Subject: Math
Grade Level(s): 2 – 12
Measures Growth: Yes
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The LAUSD Periodic Assessments are designed to measure student progress at intervals throughout the year, and are aligned to the California Standards Test. In math, Periodic Assessments are administered in grades 2-7, and for Algebra Readiness, Algebra I AB, and Geometry. Periodic Assessments in math diagnostics are also available for grades 5 and 8.
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
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
The questions on the periodic assessments are more challenging than those on the CSTs, and the constructed response requires thinking and problem-solving. Each test covers too many standards. It's difficult to go into depth in any topic because of this issue. I like being able to analyze performance by class, standard, individual student, ELL status, etc.
Submitted by Su in California on February 20, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
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
These assessments are conducted throughout the year and I can have the results almost immediately if I enter the scores myself. So I am able to use the data to help form my instruction. However, they do not help pinpoint where students' understandings are faulty. They do not assess higher order thinking or their ability to apply to the real world.
Submitted by Pam in California on January 25, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
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
The 6th grade math periodic assessments, were a great tool to see the progress of the students and revise curriculum maps to reteach standards that students did not master. Most of the questions were low level, but I did love the constructed response section which students had to show their computations as well as explain. I think more Math assessments need to have writing sections, it is a better way to show a student's understanding. I also appreciated that the results were immediately returned so I could use the data. I like the periodic assessments more than the CST!
Submitted by Sarah in California on January 23, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
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
I teach a district adopted math program, CPM. However the district has failed to alter the periodics to match the pacing of this program. The end result is that if I gave the tests in the order they were given to me, the data would be useless. So, we have had to alter the tests to match our curriculum...which has been a BIG job.
Submitted by Jennifer in California on January 22, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
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
LAUSD's periodic assessments are useful but timing constrains and limits teaching to a very strict pacing plan where there is little to no time for review or reteaching. Assessments are often required to be given before I have had an opportunity to teach all the concepts covered on the tests which seems unfair. Also, periodic assessments in math, language arts and science are administered so frequently, it seems like we are always testing.
Submitted by Meteka in California on January 22, 2012
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 • Takes students too long to complete
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
I would appreciate the results I receive from the periodic assessments more if I was given ample time to teach everything that the tests cover. I know my students will fail question 14, if I haven't taught it. In that sense, this test has NOT been helpful.
On the flipside, it DOES give me good data about what I HAVE taught my students and how I can better improve my instruction and what I need to reteach to certain students who missed particular areas. The data is clearly presented and there's no arguing with those results. The free-response gives students a chance to explain and show their thinking.
Submitted by Loribeth in California on January 21, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
The Periodic Assessments for LAUSD are modeled off of the CST and have many of the same pros and cons.
Like the CST, the LAUSD Periodic Assessment's level of rigor is knowledge or low to medium-application. Like the CST, the assessment tends to have very few items per standard, so the scores tend to tell you more about students performance on those specific items than on that overall standard. Like the CST, some of the year's content is not assessed (the CST has un-assessed or rarely assessed standards), as there is no Periodic Assessment for the 4th Quarter of Instruction.
Three distinct advantages of the Periodic Assessments are (a) 1 Constructed Response question that tend to be higher rigor than any item on the CST, (b) results that are sent to the teacher fairly quickly, and (c) results that include data for each item, thereby allowing for critical item analysis by the teacher.
One distinct disadvantage of the Periodic Assessment compared to the CST is that they are the same each year (we have digital copies of these assessments long before kids take them), so it's always hard to determine the reliability of results either for your own classroom or for peer teachers.
Submitted by Alexis in California on January 21, 2012
Cons: Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
In kindergarten and first grade the teacher reads the directions to students. Some of the illustrations for the questions/problems in the student's test booklet do not match what the problem is asking. If students are not listening attentively or are not auditory learners, they will miss those questions. Before I administer the test I tell my students that it is a listening test. I don't believe this assessment accurately assesses math standards in kindergarten or first grade.
Submitted by Gabriela in California on January 20, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly
One of the "cons" I would add to the LAUSD periodics is that there is no spiraling. There should be several spiraled questions of key standards to one could compare how students did on certain standards from one assessment to the next.
Submitted by Kyle in California on January 18, 2012
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