Assessments in Social Studies

Assessments measure how students are learning and progressing through Ohio's Learning Standards. They also serve a critical role in helping educators and families monitor their students' school progress. Educators use both formative and summative assessments in their classrooms throughout the academic year to help them monitor the knowledge and skills students are gaining. These assessments will help educators better gauge how prepared students are for Ohio's State Tests.

On the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's website, the Department uses the terms testing and assessment in specific ways. Testing refers to Ohio's State Tests. Assessment refers to the many formative and summative assessments educators and districts use to monitor student progress at the local level. Learn more by reviewing the table below.

Testing

photograph of students testing in a classroom

  • Measures how students statewide are gaining knowledge and skills outlined in Ohio’s Learning Standards
  • Provides a measurement of each public school’s performance
  • Results appear in the Ohio School Report Card 

Assessment

group of elementary students working together

  • Helps educators and parents monitor students’ learning and mastery of content knowledge or skills
  • Shows where students may need additional help or practice
  • Allows teachers to adjust their instruction to meet students’ needs 

Testing | Ohio’s State Tests

Ohio's Testing portal overview

 

Ohio's State Tests for Social Studies are American history and American government. Educators can best prepare their students for the tests by aligning their teaching with Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, which serve as the basis for these tests. School districts can use the Social Studies Model Curriculum and other resources to help plan standards-aligned instruction.

Educators can access guidance documents, test blueprints, sample tests, and item tutorials for Ohio's State Tests for Social Studies through Ohio’s State Test Portal. Educators can also utilize the Assessment Authoring system in Ohio’s State Test Portal to build tests using Ohio items to implement in their instructional and assessment practices.

Families can read about Ohio’s State Tests for Social Studies, complete practice tests to support their student’s preparation for testing and learn more information about accommodations available on Ohio’s State Tests for Social Studies in Ohio’s State Test Portal.

Ohio's State Tests Committees

The Department created committees to review test questions and to help set scoring parameters. Ohio stakeholders serve on these committees. The Assessment Committees page provides more information on test development, current committees, and how to get involved with developing Ohio’s State Tests for Social Studies. 

Assessment | Formative and Summative Assessments

Assessments are defined as formative and summative, depending on their purposes. Learn more about the different types below.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
  • provide feedback that is timely, specific, and clearly connected to a learning goal.
  • allow students and educators to work collaboratively to monitor progress, set learning goals, and incorporate feedback throughout a unit of instruction.
  • typically serve no official evaluation purpose; grades are not assigned, and assessment outcomes are not used for accountability purposes.
  • can vary from one classroom to the next based on the strategies implemented by the educator.
  • occur at the end of the instructional cycle and function to certify proficiency of student learning.
  • ​determine whether students are prepared to move on to the next unit of instruction or learning standard.
  • provide data for educators to reflect on the use of instructional strategies, informing and strengthening learning and skills in various content areas, and helping to inform assessment practices in the classroom.
  • often include a formal measurement based on performance, which may be a letter grade, numerical score, or proficiency rating.

Last Modified: 1/7/2025 8:53:50 AM