Discovery Education Interim Assessments: English Language Arts

Overall Rating

Aligned to My Instruction

Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach  •  Does not assess higher-order thinking  •  Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level  •  Takes students too long to complete

Usefulness for Improving My Practice

Pros: Easy to administer  •  Results returned quickly  •  Data is presented clearly
Cons: Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time  •  Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher

Additional Comments

I found this test to be too difficult for the bulk of my Special Ed students. As an English teacher, I found the syntax of some of the questions impossibly convoluted--like a bad translation from a foreign language.
The reading level of the test (determined by number of syllables in each word, sentence length and number of sentences per page) appeared to be several grade levels above the supposed grade placement of the students being tested. And my students, being several grade levels in reading below their age placement, found the tests frustrating. Some began with "on-level" results in some areas on the first testing, but quickly deteriorated by the second test, to the lowest category---which makes no sense.

The series of Discovery tests (4 a year?) increase rapidly in difficulty and seem designed to prove both students and their teachers to be failures. What a waste of teaching time. Especially since the students I work with demand recovery time after each bout of tests.

Better time is spent reading aloud and practicing comprehension and writing strategies and one-on-one conferencing with students.

Overall Rating

Aligned to My Instruction

Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach  •  Assesses higher-order thinking
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level

Usefulness for Improving My Practice

Pros: Easy to administer  •  Results returned quickly  •  Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year  •  Data is presented clearly  •  Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve

Additional Comments

I like the data the is received. It is broken down so well that you know exactly what sub-area you need to concentrate on. The only con for me is that we use this test as a predictor of how well the students will do on the TCAP, however it is not aligned with the TCAP. The DEA is not as rigorous.

Overall Rating

Aligned to My Instruction

Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach  •  Assesses higher-order thinking  •  Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level  •  Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete

Usefulness for Improving My Practice

Pros: Easy to administer  •  Results returned quickly  •  Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year  •  Data is presented clearly  •  Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve

Additional Comments

I used the DC-BAS in my second grade classroom. After administration the amount of data you receive can be overwhelming, in a good way. You can look at every single missed question and plan your instruction accordingly from misconceptions. Also through the Discovery system you can create "probes" and use your schools assessment tools to check on your students progress before the next interim test. Discovery also links instructional materials to standards, though some of those are not very useful, some are very useful. This is all great, but it can also lead to "teaching to the test" so teachers must remain cognizant of how they are instructing and ensure they are teaching learning skills and not just test skills. I personally feel that the rigor of questioning and the brief constructed responses are proficient when compared to other standardized test. Though I do feel that they could be more project based or deeper at times. It should also be noted each district may have a different assessment, so the one in DC may be different from another area's assessment.