Assessment Toolkit: Measuring Student Academic Performance

 

NDTAC's Assessment Toolkit: Measuring Student Academic Performance was designed to help individuals serving youth who are neglected or delinquent answer the following questions:

• Why is pre-post assessment data valuable to State and facility administrators?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses at the State and facility level in collecting and utilizing pre-post assessment data?
• How can State administrators utilize pre-post assessment data to target resources and technical assistance and meet their Federal reporting requirements?
• How can collecting and utilizing pre-post assessment data help teachers meet individual student needs?
• How can collecting and utilizing pre-post assessment data help transition students back to their community schools?

In an effort to make the toolkit as useful as possible, two set of materials have been developed: one for State administrators, and one for program managers at the local and facility level.

The State Administrators’ Assessment Toolkit provides information on how to evaluate program progress, support facilities in program evaluation, identify innovative practices, and leverage resources and technical assistance. The toolkit includes:

• An overview of the issues around academic assessment
• Tools to track State and/or facility progress
• Information on program improvement
• Resources for further assistance

Screenshot from the interactive Excel version

The Program Managers’ Assessment Toolkit can help N or D facilities identify their program’s baseline (where they are); set goals for program improvement (where they want to go); determine next steps for meeting those goals (how to get there); and track progress (how they are doing). This process may be particularly helpful for those facilities interested in seeking accreditation for their education programs, as many accreditation agencies require facilities or programs to undergo a similar exercise. The toolkit includes:

• An overview of the important issues related to academic assessment
• Tools to track student and/or facility progress, including interactive electronic data tables
• Suggestions for program improvement

NDTAC encourages you to distribute copies of the toolkit to other N or D education providers in your State.  If you have any comments on the toolkits please contact NDTAC by e-mail at ndtac@air.org

 

» NDTAC's Brief Guide to Selecting and Using Pre-Post Assessments provides basic information about the ideal characteristics of a pre-post test and highlights important features to consider when requesting and evaluating information from test publishers.

» A Look at Legislation: Common Pre-Post Assessments examines legislation in both Florida and California that is designed to improve program accountability through consistent evaluation of students' academic achievement in facilities and programs for youth who are N or D.

» Academic Assessments: How do N or D Programs Evaluate and Implement the Options? (September 2005) Joy Lewis and Robert Bakke discuss evaluating and implementing academic assessments in alternative educational settings in California.

» Visit our updated Assessment & Data Systems library page to view numerous resources on assessment, data collection, and reporting, including relevant strategies and models, recent presentations on the topic, and more.