Test Descriptions
Assessment
The ACT (R) test assesses high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. The multiple-choice tests cover four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. The Writing Test, which is optional, measures skill in planning and writing a short essay. DoDEA administers the ACT (R), but parents pay for their students.
Advanced Placement (AP(R)) ExamsÂ
The AP Exam is designed to measure how well a student has mastered the content and skills of an AP course. College Board prepares the curriculum for AP courses as well as the schedule, test dates and times for administering the assessment. If the student receives a score of 3 or higher on the AP Exam, on a scale of 1-5, most colleges and universities will grant the student college credit. AP Exams are administered annually, during the first two weeks of May. Over 30 content exams are taken each May by DoDEA students and students world-wide.
CCRS Summative Assessments in Literacy and Mathematics are criterion-referenced assessments that measure how well students have mastered the College and Career Ready Standards. The goal of the CCRS Summative Assessments is to ensure all DoDEA students graduate college and career ready. These assessments will also help DoDEA students be better prepared to compete with other students across the nation and the world.
Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)Â
The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) assesses verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning skills. DoDEA will administer the online Screening Form to all grade 2 students to establish a wider net or pool of students who might qualify for higher levels of service, ensuring that no student falls through the cracks, such as culturally different students, English language learners, and twice exceptional learners. The intent of a universal screener is to find indicators of exceptionality in all groups of students.
DoDEA Alternate Assessment assesses Alternate Content Standards (ACS) that are aligned to the DoDEA College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS). This assessment is designed to build a bridge from the content in the CCRS to academic expectations for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Specific students in grades 3-8 and 11 enrolled in Literacy/English Language Arts and grades 3-8, and 11 enrolled in mathematics will take this assessment.
English Language Proficiency AssessmentÂ
The English Language Proficiency Assessments are used to accurately assess the academic and social language skills of Multilingual Learners (MLs). The WIDA Screener, ACCESS for ELLs, and Alternate ACCESS assessments provide detailed information on students' reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities and skills.
International Baccalaureate (IB)Â
The International Baccalaureate(R) (IB) offers schools a continuum of four programmes of education. All IB programmes of education are philosophically aligned and consistent in their approach to teaching and learning. IB exams are administered in May.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)Â
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been providing valuable information about the academic performance of elementary and secondary students in America since 1969. NAEP results are not only comparable across the nation and the states, but they also measure progress over time to capture the most accurate and representative picture of student performance. Without these NAEP reports (commonly called "The Nation's Report Card"), produced through the voluntary participation of those selected for the assessment, we would lack the common yardstick needed to measure student performance objectively. Schools and students are chosen through a sampling process that is designed to reflect accurately our nation's twelve million fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students.
The PSAT 8/9 is aligned to the DoDEA College and Career Readiness standards and is used to assess the skills and knowledge of 8th and 9th grade students in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics. The test will support students, and teachers in understanding where students’ academic skills are proficient or where students may have skill gaps and need additional support to prepare for college or plans beyond high school. PSAT 8/9 is administered in October and evaluates the same skills and knowledge as the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and PSAT 10 - in a way that is appropriate for the students' grade level.
PSAT/NMSQT - National Merit Scholarship Qualifying TestÂ
The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is cosponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) PSAT/NMSQT is aligned to the DoDEA College and Career Readiness standards and is used to assess the skills and knowledge of 10th and 11th grade students in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics. The PSAT/NMSQT is administered in October and evaluates the same skills and knowledge as the SAT and PSAT 10, tailored to the appropriate grade level of the students. Â The PSAT/NMSQT is the route of entry to the National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
DoDEA is currently using is Benchmark Education's Digital Oral Reading Record Kit. This is a formative reading assessment comprised of high quality texts divided evenly between fiction and nonfiction. The assessment measures accuracy, comprehension, and fluency for students in kindergarten through 5th grade. The set of books, recording forms, and other materials serve as an assessment tool for teachers, literacy specialists, and others to use in determining students' developmental reading levels for the purpose of informing instruction and documenting reading progress. Students will be assessed using the Reading Proficiency Tool during the first 6 weeks of school for 1st through 5th grades, Kindergarten NLT January 31, and the last 6 weeks of school for grades Kindergarten through 5th. To learn more about this assessment, please visit https://benchmark.wistia.com/medias/fjraytvofo
The SAT Test is a globally recognized college admissions test that evaluates the knowledge and skills of students in reading, writing, and math. DoDEA administers, and pays for, the SAT School Day for 11th grade students in the spring; there is an optional fall SAT for grade 12 students without a grade 11 SAT score. Parents who would like their student to take the weekend SAT must pay College Board for their students’ weekend SAT test.
The World Languages assessment is administered in late spring to middle and high school students enrolled in Levels I-IV foreign language courses. The Avant Standard-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) will administer the World Languages Assessment to students in grades 7-12 taking language courses levels I-IV and American Sign Language (ASL) as a world language levels I-III.
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