Best Practices for using the Academic Screener

Best Practices for using the Academic Screener

Introduction

Classworks includes vertically scaled, valid and reliable assessments in reading and math for grades Kindergarten through High School for screening all students three times a year.

These academic screeners serve four main purposes: 
  1. Identify Present Levels of Academic Performance (PLOP) for students with IEPs. 

  2. Identify students who may need intervention for MTSS processes.

  3. Measure student growth over the course of the year.

  4. Generate individualized instruction for students.

The Classworks Universal Screeners are available in English and Spanish. 

Teachers and Proctors

  1. Establish a schedule that ensures students complete a single screener on a specific day.
  1. Inform students about the purpose of the screener and the importance of doing their best work.

  1. Monitor students as they work to ensure all students are diligently working through and answering the questions. 
  1. Remind students of time intervals by actively walking around to make sure students are working through the questions. All questions in a single screener should be answered during a single class period. However, if students need additional time the test will bookmark.
    1. After completing a screener, students see their overall and domain specific scores. 
    1. You can see how much time students spent on the screener.
    1. This will indicate if they rushed through the test and you would like them to take it again.

School and District Administrators

Share the importance of the Academic Screeners with teachers and students including:

  1. The results generate individualized learning paths for students that consist of the skills students need to work on or are ready to learn. 
  2. The screeners also suggest appropriate levels of progress monitoring for both curriculum sampling and domain-based probes. 

Guide instructional leadership teams to:

  1. Use the data from the reports to help write meaningful IEPs based on the present level data and ready to learn statements generated from the Screening reports
  2. Identify students for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions based on the results.
    1. Students below the 10% are typically identified for urgent intervention/Tier 3 support
    2. Students between 10% and 25% are typically identified for intervention.Tier 2 support.
See Screener targets. 




Note: There are many districts that use Classworks assessments to generate Individualized Learning Paths, and not as formal assessments. If this is the case, you have more flexibility with how you elect to administer it. 

When would this happen:

  • If a student misses their formal testing (NWEA MAP Growth,  Renaissance Star, etc.) window and needs a learning path 

  • If a student is enrolled into the school year late

  • If a student scores too low or too high on a partner assessment but they still need individualized learning 



Best Practice Recommendation: The screeners completed in the English language generate Individualized Learning Paths.
Classworks recommends that all students complete screeners in the English language during each assessment window.