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More than three-fourths of students in Grades 3-8 have taken reading and math baseline summative assessments; that leaves many who have not yet started. As such, we have extended online administration (A1) of the baseline benchmark until Friday, Sept. 28. After that, faculty still can enter student answers online from paper-pencil testing for grading and reports as needed.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Because all Alpha Plus assessments must be completed by April 2 (when state test window opens), it is important to meet these benchmarking deadlines:
- A1 - Grades 3-8 ELA/Reading and Math: Online A1 (baseline) summative closes Sept. 28.
- A1 - Grades 1-2 and Grades 5 & 8 Science: Online A1 summative closes January 11.
- B - Grades 3-8 ELA/Reading and Math: Online B (midyear) summative window is Nov. 13 to Jan. 11. In-class review of B questions allowed through February.
- A2 - Grades 3-8 ELA/Reading and Math: Online A2 (spring) summative window is Feb. 20 through end of year but, for best results, complete by March 14, 2019. In-class review of A2 questions allowed through April.
- A2 - Grades 1-2 and Grades 5 & 8 Science: Online A2 summative window is Jan. 12 through end of school year.
If you have not administered the baseline yet, reassure students that this is a “pre-test” to find out their academic strengths and weaknesses and to help you plan lessons for the year. The spring assessment is a “post-test” of subject matter on which the state will test students in April. Alpha Plus A1 and A2 administrations provide a true growth model for data analysis.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Some suggestions for use of our five-question formative quizzes:
- Weekly test grades should be taken on the formative assessments. The pace of how often you give formative assessments depends on how many objectives you have to teach (summary under Activity tab), and how long it takes for students to achieve mastery on each between now and state testing.
- On average, you have about 100 instructional days from Labor Day until mid-February. Do your best to protect each day! This will allow you time to review content and test-taking procedures before Alpha Plus A2 (in March) and use the data from A2 to plan subject-matter review before state tests (in April).
- For a detailed checklist of recommended tasks to be completed by month of the school year, click here for the Alpha Plus Model Timeline.
- Formative assessment data populates into your Objective Accountability Graphs (OAGs) to illustrate pace and proficiency for each class. After a period of focused instruction during which an objective has been taught to mastery, direct students which enabled formative (turned ON under Classroom tab) to take online or enter student answers from paper-pencil tests.
- When tests are ON, the “Monitor Tests” button turns blue and you can see status of all students as they are testing. Once students have completed a formative quiz, remind them to “Submit” their answers.
- You can also “force submit” answers for students who forgot, but be sure to turn the enable button OFF to end the session and populate all reports. The “Try Again” button in the Monitor screen is available for teacher use during a live test session but is not intended for retaking a formative after remediation.
- After you re-teach the objective (needed when less than 70% of class scored proficient) or individual and small groups of students have been remediated on that objective, re-enable (turn ON) the test so students can retake it.
- It is not useful for students to take Alpha Plus formative assessments more than three times, and each summative should only be taken once (fall, midyear, spring).
- It is not useful for students to take Alpha Plus formative assessments more than three times, and each summative should only be taken once (fall, midyear, spring).
- Use the Standards Based Report Cards as a summary of expectations and performance for students and parents. Just click “Standard Based Report” under Classroom tab to get a report of formative performance levels for every student.
- For more on formative and summative assessment as part of improving student performance under state and federal law, check out these resources from the Oklahoma State Department of Education: http://sde.ok.gov/sde/assessment-guidance
- For more on formative and summative assessment as part of improving student performance under state and federal law, check out these resources from the Oklahoma State Department of Education: http://sde.ok.gov/sde/assessment-guidance
- Remember: It is better to jog through the school year than sprint through the spring! In each Teacher PD Resource Binder is a Pacing Calendar with suggested order and number of days of focused instruction along with materials related to OAS alignment.
- Be sure to complete curriculum mapping / pacing lessons now and then revise your pacing calendar in January based on midyear benchmark performance.
- Weekly Data Team Meetings should focus on evaluating assessment data and lesson-plan alignment to OAS until all state standards are covered. Contact your Alpha Plus facilitator if you have questions about pacing.
Technical assistance for Alpha Plus Online is available by:
Calling (405) 842-8408
Monday through Friday
From 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
We will also reply within one business day to help tickets submitted online and requests emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you need a copy of our Quick Start Guide, Click here.
Let us know if you have any questions!
Thanks, Alpha Plus Team
Phone: (842-8408)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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