Standardized tests that WHS uses
MAP
Among standardized tests that WHS has used in the past is the Measure of Academic Progress test.
MAP tests are online standardized tests that adapt the difficulty of questions based upon a student’s answers to previous questions, according to a 2013 WHS document, “Student Assessment System,” found on the WHS web page.
MAP tests assess math, reading and language, according to Richland School District Two’s web page in an article entitled, “Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Frequently Asked Questions.”
Science tests are also available, but a standardly-issued test is not, according to Richland School District.
MAP tests were approved for use by the Ohio Department of Education in 2012, according to the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), the organization that provides MAP tests, on its official web page.
The tests are used to gather data on test-takers’ abilities.
NWEA said MAP provides a personalized test experience, shorter tests for students and information helpful to teachers.
PARCC
Another test WHS previously used is the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers provides standardized tests for grades three through eight and for some high school classes, according to PARCC’s official web page.
PARCC tests, like many others, are based online, according to PARCC.
However, unlike some other tests, PARCC does not change its questions based upon student performance, according to Jessica Poiner in “What Will Ohio State Tests Look Like in 2015-2016,” an article from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute published in 2015. Questions that students answer are set in advance.
According to the PARCC site, its tests assess English and math.
Last year, WHS and the rest of Ohio used PARCC, according to Patrick O’Donnell in the 2015 article, “Ohio Dumps the PARCC Common Core Tests After Woeful First Year,” posted on cleveland.com.
O’Donnell said PARCC is not being used a second year due to complaints of its length and technological problems.
AIR
American Institutes for Research is the standardized test provider WHS currently uses.
AIR tests have been selected by Ohio for Common Core testing, replacing PARCC, according to cleveland.com in a 2015 article entitled, “Ohio Picks AIR to Replace Just-Ousted PARCC for Common Core Tests.”
AIR differs from PARCC in several ways.
In a 2015 article from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, entitled, “What Will Ohio State Tests Look Like in 2015-2016,” Jessica Poiner said AIR tests are shorter than PARCC tests and not fix-formed.
Instead, AIR is similar to MAP.
Like MAP tests, AIR tests adapt question difficulty based upon prior answers from students, according to AIR’s official web page.
AIR provides tests for a variety of subjects.
Cleveland.com said AIR will provide math, English, social studies and science tests for Ohio this year.
AIR said its mission is to conduct the best research and apply it to people’s lives.
SAT
The SAT, according to collegereadiness.collegeboard.org, is, “designed to measure the essential ingredients for college and career readiness and success, as shown by research.”
The SAT caters to high school students and assesses their test-taking abilities in reading, writing, language, math and essay writing on a 200-800 point scale per subject test.
American high school students, on average, score about 1,500 cumulative points on the SAT, as per princetonreview.com.
According to an article from Time on June 2, 2015 in an article entitled, “7 ways the SAT is changing,” students who take the SAT will experience a test vastly different than that of the past.
Now, according to the aforementioned article, there are no penalties for wrong answers, no obscure vocabulary testing and a revamped essay section.
Scores from the new test are not readily comparable to scores of SAT tests taken before 2016.
ACT
As stated on their website, www.act.org, “the ACT is the leading U.S. college admissions test, measuring what you learn in high school to determine your academic readiness for college.”
The ACT caters to high school students and assesses their test taking abilities in English, mathematics, science, reading and writing on a 36-point scale.
In America, according to princetonreview.com, the average ACT score is between a 20 and 21.
According to the WHS webpage, WHS offers the ACT on site during the school day.
The next test session will be April 19.
