Assessment

Assessment in the Cedarburg School District

The Cedarburg comprehensive balanced assessment system includes classroom assessments, grade/course common assessments, district and statewide assessments. All are standards-based and each type of assessment provides information about the attainment of proficiency in both content knowledge and skills.

Quality assessment impacts students’ motivation for learning and improves instruction. The teaching and learning interaction is informed by both summative and formative assessment. 

Formative assessment is a planned process in which assessment-elicited evidence of students’ status is used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures, or by students to adjust their current learning-tactics.   Recent research on learning supports assessment that is integrated into instruction and gives teachers timely information about how well students are responding to instruction. All Cedarburg educators are engaged in collaborative efforts with colleagues to develop quality common assessments that are directly linked to curricular learning targets and can be used formatively.

Summative assessments are found at the classroom, district and state level and can be graded and used for accountability. The information gathered from summative assessments is evaluative and is used to assess standards-based proficiency. Summative assessments include selected response items (multiple-choice, true/false, matching) and constructed response items (fill in the blank, brief/extended written response, and performance tasks).

The district and state assessments that are conducted outside of the context of the regular classroom curriculum are detailed below.

2018-2019 District Assessments

• The MAP assessment is a computer-adaptive assessment that is administered in the Fall, Winter and Spring each year measuring student progress and growth in reading and math. This assessment complements state and classroom level assessments that are used to monitor progress in student learning, inform curriculum development and guide programming decisions.

• The BAS assessment is a one-on-one, teacher-administered, comprehensive assessment that is used to determine a reading level for each student. The BAS is administered quarterly each year and the results are used to provide interventions, inform instruction and monitor progress.

• The ACT Aspire Periodic assessments are short-duration assessments designed to produce snapshots of each learner’s achievement at 3 points in the academic year. The periodic assessments help to identify critical, corrective re-teaching needed to develop the essential skills that will be measured by the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment. ACT Aspire Periodic Assessments are a standards-based system of assessments that monitor progress toward college and career readiness in English, Math, Reading, and Science. The periodic assessments are administered online with various question types including multiple choice and technology-enhanced items. 

• The PreACT is a standards-based system of assessments that monitor progress toward college and career readiness in English, Math, Reading and Science. The PreACT is a paper/pencil assessment with various question types including multiple choice and constructed response. The district administration of the PreACT occurs in the Fall.

• The PSAT is a standardized test administered by the College Board composed of Math, Verbal and Writing sections. The  scores from the PSAT/NMSQT are used to determine eligibility and qualification for the National Merit Scholarship Program.  

2018-2019 State Assessments

• The Forward Exam is an online assessment that is administered in the Spring (between March and May of the school year). Content areas assessed vary by grade level. Students in grades 3 through 8 will test in English Language Arts and Mathematics; grades 4 and 8 in Science and Social Studies; grade 10 in Social Studies. 
• Forward Exam Parent Brochure

• The ACT Aspire Summative assessments are a standards-based system of online assessments that monitor progress toward college and career readiness in English, Math, Reading, Science and Writing. The ACT Aspire assessments include a variety of question types including multiple choice, constructed response and technology-enhanced items. The ACT Aspire assessments are administered in the Spring of the school year 
• ACT Aspire Parent Brochure

• The ACT assessment is a standards-based paper/pencil assessment used to:
  • Guide students toward college and career readiness
  • Assist students with college and career planning
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of instruction
  • Plan changes and improvements in curriculum
• The ACT WorkKeys assessment is a paper/pencil assessment used to help students understand how they can improve their career readiness skills. It also helps employers determine whether individuals are qualified for positions. 
• The ACT and ACT WorkKeys assessments are administered in the Spring of the each school year.
• ACT Aspire Parent Brochure

• The DLM™ assessment measures the academic progress of students with significant cognitive disabilities in the subject areas of ELA and Mathematics at grades 3-11, Science at grades 4 and 8 - 11, and in Social Studies at grades 4, 8, and 10. The DLM Is administered in the Spring of each year.
• DLM Parent Brochure

• ACCESS for ELLs is an annual assessment of the developing social and academic English language proficiency of English learners (ELs) in grades K through 12. This assessment allows educators, students, and families to monitor students’ progress in acquiring academic English in the domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The ACCESS test is administered by the ELL Specialist between December and February of the school year.
• ACCESS Parent Brochure