What you are looking at

You are looking at a graphic representation of the assessment scores on the Spring 2001 state tests. The 100-point scale represents 100% of the children who were assessed at this grade level. The dark, colored band at the top of the bar shows the percentage of the highest scoring students. The dark gray band near the bottom indicates the percentage of the lowest scorers. The black band at the bottom shows those students eligible to take the tests who, for whatever reason, did not. The two bands above the white band are the percentage of students who have met or exceeded the state’s standard for proficiency.

What you are looking for

You are hoping to see that all children have met or exceeded the standard and are represented only in the top two blocks.
 

No Score

The band on the assessment bars, labeled “no score” in the legend, shows the percentage of eligible test-takers who were absent or did not complete the multiple-day testing. To achieve 100% participation by eligible test-takers, some schools need to reduce the extent to which their students either don’t come to school – for reasons that need looking into, won’t come because of poor school climate, or do not complete the test sufficiently to obtain a score.

The Triangle

The triangle below each assessment sub-scale bar indicates the percentage of all students who met or exceeded the state standard including those children who are not eligible to take the state tests because they are beginning English Language Learners. This year the triangle includes as proficient or not proficient those special education students whose Individual Education Plan (IEP) calls for the use of an alternate assessments. Results for special education students who were eligible to take the alternative assessments, but did not, for whatever reason, count as a ‘no score’ just as they do with the regular testing program.

Thus, the number in the triangle uses the number of all children in the tested grade as the denominator and the percent who achieved proficiency as the numerator. This fraction, if you will, generates the percent proficient for the school as a whole. The bar above the triangle represents only the achievement on the New Standards Reference Examinations, RI Writing and RI Health tests.

Please see the State Section for more information about the alternate assessments, for which only 1%-2% of the state’s public school students will ever be eligible.

“Parental refusal” exemptions to the Health Test

The RI Health Education Assessment administered in grades 5 and 9 is the one test from which students may be exempted if parents so request in writing. Statewide, 222 children’s parents signed them out of the health test in 2001 – 197 at grade five and 25 at grade nine. Those children are counted as “non-proficient” in the triangular “all kids” scores.

Test subscales

The NSRE in mathematics contains three subtests which are: Skills, Concepts and Problem-Solving. The NSRE in English Language Arts contains four subtests which are: Reading: Basic Understanding, Reading: Analysis and Interpretation, Writing: Effectiveness and Writing: Conventions. Particular items from the entire test, which is taken over the course of three days, are grouped in various ways to form the subscale scores. Some items are used in more than one subscale.

The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)

The SAT is not part of the RI assessment program. Students who so choose pay to take the tests to fulfill college admissions requirements. The scores shown in IW! are for only Seniors, representing the highest score each senior attained (some of which had been attained while still Juniors). The participation rate is derived by taking the fall 2001 enrollment divided by the number of seniors who have an SAT score.