Virtual Assessment
Virtual Assessment During the 2020-21 School Year
Assessment is an important part of the learning process. Students learn better - and faster - when teachers and famlies have a clearer picture of what each child knows and is ready to learn next. Students will continue to take regular assessments while learning virtually from home.
If you child is in grades 1-8, they will participate in at least one of the following tests, which can be taken online from home.
- AimswebPlus Assessment: is administered to students grades 1-8 three times a year and measures their knowledge and growth in reading and math.
- iReady Reading Diagnostic:
- IXL Mathematics Diagnostic:
Below you will find some more detailed information about the assessments we will be using, as well as some tools to help you support your student.
AimswebPlus Reading and Math Benchmark
AimswebPlus screens and monitors the reading and math skills of 1-8th grade students. With its robust set of standards-aligned measures, AimswebPlus is proven to uncover learning gaps quickly, identify at-risk students, and assess individual and classroom growth. In White River we never rely on a single data point, but AimswebPlus provides us additional, nationally normed data that helps us identify students who need intensive early intervention.
Early intervention is the key to success. Research has found that early identification of at-risk students leads to increased success both in and out of the classroom. With aimswebPlus, you can measure what matters — when it matters:
- Uncover learning gaps faster and more accurately
- Screen and monitor students in one seamless system
- Track student progress for more effective instruction and interventions
How long does the test take?
It should take students about one hour to take each of the math and reading tests, but it varies between students. Portions of the test are timed, and your student needs to stay focused during those parts so the result reflects what they know.
Will my child take this test at home?
Yes. While no students are permitted in school buildings the test will be administered remotely. Families will receive information from the district and their child’s teacher on scheduling and instructions for helping students log into the test. If you have personal circumstances that make this impossible, contact your child's teacher and they will work with you to make an alternate plan.
How can I help with remote testing?
This is an important question and where we need your support in order to make remote testing a success. You can help in the following ways:
- Please be attentive of emails from the district and your child’s teacher for instructions on scheduling and logging your child into the test.
- Please try to find a quiet space for your child to take the test.
- Please make sure your child stays on task and focused while answering test questions.
- Please do not assist your child in any way that would lead her or him to the correct answer. (This includes reading or interpreting questions.)
- Finally, please do not provide outside resources like calculators or dictionaries during the test.
How can I help my child if he or she is feeling anxious about taking the AimswebPlus assessment?
Help your child understand why they are taking the test. The AimswebPlus test will help both you and their teacher understand how to best help them learn more! If your child is anxious, let them know there is no way to fail this test. All they need to do is try their hardest for a couple minutes to answer each question and tell them to feel free to guess and to move on to the next questions if they don’t know the answer. Its like a vision test...knowing where their strengths are is important, so is knowing where they need additional support. Helping them do better on a vision test doesn’t help them see better, and helping them on the IXL diagnostic doesn’t help us support their reading skills either. They just need to do their best...that is all we need!
iReady Reading Diagnostic
Data derived from the i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment provides teachers with a deeper knowledge of their students’ current reading skills and assists them in identifying current needs. Through the data review, teachers are better able to pinpoint where students have demonstrated skill mastery on their grade-level expected skills and where they have gaps in their learning from prior grade levels. Imagine building a house on a foundation with blocks that are missing. You can continue to build, but what you build will never be fully supported or stable. Learning reading is much the same. Once those gaps have been identified teachers are able to help fill in those gaps through teacher-led intervention work, supplemented by student active engagement in self-directed lessons on the online iReady system.
How long does the test take?
It varies based on the student. What is important is that your child finds the balance between not taking too much time on any question, and not rushing. Consider having them take the assessment in chunks, 15-20 minutes for younger students and 30 minutes for older students.
Will my child take this test at home?
Yes. While no students are permitted in school buildings the test will be administered remotely. Families will receive information from the district and their child’s teacher on scheduling and instructions for helping students log into the test. If you have personal circumstances that make this impossible, contact your child's teacher and they will work with you to make an alternate plan.
How can I help with remote testing?
This is an important question and where we need your support in order to make remote testing a success. You can help in the following ways:
- Please be attentive of emails from the district and your child’s teacher for instructions on scheduling and logging your child into the test.
- Please try to find a quiet space for your child to take the test.
- Please make sure your child stays on task and focused while answering test questions.
- Please do not assist your child in any way that would lead her or him to the correct answer. (This includes reading or interpreting questions.)
- Finally, please do not provide outside resources like calculators or dictionaries during the test.
How can I help my child if he or she is feeling anxious about taking the iReady diagnostic assessment?
Help your child understand why they are taking the test. The iReady diagnostic will help both you and their teacher understand how to best help them learn more! If your child is anxious, let them know there is no way to fail this test. All they need to do is try their hardest for a couple minutes to answer each question and tell them to feel free to guess and to move on to the next questions if they don’t know the answer. Its like a vision test...knowing where their strengths are is important, so is knowing where they need additional support. Helping them do better on a vision test doesn’t help them see better, and helping them on the iReady diagnostic doesn’t help us support their reading skills either. They just need to do their best...that is all we need!
IXL Mathematics Diagnostic
Data derived from the IXL Diagnostic Assessment provides teachers with a deeper knowledge of their students’ current math skills and assists them in identifying current needs. Through the data review, teachers are better able to pinpoint where students have demonstrated skill mastery on their grade-level expected skills and where they have gaps in their learning from prior grade levels. Imagine building a house on a foundation with blocks that are missing. You can continue to build, but what you build will never be fully supported or stable. Learning math is much the same. Once those gaps have been identified teachers are able to help fill in those gaps through teacher-led intervention work, supplemented by student active engagement in self-directed lessons on the online IXL system.
How long does the test take?
It varies based on the student. What is important is that your child finds the balance between not taking too much time on any question, and not rushing. Consider having them take the assessment in chunks, 15-20 minutes for younger students and 30 minutes for older students.
Will my child take this test at home?
Yes. While no students are permitted in school buildings the test will be administered remotely. Families will receive information from the district and their child’s teacher on scheduling and instructions for helping students log into the test. If you have personal circumstances that make this impossible, contact your child's teacher and they will work with you to make an alternate plan.
How can I help with remote testing?
This is an important question and where we need your support in order to make remote testing a success. You can help in the following ways:
- Please be attentive of emails from the district and your child’s teacher for instructions on scheduling and logging your child into the test.
- Please try to find a quiet space for your child to take the test.
- Please make sure your child stays on task and focused while answering test questions.
- Please do not assist your child in any way that would lead her or him to the correct answer. (This includes reading or interpreting questions.)
- Finally, please do not provide outside resources like calculators or dictionaries during the test.
How can I help my child if he or she is feeling anxious about taking the IXL diagnostic assessment?
Help your child understand why they are taking the test. The IXL diagnostic will help both you and their teacher understand how to best help them learn more! If your child is anxious, let them know there is no way to fail this test. All they need to do is try their hardest for a couple minutes to answer each question and tell them to feel free to guess and to move on to the next questions if they don’t know the answer. Its like a vision test...knowing where their strengths are is important, so is knowing where they need additional support. Helping them do better on a vision test doesn’t help them see better, and helping them on the IXL diagnostic doesn’t help us support their reading skills either. They just need to do their best...that is all we need!