Assessments
Mandatory Assessments
The state of Arizona mandates that every student educated with Arizona’s public funds, participate in state assessments. Arizona’s state assessments are administered to students enrolled in 3rd grade through high school. All students enrolled in schools funded by the state of Arizona must participate in the assessments, including all students with disabilities and all students identified as English Language Learners.
AASA
AASA is aligned to Arizona’s state learning standards which detail what students should be able to do at each grade level. The test is designed to measure student learning and progress towards readiness for college or career.
AzSCI
AzSCI is a Standards Based Assessment that measures student proficiency of the Arizona Academic Content Standard in Science. It meets federal requirements for student assessment. It is administered in the spring to students in Grades 5 and 8.
District Assessments
What is DIBELS?
DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. The test is given by an adult to a student one at a time and takes five to ten minutes to administer. During the session, students perform brief literacy activities that are timed for one minute each. Students are asked to do tasks such as name letters, identify sounds, read words, read short passages and tell about passages they have read.
DIBELS is not a speed reading test. Data from the assessment informs the teacher which students are progressing at the expected rate, which students need strategic support to be successful readers, and which students are at risk and need substantial support.
DIBELS is testing three times a year: August, January and May.
GALILEO ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
What is Galileo Testing?
Galileo K-12 Online, “offers research proven assessment and curriculum services to assist schools in implementing effective, intensive, turnaround interventions and in measuring progress toward achievable sustained outcomes”.
Pre-Post Assessment
Nearly all students in 1st - 8th grades take a pre test and post test in Math and English language arts (ELA). This assists educators in tracking students' academic growth no where their proficiency level might be. Using growth measures helps individualize the instructional timelines for each of our students.
District Benchmark Assessments
Benchmark testing is an assessment given in grades 1st thru 8th grade. Benchmark testing is a summative quarterly assessment given to students to assess their learning at the end of each quarter, prior to report cards being issued. Benchmark testing is done in the areas of Reading, Math, and Science, with optional testing in the area of Writing/Grammar.