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National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk
NOTE: An updated version of this module of the Self-Study Toolkit can be found in NDTAC's new Assessment Toolkit: Measuring Academic Progress. The new toolkit includes separate sections for State administrators and program managers working at the local and facility levels. Unless you have specific reasons to use this version (e.g., you are trying to compare yourself with other facilities in your State that have used this version), then NDTAC recommends that you use the new expanded version.
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This article is divided into three parts:
Part I. Introduction
Part II. Student Achievement
Part III. Resources
Part I discusses why academic assessment is important and provides examples of standardized curricula. Part II is designed to help measure how your facility is doing in terms of providing acadmic assessment and offers suggestions on how to improve assessment practices. Part III provides additional resources on curricula and assessment.
II. Student Achievement: How Am I Doing?
Measuring academic progress through pre- and posttest achievement can be a powerful tool. Gauging academic growth helps facilities better serve students’ academic needs. Equally important, measuring academic progress as a facility can be used for improving and evaluating educational programming.
Assessment as a tool for improving individual student academic outcomes.
- Frequent assessment of student progress allows the continuous identification of individual student academic needs.
- Identification of emerging student needs helps teachers to target academic instruction.
Academic assessment as a tool for improving and evaluating facility programming.
- Collection of student progress data allows facilities to look at areas of academic growth and need for programming planning.
- Use of student progress data can be used in program evaluation, as well as to fulfill State and Federal reporting requirements.
[Click here for a printer-friendly version of the table.]
Comprehensive Assessment of Incoming Students for Special Needs
1. |
Do you perform academic assessments within 7 days of entry? |
[Yes/No] |
|
|
|
|
Number/percentage of students completing academic pretests in reading |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Number/percentage of students completing academic pretests in math |
Total ____ ____% |
2. |
Which assessments are used at your facility? |
|
|
|
|
3. |
Number/percentage of long-term students during this reporting year (Consider grouping students into length of stay categories for a more detailed view of achievement; e.g., >90 days; >180 days; >270 days) |
Total ____ ____% |
4. |
Average length of stay for all long-term students |
|
5. |
Frequency of posttest administration (more than once during stay?) |
|
6. |
Reading Achievement |
|
|
Number/percentage of students in placement during reporting period |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Number/percentage of long-term students completing both reading pre- and posttests |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Number/percentage of students who tested below grade level in reading upon entry |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Number/percentage of long-term students who showed negative grade level change from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Number/percentage of long-term students who showed no change in grade level from the pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Number/percentage of long-term students who showed improvement of up to ½ grade level from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
| Number/percentage of long-term students who showed improvement of up to one full grade level from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
| Number/percentage of long-term students who showed improvement of more than one full grade level from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Average reading pre- and posttest change for all long-term students (if possible to calculate) |
Total ____ ____% |
|
7. |
Math Achievement |
|
Number of long-term students in placement during reporting period |
Total ____ |
|
| Number/percentage of long-term students completing both math pre- and posttests |
Total ____ ____% |
|
Number of students who tested below grade level in math upon entry |
Total ____ |
|
| Number/percentage of long-term students who showed negative grade level change from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
| Number/percentage of long-term students who showed no change in grade level from the pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
| Number/percentage of long-term students who showed improvement of up to ½ grade level from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
| Number/percentage of long-term students who showed improvement of up to one full grade level from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
| Number/percentage of long-term students who showed improvement of more than one full grade level from pre- to posttest |
Total ____ ____% |
|
| Average math pre- and posttest change for all long-term students (if possible to calculate) |
Total ____ ____% |
|
8. |
Number of days per year instruction is offered in your facility |
|
Minutes per day instruction is offered in your facility (not including lunch, breaks, etc.) |
||
Minutes per day reading/literacy is offered in your facility |
||
Minutes per day math instruction is offered in your facility |
[Click here for a printer-friendly version of the table.]
What Can I Do to Improve my Assessment Strategies?
One of the comprehensive assessment models currently in use in the field is the Community Assessment Center (CAC) model. The CAC model is part of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. CACs serve as a “one-stop-shop” for assessing at-risk and delinquent youth, combining the resources of several agencies to assess youth for mental health, substance abuse, and social service needs. By providing a single point of entry into the juvenile justice system, CACs effectively and efficiently ensure that students receive a comprehensive needs and risk assessment. In 1996, OJJDP selected two sites (Denver, CO and Lee County, FL) to develop CACs and another two (Jefferson County, CO and Orlando, FL) to enhance their assessment centers.
Even if your State or county does not have an established CAC, the concept of comprehensive assessment in a single opportunity is one that can and should be applied to all facilities. Work to formalize your student entry process so that there is a systematic way in which treatment decisions are made for each student that takes into account their academic, mental, and emotional health, and substance abuse needs. The proper and prompt use of formal assessments and screening instruments are the first step.
Instruments and Assessments
Listed below are some screening instruments and assessments that are currently in use to assess students in juvenile justice facilities across the country. This list is not comprehensive and its contents are not endorsed by NDTAC or the U.S. Department of Education.
Mental/Emotional Health
- Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI 2)
- (Voice) Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC/VDISC)
- Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D)
- Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS)
- Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale / CGI-BP (for bipolar)
- Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI)
- Beck Depression Inventory
- Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale
Learning Disabilities
- Woodcock-Johnson
- Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition (WIAT-II)
- Substance Abuse
- Child and Adolescent Services Assessment–Modified (CASA–M)
- Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT)
- Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS)
- Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS)
- Offender Profile Index (OPI)
Proceed to Part III. Resources
Published May 2005