INTERIM ASSESSMENTS
Teachers and Crew Leaders at AXL Academy understand that it is critical to assess the standards that are the focus of their instruction throughout the school year in order to inform their instructional practices, and they do so through formative assessments such as exit tickets, assignments with standards-based rubrics, portfolio assessment, and projects grounded in the standards of the State of Colorado. It is also important to assess the learning completed each trimester in a summative assessment known as an interim assessment. These assessments are designed to be a culminating experience for each trimester to demonstrate the levels of mastery scholars have reached on the standards that are most critical to the units of study during that trimester. At AXL Academy, we use Edcite, an online assessment tool that allows teachers to develop their own assessments and then plan backwards from the standards to design their course of study for each trimester. Each assessment item is tagged with a Colorado Academic Standard, thus providing teachers with a standardized snapshot of our scholars’ progress at the end of each trimester. Teachers and Crew Leaders can then use that data to determine what standards need to be retaught and which scholars need both remediation and enrichment.
Examples of Edcite interim assessment reports that demonstrate progress toward standards mastery can be found below.
Above, you can see the results of a standards-based interim assessment for 3rd Grade Math. Our teachers regularly teach a mix of standards from multiple grade levels within the same classroom in order to ensure that all scholars’ needs are met. From the data above, the teacher can see that scholars reached 90% mastery of the 4th grade math standard MA.4.MD.C.7, which reads: Recognize angle measure as additive. When an angle is decomposed into non-overlapping parts, the angle measure of the whole is the sum of the angle measures of the parts. Solve addition and subtraction problems to find unknown angles on a diagram in real world and mathematical problems, e.g., by using an equation with a symbol for the unknown angle measure. Conversely, the teacher also understands that the standard that most needs to be retaught is MA.3.MD.c.5a: A square with side length 1 unit, called “a unit square,” is said to have “one square unit” of area, and can be used to measure area.
Examples of Edcite interim assessment reports that demonstrate progress toward standards mastery can be found below.
Likewise, the example above shows that our 5th grade scholars performed impressively with the reading literacy standard L.5.5.C: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings; Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words and on RW.5.2.3.i.iii, which requires scholars to apply the standard L.5.5.C in writing. The teacher also understands standards that may need to be retaught, such as RI.5.2: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
Finally, we can see an example of how those standards are assessed in Science. The Next Generation Science Standards spells out key skills and knowledge for science, here demonstrated through mastery of 3.ESS.1: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. The teacher knows to revisit the standard SC.MS.3.4.a: Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
