Acuity™ is a comprehensive assessment solution that
delivers formative and interim assessment to help us target instruction
and effectively impact student achievement, for grades 3-8 in math,
reading/language arts, and science. Acuity is also available for
Algebra. Acuity offers many features that provide us with ongoing
support for transforming student learning, including targeted
assessments, robust reporting, instructional resources that can be
assigned to students to provide guided practice and instructions on all
skills, and the ability to create custom tests.
Acuity® Predictive Assessments forecast student
performance on the Indiana state exam in a timeframe and format that
allow us to impact learning for each student. Acuity comprises
up to three 30- to 40-point scaled predictive assessments that reflect
the state’s accountability exam in terms of structure and item type. All
three assessments are designed to be administered in a single school
year and each Acuity Predictive Assessment is developmentally
appropriate for the time of year in which it is administered. The
assessments become more challenging from Form A to B to C to more
accurately capture your student’s understanding of important skills and
concepts presented sequentially throughout the school year. This design
supports the development of accurate predictions that indicate students’
subsequent level of achievement on your state exam. Acuity Predictive
Assessments are administered approximately six weeks apart and prior to
the state NCLB assessment—reflect the content structure and item formats
of the subsequent state summative NCLB assessment.
Although each Predictive Assessment form
includes content measuring the state standards in similar proportions to
that of the state summative assessment, the predictive item selection
strategy further supports the coverage of content that is appropriate
for the specific time of testing during the school year. For example,
the first Predictive Assessment includes content explicitly measuring
standards from the prior year state assessment as well as content from
early in the current year while the third Predictive Assessment fully
measures on-grade content and standards.
Predictive A: 2/3 previous years standards + 1/3 current years standards
Predictive B: 1/3 previous years standards + 2/3 current years standards
Predictive C: All current years standards
Measurement error is decreased when students and forms are appropriately matched by
ability
and difficulty. This structure was intended to provide Acuity
Predictive Assessments of appropriate difficulty. As students increase
in ability, the forms also increase in difficulty, so that students and
forms are appropriately matched.
The three Predictive Assessment
forms per grade are designed to provide a measure of growth and progress
toward end-of-year goals. This is accomplished by (a) providing a
common scale for the Predictive Assessments within and across the grades
of each content area and (b) providing predictive information toward
the end-of-year goals measured by the state NCLB assessments.
The common scale is developed using Item Response Theory calibration, scaling, and
equating during the first year of the testing program—the same rigorous psychometric
methods
that are applied to most state NCLB assessments. The common scale will
provide students, teachers, parents, and administrators with a powerful
tool to monitor and foster student achievement. The relationship
established in the first year of administration between the three Acuity
Predictive Assessment forms and the state NCLB assessment will be used
to develop concordance and prediction tables that will provide teachers
with empirical predictions from current performance to the end-of-year
criteria. Each form is on the common scale within and across grades of a
content area. The common scale is indicated by the dashed lines
connecting the forms in Figure 1. The three withingrade forms will be
linked to the state summative NCLB test using matched student data. That
is, the total scores from the three Acuity Predictive Assessment forms
in a given grade will be linked to the total score from that grade’s
state summative assessment results, indicated by the large arrows in
Figure 1. The scaling and prediction studies will be based on the data
collected in the baseline year.
After you administer an Acuity Predictive Assessment, helpful reports feature easy-to-read forecasts of your students’ achievement on your state exam.
In
the graphic below, a sample student's predicted performance is shown
with a black arrow pointing directly to her expected proficiency level
on your state exam. This information helps you understand which students
need the most attention prior to your state exam.
The multi-colored performance level bands represent the
performance categories used in your state. The width of each performance
level band on Acuity Predictive Assessment Reports is directly
proportional to the size of the scaled score interval associated with
the corresponding performance level on your state exam.
Scaled scores
Acuity Predictive Assessments
deliver scaled scores after an appropriate set of baseline data is
available. Scaled scores are on a common scale that can be compared for
students taking a given predictive assessment or for an individual
student taking multiple predictive assessments. Scaled scores are useful
because they allow you to track individual or group progress over time;
you can add, subtract, or average scaled scores. This allows you to
compare scores on different Acuity Assessments over time, or to make
direct comparisons among individual students on the same form in a way
that is statistically valid. Alternatively, number-correct or raw scores
alone can not be compared to measure growth over different assessments.
Finally, Acuity Predictive Reports also show results by Tier of
student performance. Tiers are different from the Expected Performance
Levels described above because they are associated with specific
percent-correct scores. The number of Tiers and the percent correct
ranges associated with each Tier can be customized for your district.
Acuity™
Grades 3-8 and Algebra
|
Acuity™ is a comprehensive assessment solution that
delivers formative and interim assessment to help us target instruction
and effectively impact student achievement, for grades 3-8 in math,
reading/language arts, and science. Acuity is also available for
Algebra. Acuity offers many features that provide us with ongoing
support for transforming student learning, including targeted
assessments, robust reporting, instructional resources that can be
assigned to students to provide guided practice and instructions on all
skills, and the ability to create custom tests.
Acuity® Predictive Assessments forecast student
performance on the Indiana state exam in a timeframe and format that
allow us to impact learning for each student. Acuity comprises
up to three 30- to 40-point scaled predictive assessments that reflect
the state’s accountability exam in terms of structure and item type. All
three assessments are designed to be administered in a single school
year and each Acuity Predictive Assessment is developmentally
appropriate for the time of year in which it is administered. The
assessments become more challenging from Form A to B to C to more
accurately capture your student’s understanding of important skills and
concepts presented sequentially throughout the school year. This design
supports the development of accurate predictions that indicate students’
subsequent level of achievement on your state exam. Acuity Predictive
Assessments are administered approximately six weeks apart and prior to
the state NCLB assessment—reflect the content structure and item formats
of the subsequent state summative NCLB assessment.
Although each Predictive Assessment form
includes content measuring the state standards in similar proportions to
that of the state summative assessment, the predictive item selection
strategy further supports the coverage of content that is appropriate
for the specific time of testing during the school year. For example,
the first Predictive Assessment includes content explicitly measuring
standards from the prior year state assessment as well as content from
early in the current year while the third Predictive Assessment fully
measures on-grade content and standards.
Predictive A: 2/3 previous years standards + 1/3 current years standards
Predictive B: 1/3 previous years standards + 2/3 current years standards
Predictive C: All current years standards
Measurement error is decreased when students and forms are appropriately matched by
ability
and difficulty. This structure was intended to provide Acuity
Predictive Assessments of appropriate difficulty. As students increase
in ability, the forms also increase in difficulty, so that students and
forms are appropriately matched.
The three Predictive Assessment
forms per grade are designed to provide a measure of growth and progress
toward end-of-year goals. This is accomplished by (a) providing a
common scale for the Predictive Assessments within and across the grades
of each content area and (b) providing predictive information toward
the end-of-year goals measured by the state NCLB assessments.
The common scale is developed using Item Response Theory calibration, scaling, and
equating during the first year of the testing program—the same rigorous psychometric
methods
that are applied to most state NCLB assessments. The common scale will
provide students, teachers, parents, and administrators with a powerful
tool to monitor and foster student achievement. The relationship
established in the first year of administration between the three Acuity
Predictive Assessment forms and the state NCLB assessment will be used
to develop concordance and prediction tables that will provide teachers
with empirical predictions from current performance to the end-of-year
criteria. Each form is on the common scale within and across grades of a
content area. The common scale is indicated by the dashed lines
connecting the forms in Figure 1. The three withingrade forms will be
linked to the state summative NCLB test using matched student data. That
is, the total scores from the three Acuity Predictive Assessment forms
in a given grade will be linked to the total score from that grade’s
state summative assessment results, indicated by the large arrows in
Figure 1. The scaling and prediction studies will be based on the data
collected in the baseline year.
After you administer an Acuity Predictive Assessment, helpful reports feature easy-to-read forecasts of your students’ achievement on your state exam.
In the graphic below, a sample student's predicted performance is
shown with a black arrow pointing directly to her expected proficiency
level on your state exam. This information helps you understand which
students need the most attention prior to your state exam.
The multi-colored performance level bands represent the
performance categories used in your state. The width of each performance
level band on Acuity Predictive Assessment Reports is directly
proportional to the size of the scaled score interval associated with
the corresponding performance level on your state exam.
Scaled scores
Acuity Predictive Assessments
deliver scaled scores after an appropriate set of baseline data is
available. Scaled scores are on a common scale that can be compared for
students taking a given predictive assessment or for an individual
student taking multiple predictive assessments. Scaled scores are useful
because they allow you to track individual or group progress over time;
you can add, subtract, or average scaled scores. This allows you to
compare scores on different Acuity Assessments over time, or to make
direct comparisons among individual students on the same form in a way
that is statistically valid. Alternatively, number-correct or raw scores
alone can not be compared to measure growth over different assessments.
Finally, Acuity Predictive Reports also show results by Tier of
student performance. Tiers are different from the Expected Performance
Levels described above because they are associated with specific
percent-correct scores. The number of Tiers and the percent correct
ranges associated with each Tier can be customized for your district.