academic level performance and can be part of the conversation with classroom teachers.

Summer months are known to cause what experts refer to as summer learning loss. Students who do not participate in summer learning will experience a higher percentage of summer learning loss. Inquire about the above-mentioned grades and assessment results to get an idea of where your child might need to focus on during the summer months. Teachers are able to pinpoint academic areas where your child may need help. The above results can help you as parents understand where your child stands at the end of the school year. Inquire about where your child’s results show in the above-mentioned assessments and ask where he/she should be so that you know what areas to focus on throughout the summer.