School Board OKs Computerized Assessments

The board of education voted Monday to spend nearly $160,000 on a new student assessment tool that administrators say will help teachers better gauge student achievement and determine appropriate instructional levels.

The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) diagnostic assessments in reading and math will be given to students in kindergarten through eighth grade, measuring their growth and helping teachers fine tune instruction, according to Assistant Superintendent for Education for Grades K-5 Venus Smith.

Even the test itself will cater to each student’s achievement level, Smith told board members.

“The test questions will vary depending on the child’s level of understanding,” she said. “For example, if a child gets a test question incorrect, the questions will decrease in difficulty.” Conversely, students who answer correctly will see increasingly difficult questions.

According to Smith, the test data will not only help teachers make instructional decisions to help students make achievement gains, it can also predict how well students will score on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).

The district will pay $159,112.50 for the MAP program, including licensing for tests for levels K-8 and two on-site workshops to prepare staff to administer the tests. The cost works out to $12.50 per student.

Smith said students will receive an overall score known as a “Rausch unit,” or RIT, that measures their progress each time they take the assessment.

“[The score] is like intervals on a ruler, measuring the child’s instructional level,” she said. Students, teachers and administrators will all be able to track the progress, and parents will also receive a report outlining their child’s results.

While the MAP assessments come with a cost, they may allow the district to phase out other assessments, Superintendent James Mitchem said, adding the district is exploring possible grant and title funding to pay for the program.

Smith said the computerized test will help teachers make data-driven decisions when it comes to both group and individualized instruction, and allows students to become part of the instructional process by tracking their own progress.

“To me, the money is worth it if we do something with the data,” board vice president Rick Gougis said. “There’s no point in just collecting it.”

Smith said the test will be administered over the course of three weeks, divided into four sessions per day. MAP assessments will be given in September, January and late April or early May.