Instruments
ACT
The ACT is a standardized college admission exam. It measures high school students’ readiness for college and career success by focusing on key content areas such as English, math, reading, and science (with the optional writing section). Multiple-choice questions are used in the English, math, reading, and science sections, and scores are converted into a composite score between 1 and 36.
ACT also provides score interpretations based on its College and Career Readiness Standards, which can provide secondary schools with information to improve instruction. Furthermore, ACT scores can be compared against College Readiness Benchmarks to determine whether students meet the minimum requirements for college success.
Year developed: 1959.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: College Readiness
Grades: 11th Grade, 12th Grade
ACT Engage
ACT’s Engage assessments measure motivational, skill, social engagement, and self-regulatory constructs related to academic performance in college.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: College Readiness
Grades: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Post secondary
aimswebPlus Reading
The aimswebPlus reading subtests screen and monitor the reading skills of PreK–12 students. aimswebPlus also has add-on screeners for behavior and dyslexia.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
CampusReady
CampusReady is an instrument that examines schools’ strengths and weaknesses in preparing students for college. Originally known as the CollegeCareerReady School Diagnostic when it was first introduced in 2009, CampusReady utilizes David Conley’s Four Keys to College and Career Readiness, which comprise cognitive strategies, content knowledge, academic behaviors, and contextual skills and awareness. CampusReady target respondents are students in grades 6-12, teachers, counselors, and administrators.
CampusReady generates four comprehensive reports: the Participant Information Report, which gathers data on participants; the Aspirations Report, which focuses on students’ future plans; the Four Keys to College and Career Readiness Report, which evaluates college readiness across the four dimensions of David Conley’s model; and the Targeted Recommendations Report, which provides customized recommendations for the school or district that utilized CampusReady. These reports serve as valuable resources for schools and districts seeking to improve their college readiness strategies by fostering students’ knowledge, skills, and behaviors. Additionally, schools gain access to a database of effective interventions targeting college readiness.
Year developed: 2013 in its current version, 2009 as CollegeCareerReady School Diagnostic.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: College Readiness
Grades: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)
The Classroom Assessment Scoring System™ (CLASS™) is an observational instrument developed to assess instructional quality in PK-12 classrooms. It is a tool for analyzing the quality of teacher-student interactions in the classroom by capturing multiple dimensions of teaching that are linked to student achievement and development. It produces qualitative ratings of teacher performance on a scale from 1-7 across three broad domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support.
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Classroom Observation of Early Mathematics - Environment and Teaching (COEMET)
COEMET is a classroom observation instrument that evaluates classroom culture and the use of specific math activities. It includes questions about how actively the teacher interacts with the children, how the teacher uses teachable math moments, how math is displayed in the physical environment of the room, how confident the teacher appears about math, etc. The specific math activities measured are not connected to a specific curriculum.
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
Classroom Practices Inventory (CPI)
The Classroom Practices Inventory is a classroom observation measure for early childhood classrooms. It is designed to assess the developmental appropriateness of classroom and curricular practices, teachers actions, children's activities, and teacher-child interactions.
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: < 3 Years, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Second Edition (CTOPP-2)
The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing Second Edition (CTOPP-2) is an assessment that focuses on measuring the phonological processing abilities of students grades PreK-12. The CTOPP-2 contains several composites: phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid symbolic naming, rapid non-symbolic naming, and alternate phonological awareness.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Early Reading Assessment (ERA)
The Early Reading Assessment (ERA) is an assessment for children in grades K-2 that helps educators identify students with delays in reading abilities. Teachers, special educators, speech pathologists, and school psychologists can administer the test. The ERA, which takes 10-15 minutes to complete, contains the written word vocabulary, rapid orthographic naming, and silent orthographic efficiency core subtests that combine to create the Early Reading Index.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, 4th Edition (GMRT-4)
GMRT-4 measures overall reading achievement spanning each important stage along the reading continuum—from oral language to mature reading comprehension. The underlying foundation of GMRT is that it is useful for teachers and schools to know the general level of reading achievement of individual students throughout their entire school careers.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Post secondary
Gray Oral Reading Test | Fifth Edition (GORT-5)
The GORT-5 is an individually administered assessment of oral reading sold by Pearson.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Post secondary
HMH Reading Inventory
The HMH Reading Inventory, an adaptive test of reading comprehension developed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), consists of two subtests: the Foundational Reading Assessment and the Reading Comprehension Assessment.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA)
The Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) is a classroom observation instrument that rates the nature and quality of classroom instruction by considering students’ opportunities to engage in cognitively demanding mathematical work and discussions. The IQA uses the following elements to assess instruction: potential of the task, task implementation, rigor of the discussion, teacher’s questions, and accountable talk.
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Iowa Assessments - ELA
The Iowa Assessments replaced the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED) in 2011-2012 to align with the Iowa Common Core Standards. The assessment can be administered to students in grades K-12 and can be used for monitoring student growth, making relative comparisons, predicting future performance, and identifying students who may need intervention. The Iowa Assessments measure students' abilities in reading, language, mathematics, social studies, and science.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
ISIP Reading
ISIP is a computer administered assessment of reading ability. ISIP Early Reading is inteded for use with children in grades K-3 and can be administered to an entire classroom in a 30 minute time frame. ISIP Advanced Reading is meant to be used with students grades 4-8 and can also be administered to an entire class in a 30 miniute time frame.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) 3rd edition
The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) measures college students’ learning and study strategies. It can be used for screening to identify students at risk of poor academic achievement and for diagnostics to examine strengths and weaknesses and provide focused remediation.
Now in its third edition, LASSI includes 60 items mapping onto ten scales (Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient in parentheses for every scale): Anxiety (.87), Attitude (.76), Concentration (.85), Information Processing (.81), Motivation (.77), Selecting Main Ideas (.86), Self Testing (.80), Test Strategies (.77), Time Management (.80), and Using Academic Resources (.76).
Year developed: LASSI 1st edition: 1987, LASSI 2nd edition: 2002; LASSI 3rd edition: 2016
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: College Readiness
Grades: Post secondary
Maslach Burnout Inventory: Educators Survey (MBI-ES)
The Maslach Burnout Inventory: Educators Survey (MBI-ES) is a version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory measuring professional burnout among educators (teachers, staff, and volunteers). It contains 22 items examining emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from “never” to “every day.”
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Post secondary
Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching
The Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) instrument measures the specialized knowledge of K-8 teachers of mathematics use in teaching. These measures include items that reflect the real mathematics tasks teachers face in classrooms, such as assessing student work, representing numbers and operations, and explaining common mathematical rules or procedures. Assessments composed of these problems can be used to measure the effectiveness of mathematics-focused professional development.
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI)
The Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) is a domain-specific modification of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI). The MTEBI measures pre-service teachers’ beliefs regarding mathematical instruction, students' ability to learn mathematics and teachers’ sense of efficacy in teaching mathematics.
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Perceptions, Expectations, Emotions, and Knowledge about College (PEEK)
Perceptions, Expectations, Emotions, and Knowledge about College (PEEK) is a diagnostic instrument focused on student ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations of college. PEEK’s 30 items use a 5-point rating scale (from “not at all likely” to “extremely likely”) to assess students’ academic, personal, and social expectations. Such measurement could potentially assist students in forming more precise perceptions of their college surroundings and potentially prevent disengagement and dropout from college.
Year developed: 1995.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: College Readiness
Grades: 12th Grade, Post secondary
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)
The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) is a tool that focuses on fundamental literacy skills. The assessment offers instruments for PreK-3, with a Spanish version available as well. PALS is the state-provided screening assessment for Virginia's Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI). PALS Plus can be used for grades 4-8.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
Predictive Assessment of Reading (PAR)
The Predictive Assessment of Reading (PAR) can be used to measure a student's reading level, identify skills in need of intervention, monitor progress, and predict future reading achievement. The assessment contains four reading subtests that can be administered to special needs, gifted, ELL students, and developing students in grades PreK-3.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
ReadBasix
ReadBasix is a web-administered reading assessment for students in grades 3–12. ReadBasix measures foundational reading skills including word recognition & decoding, vocabulary, sentence processing, reading efficiency, and other skills involved in reading comprehension via separate subtests. The assessment has multiple forms and is vertically scaled, allowing it to be used for progress monitoring, measuring student growth, or detecting changes in reading as a result of intervention.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Survey of Teacher Practice (STeP)
STeP is a tool that allows instructors to be evaluated by their students across a set of categories identified as critical for effective classroom instruction. Two optional open-ended questions are also included at the end allowing students to provide additional input that may not be fully captured in the body of the survey.
Category: Schooling
Sub-Category: Teaching
Grades: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
TerraNova3 - Reading
TerraNova 3 reading assessments are designed to measure important higher order thinking skills as well as basic and applied skills. These assessments include norm-referenced achievement scores, criterion-referenced objective mastery scores, and performance-level information.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Test of Early Reading Ability-Fourth Edition (TERA-4)
The TERA-4 is an individually administered assessment of early reading mastery.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC)
The TOSREC is a test of silent reading efficiency and comprehension designed for screening and progress monitoring.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade
Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2)
The Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) was introduced in 2021, replacing the previous version utilized since 2013. As per the Texas State Legislature mandate, all students entering Texas public higher education institutions must undergo TSIA2 or qualify for one of its exemptions. The TSIA2 evaluates students' readiness for college-level coursework by testing them in English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) and Mathematics.
In ELAR, TSIA2 focuses on two key areas: reading and writing. The reading portion assesses comprehension and analysis of literary, informational, and argumentative texts, including paired passages. Meanwhile, the writing portion evaluates skills in revising and editing sentences, paragraphs, and early drafts of essays.
In mathematics, TSIA2 focuses on four key areas: quantitative reasoning, algebraic reasoning, geometric and spatial reasoning, and probabilistic and statistical reasoning.
Students taking the TSIA2 begin by completing College Readiness Classification (CRC) tests in ELAR and mathematics, comprising multiple-choice questions. If students fail to meet the college readiness benchmarks on these CRC tests, they proceed with the multiple-choice diagnostic tests in ELAR and Mathematics. These diagnostic tests present an additional chance for the students to demonstrate their preparedness for college-level coursework. They also highlight students' strengths and weaknesses in specific content areas, thus facilitating their placement into suitable courses and enabling them to receive the necessary remedial support and interventions.
Year developed: 2021 (TSIA2 replaced TSIA introduced in 2013).
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: College Readiness
Grades: Post secondary
Woodcock-Johnson IV - ELA
The Woodcock-Johnson IV contains three co-normed batteries that measure strengths and weaknesses and diagnose learning abilities. The WJ IV is an individually-administered comprehensive assessment suite that can identify patterns of strength and weaknesses in cognitive, language, and academic abilities. In addition to oral language, reading, and writing, the WJ IV also assesses mathematics.
Category: Academic Knowledge and Skills
Sub-Category: English Language Arts
Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Post secondary