Why Assessments
States have established college and career-ready standards that set out the skills and knowledge in each grade that all students will need upon high school graduation to be prepared for success in work and college. Every state education system chooses its own annual summative assessment in grades 3 to 8 and again in high school to measure progress toward all students mastering the state’s standards. Across the country, there are a variety of assessments being used, more information on the assessments each state is using in grades 3 to 8 can be found here.
Annual assessments are just one component of a state’s assessment system and have their own unique role. These assessments, or tests, play a critical role in helping educators and policymakers at the state, district, and school levels know how well schools are serving every student.
Defining Assessments
Formative: Used on an ongoing basis to inform teaching practice.
Interim: Taken throughout the school year to understand progress toward student mastery of learning goals.
Summative: Taken at the end of the course/school year and used to evaluate student mastery of learning goals and educational system performance.
Educators, parents, and policymakers together can use these data to compare student performance across students, schools, districts, and states to ensure all students are receiving high-quality education and to target resources and improvement efforts accordingly.
To further educational equity and improve student outcomes across the country, assessments must be accurate measures of student learning, consistent across years, and should allow for relevant comparisons across state lines.