TESTING PROGRAM | Administrative Guideline Manual

2623 - TESTING PROGRAM

Purpose of Testing

Testing, like any other element of the School Corporation's program, should have a definite purpose related to Corporation goals. No test should be given without first defining its purpose and determining how the results will be used.

SUGGESTED PURPOSES FOR VARIOUS TESTS

Achievement Tests (State-mandated testing and assessments and others)
1. to measure a student's progress in achieving Corporation learning outcomes
2. to help determine student learning strengths and weaknesses and/or diagnose their causes
3. to help assess the effectiveness of a school's or the Corporation's program and/or identify/diagnose educational strengths and weaknesses
4. to aid in evaluating curriculum and/or instructional strategies and resources
Intelligence Tests
to measure a student's cognitive abilities, as defined by the tests
Basic Skills Tests (State-mandated testing and assessments and others)
1. to help determine the extent to which a student can perform tasks associated with functional literacy
2. to aid in diagnosing problems with literacy task-skills and in providing for appropriate remediation
3. to identify students at risk for not meeting grade level proficiency in mathematics
Readiness Tests
to help determine the appropriate time for a student to begin a learning program
Vocations Interest/Aptitude Tests
1. to help determine a student's interests or aptitudes for comparison with those related to particular vocational fields
2. to assist in the vocational counseling of a student

Uses of Test Results

The purpose for giving a test is to use the results to improve learning and to communicate with those concerned about how well a student or a group of students are learning. A student's score on the statewide assessment may not be the primary factor or measure used to determine whether a student is eligible for a particular course or program.

Item Analysis

If test results are to be used effectively, an analysis of the test items should be the first step. Such an analysis makes it easier to determine the student's(s') areas of strengths and weaknesses so that instruction can be geared accordingly. A proper analysis should provide the kind of knowledge that will not only aid in designing appropriate learning activities but in producing a more reliable assessment and more useful communication to both students and their parents.

Curriculum and Instruction

Administrators will be responsible for ensuring that test results are used by the staff to both refine the curriculum and improve instructional strategies and resources. To aid in this process, in-service programs may be necessary to strengthen understanding of how different kinds of tests are designed, how to judge reliability and validity, and how to use test information to diagnose and remediate deficiencies.

Counseling

Administrators should make sure that teachers and counselors are working cooperatively by sharing information derived from the testing program. The counselors should be using test results and analyses to help students (and their parents) develop a realistic and valid view of their current achievement levels and design and follow through on plans related to both their school and vocational careers. Teachers also should be aware of these plans to help support such plans in the classroom.

Communication with Parents

As one of the important partners in the educative process, it is essential that parents be kept properly informed of test results and potential interventions, particularly those that relate directly to academic achievement. In communicating with parents, particularly with regard to standardized tests, the following guidelines should be observed:

Notification of early intervention and screening supports available to a student to help them read by the end of third grade, and the retention requirement if the student does not pass IREAD after multiple testing administration opportunities.

The notice must be provided by October 1st, annually.
Notification of a student's universal screener and IREAD-3 assessment results and any interventions and supports that will be provided to the student.
Notification of a student's results on a screener used identify students at risk of not meeting grade level proficiency in mathematics and any interventions and supports that will be provided to the student.
Test results should be provided in context, that is, with the purpose of the test(s) clearly stated and the student's measurement compared to standards.
Communicate what the test is designed to measure as well as what it does not attempt to measure.

Use in Remediation and Promotion/Retention

Interventions will be provided for students who do not pass the IREAD-3 assessment in third grade or are at risk of not being reading proficient based on their IREAD-3 scores in second grade. (Students who pass the IREAD-3 assessment in grade 2 are not required to take it again in grade 3.) A re-assessment on IREAD-3 will be provided during a summer assessment window determined by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). Students who do not pass the re-assessment of IREAD-3 after at least two (2) administrations of the IREAD-3 Assessment during the summer following their third grade year will continue to receive instruction in grade 3 reading the next school year. Those students will be reported officially as third grade students and will participate fully in the State-mandated assessment program for grade 3, unless they meet the criteria for a Good Cause Exemption.
Students who fail the IREAD-3 assessment in grade 3 shall be given the opportunity to retake the I-READ 3 assessment two (2) times in the summer after grade 3 before the grade 3 retention requirements apply.
Students who are English language learners may be exempt from compliance with the retention requirements for not passing the IREAD-3 assessment until the 2027-2028 school year if a Corporation school that the student attends has been granted an exemption by IDOE because the school has a student population comprised of at least fifty percent (50%) of English language learners in grade 3, as determined by IDOE.
Intervention will be provided to all students who do not meet the minimum standards of proficiency as measured by each of the State-mandated tests and assessments as well as achievement tests.
Test results will be used by all classroom teachers to identify and implement instruction appropriate to the needs of students who do not meet the identified competency standards.
Test results may be used by administrators and/or guidance personnel in making instructional placement decisions regarding particular students; provided, however, that a student's score on the statewide assessment may not be the primary factor or measure used to determine whether a student is eligible for a particular course or program.
Intervention will continue until students attain minimum proficiency as measured by the competency test.
Special education teachers will assist general education classroom teachers in identification of individual student competency needs and in accommodating instruction to the intervention needs of identified students.

Revised 1/12/21

T.C. 7/12/22

Revised 2/11/25