Restart Readiness Assessments

Ohio’s education community is taking the necessary steps to begin the 2020-2021 school year. Once again, schools and districts are facing extraordinary challenges planning academic instruction as the new school year begins in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Ohio Department of Education is committed to supporting districts and schools in ensuring all Ohio students have access to an equitable, high-quality education. Some students may have missed academic instruction, so it is critical that educators and schools are able to benchmark progress reliably. The Department is providing assessment tools and resources to districts in support of the delivery of educational services during the 2020-2021 school year.

The Department recognizes the unprecedented effects on learning as a result of COVID-19 necessitate additional assessment support resources. Earlier this summer, the Department released student readiness toolkits that include curriculum and assessment materials that may help identify instructional gaps and determine instructional priorities.

Additionally, the Department, in conjunction with Cambium Assessment, Inc., is providing a suite of optional online assessments for educators to use in grades 3 through high school. The Restart Readiness Assessments, available for English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, are designed to help schools and districts identify student progress early and receive actionable performance data. These assessments, which may be offered remotely, will be administered using systems with which Ohio educators and students are familiar from the administration of Ohio’s State Tests.  

Benchmark Tests

Benchmark tests are full-length assessments that mirror the content and test characteristics of Ohio’s State Tests in terms of length, test specifications, blueprints and tools available to students (such as the calculator). These benchmark tests will be machine-scored, allowing reporting in near real-time to give teachers rapid access to results. Mirroring Ohio’s State Tests also allows for reporting measures that are familiar to Ohio educators, such as performance levels. Results will be reported in a new, innovative reporting system, with additional tools to assist teachers in understanding and using the data. To aid teachers in connecting assessment results with instruction, the Department is providing resources specific to each benchmark test, including instructional strategies, content information and learning activities.

Checkpoint Assessments 

The second major component of the Restart Readiness Assessments consists of 150 checkpoint assessments. Each checkpoint assessment consists of six to 10 items and offers a range of opportunities to assess within each reporting category. Items offer varying levels of difficulty or complexity, as well as breadth of Ohio’s Learning Standards for the reporting category. To a large extent, these assessments will be machine-scored. Raw scores (the number of items correct) will be provided in the new reporting system. As part of a balanced system of local informal and formative assessments, the checkpoint assessments will provide useful information in gauging students’ knowledge and performance within each reporting category. 

Stay tuned for more information about these optional assessment tools, their delivery – including the option to administer them remotely – reporting systems and additional support resources (such as webinars and guides) to aid schools and districts in using the tools. Regional Data Leads will be developing additional support materials and training.

If you have questions about the Restart Readiness Assessments, please contact the Office of Assessment at statetests@education.ohio.gov.
 

Last Modified: 8/12/2021 2:25:39 PM

---