Testing Arrays: Part of ATI’s Comprehensive Assessment System

Effective data-driven educational decision-making requires a variety of assessment tools. These tools must be planned and delivered in a comprehensive and integrated approach if teachers and administrators are to have the sort of complete picture of student achievement that is needed to plan instruction.

Testing Arrays are one of the tools in the Galileo technology platform that support the examination of student learning from a comprehensive viewpoint. The title may sound rather “techie,” but the benefits are pretty clear and easy to see. In short, tests don’t have to be delivered as a single task that must be completed in one or two sittings in order to yield valid and reliable results. Testing Array provides a reliable and valid assessment utilizing different assessments administered over multiple occasions. Rather than a single 40-item benchmark, districts might elect to administer four tests with 10 items each. The impact on instruction may be minimized without having to settle for poor reliability. This sort of benefit is easy to see when looking at the evaluation of a skill such as reading proficiency in young students. Short assessments might be designed to evaluate letter naming, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and other capabilities. Each of the assessments in a testing array may be scheduled, administered, and scored independently. The level of flexibility provided by testing arrays also makes it easier for teachers to include a wider range of student work in determining a final score for a student. An assessment that a child has taken in two or three weeks ago might be scored with a recently completed quiz to produce a more current picture of their learning.

There are a number of ways to learn first-hand about Testing Array benefits or Galileo K-12 Online. You can:

• visit the Assessment Technology Incorporated website (ati-online.com)
• participate in an online overview by registering either through the website or by calling 1.877.442.5453 to speak with a Field Services Coordinator
• visit us at the Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA) in cooperation with Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) Annual Conference September 30 through October 1 at the Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri.
  

We look forward to chatting with you online and at events.