At the start of every school year, teachers need to quickly understand what their students know and can do. The pandemic has disproportionately widened knowledge and skill gaps, particularly for historically marginalized students. Educators will strive to identify what gaps exist – and identify them early. They may or may not have access to the previous years' data and, if they do, they will likely still wonder whether and how much learning occurred over the summer.
More than ever, teachers need a simple, effective way to accurately and quickly pinpoint areas for growth to plan instruction - particularly in mathematics. For example, foundations and linear skill progressions are essential concepts; without a firm grasp on these, students may have a hard time building their mathematics muscle. So, it is imperative that teachers start the year understanding where their students are.
Screening assessments aligned to priority standards provide teachers with the right data at the outset so they can address learning gaps, focus on priorities and/or accelerate instruction to meet student needs. Teacher teams can also feed their Professional Learning Communities with the data to identify areas for collaboration or needed support. And leaders can use this information to amend progression maps and identify areas of curriculum strengths and gaps to inform higher-level strategy.
CenterPoint’s Fresh Start Screener is designed to be simple and informative. Aligned to the Student Achievement Partner’s priority instructional content standards, there are no bells, whistles, or instructional fads. Through a combination of traditional and technology-enhanced item types, the Screener is designed to accurately pinpoint gaps in student understanding of prior years' learning and provide real-time data that can be used to inform instruction or develop pacing calendars any time during the school year.
The Fresh Start Screener is now available on the ASSISTments platform, which is adaptive and available on Google Classroom and Canvas, which many students are already familiar with. ASSISTments is a free platform that merges research, applied technology, and student learning to streamline teaching and learning.
How do the Fresh Start Screeners work in ASSISTments?
Step 1: Teacher assigns the CenterPoint Fresh Start Screeners through Google Classroom or Canvas.
Step 2: Students complete the Screener through ASSISTments.
Step 3: Teacher analyzes the data report, by problem and by standard.
Step 4: Data allows teachers to make instructional decisions and support students who need it most.
Start the new school year on the right foot with actionable reliable data from CenterPoint Education Solutions and ASSISTments. Click here for more information or email info@cpeducation.org.