5.2.1 ASSESSMENTS

Regular and continuous assessment is a critical factor in charting student progress and guiding the effectiveness of our instruction.  Assumption BVM School utilizes both informal and formal assessments.  Included below are some of those:

• Informal/Classroom Based daily assessments are done through “exit tickets,” journals, verbal feedback, anecdotal/running records, homework, presentations, written work/essays, and simple quizzes and unit tests.  Depending on the grade level, some technology may also be used for this purpose.  Additionally, parents are encouraged to review graded assessments and class work that is sent home in the weekly student folders. Doing so will enable parents to be continually aware of their child’s progress.

• Formal assessments are done through progress reports, trimester report cards and standardized testing.

STAR Enterprise Assessments

As of the fall of 2015, the Archdiocese has changed its standardized testing to a criteria based performance test called the STAR Enterprise.  

There are 3 tests given:  

1) Early Literacy (TK and K), 

2) Mathematics (1st - 8th) 

3) Reading (2nd - 8th)

This assessment will be given 3 or 4 times per year and is done by students entirely online through their iPad.  The tests are differentiated to student learning – meaning that students are given different levels of questions based upon whether they answer correctly or not.  The test automatically adjusts to the student level of learning.  

Developmental Reading Assessment 2

This 1:1 (one student to teacher) assessment is a comprehensive assessment that measures student reading engagement, fluency, vocabulary and decoding, comprehension, and at level 28 and above, writing skills.  All students in kindergarten through 3rd grade are given this assessment in the fall and spring of each year. 

Year-end targets are as follows:

Kindergarten = Level 4 or higher (independent)

1st grade = Level 18 or higher (independent)

2nd grade = Level * 28 or higher (independent)

3rd grade = Level 34 or higher (independent)

*Level 28 independent requires students to be able to write cohesive summaries and marks a big jump from level 24 due to this new writing expectation.

Students that are being served by the reading specialist, and/or whose reading progress is being more closely monitored, will be tested 3 times per year.  Students at other grade levels are tested at the teacher’s discretion if a concern is presented and/or the student is new to the school.  Parents have access to these scores at any time and they are reported on the kindergarten and 1st grade report cards.

Assessment of Religious Knowledge (ARK) for grades K through 8  

This assessment measures student knowledge of Catholic faith as well as gives an indication of their actual practice of the faith.