An item on a test that requires the student to formulate a written or graphic response rather than simply marking the correct answer. If the required response is brief, such as with a fill-in-the-blank exercise, it may be called a short-answer item. If an item requires a more substantial amount of writing or other activity, it may be called an open ended or extended response item.

Also called norms tables, conversion tables present normative data (norms) used to convert a student's test results from raw scores to scaled scores as well as to derived scores, such as percentile ranks and stanines

A basis for comparison; a standard of rules on which a decision can be based.

A standard or ideal used as a basis for comparison in terms of which a judgment can be made. A reference point or expectation against which student achievement and performance can be evaluated.

A reporting method which uses pre-set criteria to determine an outcome.

A measure of a students mastery of instructional standards. The focus is on actual performance relative to what is expected rather than to the performance of others who take the same test. See also norm-referenced test.

See percentile rank

A unique account number assigned to an organization at the time of AIMSweb purchase.

An AIMSweb user level; AIMSweb Customer Users are AIMSweb Managers and AIMSweb Reporters and can access information for all districts and schools within the AIMSweb account.

The minimum number of score points an examinee must earn to demonstrate successful attainment of a specified level of achievement or performance. Cutoff scores mark the threshold in terms of which a students performance is categorized such as pass/fail or low/medium/high.

Correct Writing Sequences

A type of score calculated from an examinees raw score (number correct) that enables comparison of scores earned by the same student on different tests or by different students on the same test. Raw scores can be misleading because the number correct is only meaningful relative to the total number of items on the test. A raw score of 70 on a test with 71 total items cannot be directly compared to a raw score of 70 on a test with 150 total items. Converting raw scores to one or more different derived scores is useful for interpreting the student's performance because it converts all scores to common units of measurement.

The amount by which a value (score) differs from a reference value such as the mean, the norm, or another score.

A screening test used to detect and identify an examinees areas of deficiency or weakness within a particular academic subject area. Diagnostic tests provide a basis for prescribing remedial education.

A group of scores that has been separated for reporting and comparison purposes into constituent subgroupings such as ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Disaggregation allows parents and teachers to see how each student group is performing.

An AIMSweb District User type; the District Manager can edit and view data for every school within the designated district.

An AIMSweb user level; AIMSweb District Users are District Managers and Superintendents and can access information for all schools within the designated district.

Any of a set of test forms, all of which are statistically the same in terms of content areas covered as well as the number and difficulty of the items included. Each form may contain unique items. Equivalent forms are designed to yield directly comparable scores for a given group. Also called a parallel or alternate form.

Norms that are estimated beyond the standardization windows in which a test was actually administered. Extrapolated norms allow for accurate score interpretations when tests are administered during periods of the school year for which empirical data was not collected. See also norms.

The state of any Progress Monitor assessment schedule complete or incomplete when removed from the Progress Monitor Caseload home page and kept for future reference.

Simple and accurate data collected on an ongoing basis over time to assess general outcomes so decisions are data-based and timely.

A norm-referenced estimate of the typical performance of students tested in a given month of the school year. Reported as a decimal number, the Stanford 10 grade-equivalent scale ranges from K.0 (beginning kindergarten) to high-school graduation. GE values below K.0 or above 12.9 are designated as PK (pre-kindergarten) or PHS (post high school), respectively. The numeral to the left of the decimal point refers to a grade level. The numeral to the right of the decimal point represents one-tenth of the school year, or one school month. For example, a grade equivalent of 5.2 earned by a third-grader means that the students performance on the third-grade test was typical of the national sample of fifth graders taking the same third-grade test in the third month of the school year. Because they cannot be directly compared as with an interval scale, grade equivalents are frequently misinterpreted.

The grades enrolled within a school.

Normative data grouped by students grades rather than age. For example, grade-based norms allow the comparison of a fifth-grade test takers strengths and weaknesses to a reference population of fifth-graders taking the same test. See also norms and age-based norms.

A test with results that have important and direct consequences for the examinees and those who administer it. High-stakes tests are typically large-scale, standardized, and normed. They are commonly used for accountability purposes and to determine grade placement and promotion.

A classroom level report displaying a student’s current year Benchmark scores for every measure assessed.

The Progress Monitor message appearing in the Progress Report column of the caseload home page used to indicate a student does not have enough scores entered to determine an accurate progress summary.

See English Language Learner (ELL).