these computer-administered, modular tests are intended to ... · • greater or less than a...
TRANSCRIPT
The Assessment Readiness Tests provide a methodology for forecasting how stu-
dents might perform on a High Stakes Examination. The series is designed to
reduce the real costs associated with lost staff and instructional time during the
administration of comprehensive “mirror” tests.
These computer-administered, modular tests are intended to examine critical learn-
ing objectives—just like the standardized tests. The user interface helps students
become familiar with the standard “bubble” answer sheet used in actual examinations.
While the test items are computer controlled and evaluated and computer scored, the
Online Tracking System (O.T.S.) allows teachers to score those tests and test items for
which analysis and evaluation beyond the scope of computerized scoring is necessary.
Reports generated by Assessment Readiness Tests target student high-risk areas
and areas that may justify further analysis. However, these tests are not comprehen-
sive and do not provide detailed analysis, which is available by using the diagnos-
tic/prescriptive assessment tools found in the Navigator Benchmark Examinations
Series, SkillsTutor.com or Computer Learning Works.
Assessment Readiness Tests are delivered via the Internet, which provides you and
your students with the greatest level of access and flexibility. Now it’s easier for students
to get the needed practice and test-taking strategies before taking standardized tests.
overview
Assessment Readiness Tests 1
It’s about
conserving your
most
precious
commodity:
student
instructional
time.
Students will access the assigned Assessment Readiness Tests via the Internet by
doing the following:
1. Type http://www.myskillstutor.com/ into the address field of the supported
Internet browser.
2. Log in using the user name and password provided from the school system
administrator.
3. Select a course, in this case, a specific Assessment Readiness Tests.
4. Select a specific test.
getting started
Assessment Readiness Tests 2
The sample screen below shows the test areas.user interface
Assessment Readiness Tests 3
test title
referent area
question area
answer area
4
The answer sheet is a standard Bubble Sheet, which is quick and simple to navi-
gate. This will familiarize students with what is used in the actual paper examination.
The current question is highlighted on the answer sheet. Students click on the bubbleanswer that corresponds to the question. Clicking the bubble “marks” it so students can
quickly identify those questions that have been answered and those that have not been
answered. Students may click on the question number to easily return to that question.
Assessment Readiness Tests
click bubble toselect answer
question number
time remaining
scroll bar
go back to previous question
next question
help
exit the test
current question ishighlighted
Question FormatsThe following samples represent the different types of question formats encountered
while taking an Assessment Readiness Test.
Standard Question Format
Assessment Readiness Tests 5
Long Referent Document Format
Assessment Readiness Tests 6
Graphical Referent Format
Assessment Readiness Tests 7
Columnar Answer Format
Assessment Readiness Tests 8
Extended Referent Area/Question Area Format
When the size of the Referent and/or Question Area is too large to display the
answers beneath it, the answers are contained on a pop-out tab labeled “Answers.”
Assessment Readiness Tests 9
Answers tab
When students have reviewed the referent and question, they click on the
Answers tab to display the possible answers. Clicking on the tab again will close it.
Students will still mark their answer choice on the bubble sheet.
Assessment Readiness Tests 10
The answer area is displayed afterclicking on the Answers tab.
The Assessment Readiness At-a-Glance Reportreports
Assessment Readiness Tests 11
Individual Student Activity Report
Assessment Readiness Tests 12
objectives
Assessment Readiness Tests
MathematicsStrandMeasurementComputation
Problem SolvingStrategies
Number &Relationships
Number Systems &Theory
Patterns & Functions
Algebra
StatisticsProbability
Objective• measure indirectly• operations with decimals and money• missing information• non-routine strategies• compare and order fractions• representations of a fraction or mixed number• equivalent fractions• greater or less than a negative integer• powers and square roots• scientific notation• rate and proportion• missing elements• algebraic expression• solve inequalities• tally charts• make prediction• combinations and permutations• identify probabilities
Assessment Readiness Tests
StrandGeometry
Objective• radius and diameter• calculate volume• identify coordinates• area of plane figure• transformations: translations, rotations, and reflections• parallel and perpendicular lines
Mathematics
objectives
Assessment Readiness Tests
English/Language ArtsStrandCapitalization
Punctuation
Usage
Sentence Structure
Content &Organization
Objective• titles of people• proper adjectives• direction as a region• use quotation marks in dialogue• use a colon with a list• use a semicolon between independent clauses• use a comma with conjunction in compound sentences• identify special problems• use pronoun case correctly• correct use of pronoun antecedent• use present tense of verbs appropriately• use correct usage in special problems• identify misplaced modifiers• avoid awkward construction: fragments, run-ons, extraneous
sentences, redundancy, lengthy sentences• use established criteria to evaluate expository compositions:
present reasons, explanations, or steps in a process; use logical order; develop a main idea, supporting details, and aconclusion
• demonstrate purpose and audience• utilize sentence combining
Mathematicsobjectives
Assessment Readiness Tests
ObjectiveApply order of operations
Add and subtract polynomials
Multiply polynomials
Factor polynomials
Solve multi-step equationsof first degree
StandardStandard 1:Perform basic operationson algebraic expressions.
Standard 2:Solve equations andinequalities.
Item Specification• One set of parentheses may be used.• No more than four terms may be included.• Using the distributive property may be
required.• Unlike denominators may be used.• Fractions may be used.• Squaring a quantity in parentheses may be
required.• Multiplying two quantities in parentheses
may be required.• The following factoring may be required:
difference of two squares, greatest commonmonomial, common binomial.
• Options will be factored completely.• Adding or subtracting a variable to or from
both sides of the equation may be required.• One set of parentheses may be used.• Negative coefficient may be used.
Assessment Readiness Tests
MathematicsObjective
Solve quadratic equationsthat are factorable
Solve systems of twolinear equations
Identify functions
Find the range of func-tions when given the
domain
StandardStandard 2:Solve equations andinequalities.
Standard 3:Apply concepts related tofunctions.
Item Specification• The following factoring may be required:
difference of two squares, greatest commonmonomial, trinomial, common binomial.
• Factoring of the type ax2+bx=0 may berequired.
• Solving for the values of both x and y maybe required.
• The options may be four graphs with linesplotted and the intersection point labeledwith its ordered pair.
• The options may be graphs, ordered pairs,tables, or mappings.
• The options may be tables or values orordered pairs when given an equation.
• Functions may be expressed using eitherthe terminology f(x)= or y=.
• The domain of a function may be a singlevalue or a set of values.
Mathematics
Assessment Readiness Tests
ObjectiveFind the distance,
midpoint, or slope of linesegments when given two
points
Find the perimeter, cir-cumference, area, or vol-ume of geometric figuresGraph or identify graphs
of linear equationsDetermine solution sets of
inequalitiesGraph lines given certain
conditions
Translate verbal or sym-bolic information intoalgebraic expressions
StandardStandard 4:Apply formulas.
Standard 5:Apply graphing techniques.
Standard 6:Represent problem situations.
Item Specification• Radicals will be simplified.• Determining the slope of a line given a line
on the coordinate plane with two pointslabeled with their ordered pairs may berequired.
• Finding volume or surface area of a rectan-gular prism may be required.
• The formulas will be given in the problems.• The options may be four equations.• Equations may be expressed in terms of f(x).• Solving inequality may be required.• Compound inequality may be included.• The following conditions may be included:
two points, x- and y- intercepts, point andslope, slope and y- intercept.
• Determining the equation of a line giventwo ordered pairs may be required.
• Determining the equation of a line giventhe line graphed on the coordinate planemay be required.
Mathematics
Assessment Readiness Tests
ObjectiveApply properties of anglesand relationships between
angles
Apply Pythagorean theorem
Apply properties ofsimilar polygons
Apply properties of planeand solid geometric
figures
StandardStandard 7:Solve problems involving avariety of algebraic andgeometric concepts.
Item Specification• The following properties and relationships
may be included: vertical angles, adjacentangles, supplementary angles, complemen-tary angles, linear pair (adjacent supple-mentary angles), relationships among themeasures of angles formed by two parallellines and a transversal.
• Determining measurements of angles whenthe measurements of angles are expressedas algebraic expressions may be required.
• The Pythagorean theorem will be given inthe reference area.
• Radicals may be included in options.• Word problems will be used.• The word “similar” or the tilde symbol may
be used.• Use of the scale factor will be required.• The following content may be included: area
and perimeter of triangles; rectangles andsquares, area and circumference of a circle,given radius or diameter; perimeter of a
Mathematics
Assessment Readiness Tests
Objective
Determine measures ofcentral tendency
Determine probabilities
Solve problems involvingdirect variation
Solve problems involvingalgebraic concepts
Standard Item Specificationregular polygon, given one side; volume ofrectangular prism or cylinder; sum of themeasures of the angles in a triangle; sum ofthe measures of the angles ina rectangle.
• Word problems may be used.• The word “mean” will be used for the arith-
metic average.• Decimals up to hundredths may be used.• Both “and” and “or” situations may be
included.• Verbal descriptions of proportions may be
used.• The following content may be included:
distance-rate-time problems; money prob-lems, which may require a system of equa-tions; numbers (sum, difference, product,quotient); simple age problems referringonly to the present; consecutive integers;area, volume, dimension problems, quantityproblems; cost problems; wage problems.
• Word problems will be used.
The Assessment Readiness Tests Graduation Mathematics Exam will require a ref-
erence document handout. Before students begin the exam, print the handout
and then copy and distribute it to your students.
To print out the handout:
1. Choose the print icon from the Acrobat Reader menu bar, or choose Print
from the File menu.
2. Specify the page number of the handout. Page numbers are shown at the bottom
of the Acrobat Reader window.
3. Click Print.
instructions
Assessment Readiness Tests 1
Go to the handout
page number
Graduation Mathematics Exam Hand-out
© 2001 Achievement Technologies, Inc.
Triangle bh12
Rectangle lw
Trapezoid h (b1 + b2)12
Parallelogram bh
Circle r 2
RightCircularCone
r 2h13
SquarePyramid
b 2h13
r Sphere r 343
RightCircularCylinder
r 2h
RectangularSolid
lwh
circumference = d = 2r
(2 r )s + r 2 = rs + r 212
b (2s + b)
4r 2
2rh + 2r 2 = dh + 2r 2
2(lw) + 2(hw) + 2(lh)
Volume Total Surface Area
Key:
b = baseh = heightl = lengthw = widthd = diameterr = radiuss = slant height
Use 3.14 or for .227
Level 4 Mathematics Reference Sheet
In the following formulas, n represents the number of sides.In a polygon, the sum of the measures of the interior angles is equal to 180(n-2)In a regular polygon, the measure of an interior angle is equal to 180(n-2) ÷ n.
English/Language Artsobjectives
Assessment Readiness Tests
ObjectiveIdentify correct noun
forms (singular and plural)
Identify correct verbforms
Recognize subject-verbagreement
Recognize pronoun-antecedent agreement in
number and genderAvoid shifts in verb tenseIdentify correct pronoun
case
Identify effective use ofvoice (i.e., active verbspreferred over passive)
StandardStandard 1:The student will recognizecorrect grammar andusage.
Item Specification• proper nouns• compound nouns• words with alternate accepted forms• tense
• plural in form, singular in meaning• collective nouns, when correct verb form
depends on rest of sentence• correlative conjunction• recognize pronoun-antecedent agreement in
number and gender
• verb shifts within paragraphs• nominative,objective, possessive case
(Note: pronoun case may include reflexivepronouns)
• contractions• active voice • passive voice
Assessment Readiness Tests
Determine correct place-ment of modifiers (i.e.,dangling or misplaced
modifiers)Identify correct usage of
commonly confused words
Use words that createclarity, precision, and col-
orful description
Use formal and informallanguage appropriately
Correct run-on sentences,sentence fragments, and
comma splicesCorrect sentences thatlack parallelism and
appropriate subordination
Standard 2:The student will demon-strate appropriate wordchoice.
Standard 3:The student will recognizecorrect sentence structure.
• misplaced participles
• words that are frequently confused but notpronounced alike
• words that sound alike but have differentmeanings
• clear, precise, vivid language (Note:Language to avoid includes, but is not lim-ited to, overused, clichéd words, superflu-ous verbiage, redundancy, and jargon.)
• formal language
• correct run-on sentences, sentence frag-ments, and comma splices
• correlative conjunctions immediately beforethe parallel terms
• parallel grammatical form of words, phrases,and clause in series
Standard Objective Item Specification
English/Language Arts
Assessment Readiness Tests
Demonstrate correct useof capitalization
Demonstrate correct useof commas
Demonstrate correct useof a semicolon and colon
Demonstrate correct useof quotation marks and
underlining
Demonstrate correct useof the apostrophe
Determine logical progres-sion and completeness in
paragraphs
Standard 4:The student will use correctcapitalization and punctuation.
Standard 5:The student will use appro-priate organizational skillsfor writing/revising.
• titles
• items in a series• conventional uses• semicolon before a conjunctive adverb• colon to introduce a list within a sentence• semicolon to separate elements in a series
in which one element in the series isalready separated by commas.
• quotation marks in direct quotations,including broken quotations
• quotation marks to indicate titles• underlining to indicate titles• possessive of singular nouns• possessive of plural nouns• introductory sentences• concluding sentences• sequence of events or details• transitional words and flow• extraneous ideas
Standard Objective Item Specification
English/Language Arts
Social Studiesobjectives
Assessment Readiness Tests
ObjectiveIdentify and evaluate
America’s exploration,development, divergence(emphasis on the United
States).
StandardThe student will under-stand the global influenceof pre-colonial and colo-nial eras of the WesternHemisphere.
Item Specification• Trace the development and impact of the
Columbian exchange (destabilizing ofNative American societies).
• Identify the effects of the crusades, theRenaissance, and the Reformation (motiva-tion, subsequent action).
• Identify the critical economic and politicalevents leading to the colonial separationfrom England (taxation, French and IndianWar, lack of free trade, Boston Massacre,Boston Tea Party, Lexington and Concord).
• Trace, compare, and explain the signifi-cance of early European conquests, colo-nization, and business ventures (conquista-dors, St. Augustine, Jamestown, VirginiaHouse of Burgesses).
Assessment Readiness Tests
Know the impact of theinfluences of intellectualand religious thought on
the political systems of theUnited States.
The student will under-stand the formation anddevelopment of the UnitedStates.
• Identify and describe the impact and theinfluence of the intellectual and religiousthought on the political systems of theUnited States (Magna Carta; political con-cepts of Locke, Rousseau, andMontesquieu; great awakening, Bill ofRights).
• Identify and describe models and conceptsfor central government (first and secondContinental Congresses, political parties,Declaration of Independence, Articles ofConfederation: strengths and weaknesses,constitutional convention, first Americanpolitical systems, Washington’s farewelladdress, impact of John Marshall on theSupreme Court).
Standard Objective Item Specification
Social Studies
Assessment Readiness Tests
Know the provisions ofessential documents of the
U.S. government(Constitution; 13th, 14th,
15th, and 19thAmendments).
Identify and evaluate theimpact of the American
Revolution.
Identify and evaluate theera of expansion. Use the
map on territorial expansion.
The student will under-stand the formation anddevelopment of the UnitedStates.
The student will under-stand the eras of revolu-tion, expansion, andreform prior to the UnitedStates Civil War.
• Identify, explain, describe, and/or comparethe provisions of essential documents of theU.S. government (Declaration ofIndependence, basics of the Constitution).
• Relate separation of powers, Federal system,and the Bill of Rights to colonial experiences.
• Trace and describe the causes, course, andconsequences of the Revolutionary War.
• Trace and compare the expansion of theUnited States from 1783-1853 (territorialexpansion, Louisiana Purchase, economicnationalism during the “era of good feel-ing,” Westward expansion, growing section-al divisions)
Standard Objective Item Specification
Social Studies
Assessment Readiness Tests
Identify and evaluate theimpact of American socialand political reform and
the emergence of a distinctAmerican culture
Identify and evaluateevents, causes, and leading
effects of the Civil Warera.
The student will under-stand concepts related tothe United States CivilWar era.
• Identify, describe, and/or compare theimpact of social, political, and economicreforms before the Civil War.
• Identify and compare the successes andfailures of the Reconstruction era and theemergence of the new South (plans forReconstruction, radical Reconstruction,presidency of U.S. Grant, end ofReconstruction, the new South).
• Recognize and analyze the factors leadingto sectional division (Compromise of 1850,Fugitive Slave Act, Kansas-Nebraska Act,formation of Republican Party, Dred ScottDecision, John Brown Raid).
• Identify and relate the election of Lincoln tothe division of the nation (background,secession, and the federal response; NorthernAlabama’s perspective on secession (Note:Include Winston County, Alabama,
Standard Objective Item Specification
Social Studies
Assessment Readiness Tests
Identify and evaluate theevents that led to the set-
tlement of the West.
Evaluate the concepts,developments, and conse-quences of industrializa-tion and urbanization.
The student will under-stand the concepts anddevelopments of the late19th to early 20th cen-turies.
and western counties of Virginia).• Examine the military defeat of the
Confederacy (geographic, political, eco-nomic).
• Identify and analyze the non-military eventsof the Civil War (political, economic, cul-tural, legal).
• Identify and explain the closing of theFrontier, and the transition from anAgrarian Society to an Industrial Nationduring the 1800s. (Indian tribes, settlementof the Midwest/immigrant movement,changing role of the American farmers)
• Identify, explain, and relate the accomplish-ments and limitations of the ProgressiveMovement. (characteristics, social, theNiagara Movement, AtlantaExposition/Compromise, TuskegeeInstitute, political, Alabama’s 1901Constitution, progressive Constitutionalamendments and impact, progressive
Standard Objective Item Specification
Social Studies
Assessment Readiness Tests
Evaluate the causes ofWorld War I.
The student will under-stand the causes andeffects of World War I.
leadership of Theodore Roosevelt andWoodrow Wilson, Election of 1912)
• Describe the concepts, developments, andconsequences of industrialization and urban-ization (geographic factors that influencedindustrialization, sources of power for newindustries, communication revolution, earlyindustry/role of labor in Alabama [Note:Alabama maps may be used],monopolies/mergers, ideologies of business,urbanization in the late 1800s. (Note: photos,political cartoons, and graphs may be used).
• Identify and explain American imperialismand territorial expansion prior to WWI(search for raw materials, global balance ofpower, Hawaiian Islands, Spanish AmericanWar, open door policy, Panama Canal,Roosevelt’s corollary).
• Socioeconomic climate of the U.S.,European economy, nationalism,imperialism, militarism).
Standard Objective Item Specification
Social Studies
Assessment Readiness Tests
Analyze the effects ofWorld Ware I (America’srejection of world leader-ship, American culture,
racial conflicts).
• Identify and analyze America’s involvementin WWI. (causes of the war: long term andimmediate, causes of the United States'entry into the war, mobilization, Americanmilitary role [Note: no specific battles],home front, technological innovations,Treaty of Versailles).
• Trace and explain global transformation:European nationalism and Western imperi-alism (economic roots of imperialism;imperialist ideology; european colonialismand rivalries in Africa, asia, and the MiddleEast; United States imperialism).
• Identify and analyze the course and conse-quences of WWI (course, consequences,post-World War I era, unfinished business).
• Identify and explain the development ofpost-war American culture (roaring twen-ties, racial and ethnic conflict - 1920s and1930s)
Standard Objective Item Specification
Social Studies
Assessment Readiness Tests
Analyze the advent andimpact of the Great
Depression and the NewDeal on American life(political, economic,
social).
Analyze America’sinvolvement in World War II.
The student will under-stand the GreatDepression and WorldWar II.
• Identify and analyze the causes of the GreatDepression (disparity of income, Stock Marketspeculation, collapse of farm economy).
• Identify and analyze the course of the GreatDepression and its impact on American life(geographic [Note: maps included],Hoover’s Administration, political and eco-nomic, cultural).
• Identify and analyze America’s involvementin WWII (causes, home front, political lead-ers, military participation, the Holocaust,scientific and technological developments).
• Compare America’s involvement in WWIIto WWI.
Standard Objective Item Specification
Social Studies
Scienceobjectives
Assessment Readiness Tests
ObjectiveAnalyze the methods to
identify and solve problems.
Trace the transfer of mat-ter and energy through
biological systems.
StandardStandard 1:Understand concepts dealing with the nature ofscience.
Standard 2:Understand concepts deal-ing with matter.
Item Specification• Use process skills to interpret data from
graphs, tables, and charts.• Identify safe laboratory procedures when
handling chemicals, using Bunsen burners,and using laboratory glassware.
• Identify and use appropriate SystemInternational (SI) units for measuringdimensions, volume, and mass.
• Define and identify examples of hypotheses.• Order the proper sequence of steps within
the scientific process.• Select appropriate laboratory glassware, bal-
ances, time measuring equipment, and opti-cal instruments to conduct an investigation.
• Identify, define, and distinguish among pro-ducers (autotrophs), consumers, and decom-posers (heterotrophs).
• Trace the flow of energy through foodchains, food webs, and energy pyramids.
Assessment Readiness Tests
Relate particle motion tothe states of matter (solids,
liquids, and gases).
Apply information fromthe periodic table and
make predictions usingthe organization of the
Periodic Table.
• Identify the reactants and products associat-ed with photosynthesis and cellular respira-tion and the purpose of these two processes.
• Describe the carbon, nitrogen, and watercycles—including transpiration and respiration.
• Identify states of matter in terms of molecu-lar (particle) movement, density, and kineticenergy associated with each phase/state of agiven type of matter.
• Determine the number of protons, neutrons,electrons, and mass of an element using theperiodic table.
• Use data about the number of electrons inthe outer electron shell of an atom, includ-ing simple dot diagrams, to determine itsstability/reactivity and be able to predictionic charge resulting from reactions.
Standard Objective Item Specification
Science
Assessment Readiness Tests
Identify how factors affectrates of physical and
chemical changes.
Distinguish among thetaxonomic groups bymajor characteristics.
Differentiate structures,functions, and characteris-
tics of plants.
Standard 3:Understand concepts of thediversity of life.
• Demonstrate knowledge that some factorsand substances can affect the rate at whichphysical and chemical changes occur in liv-ing and non-living systems—such as thedigestive process. (Note: Factors and sub-stances include such things as temperature,surface area, and catalysts—includingenzymes.)
• Classify organisms into the five kingdomsbased on recognizing two or more charac-teristics associated with organisms in agiven kingdom.
• Recognized properly written scientificnames using binomial nomenclature.
• Identify the distinguishing characteristics ofangiosperms and gymnosperms in terms oftheir structures and reproduction.
• Identify reproductive structures and theirfunction in angiosperms.
Standard Objective Item Specification
Science
Assessment Readiness Tests
Differentiate structures,functions, and characteris-
tics of animals.
Recognize inheritablecharacteristics of
organisms.
Explain how the DNAmolecule transfers geneticinformation from parents
to offspring.
Standard 4:Understand concepts ofheredity.
• Demonstrate knowledge of which charac-teristics/traits would be best suited forplants growing in different environmentsand/or exposed to different pests.
• Distinguish characteristics of vertebrates andinvertebrates in terms of a broad but basicrange of physical and reproductive traits.
• Explain how animals are adapted to theirenvironment—such as protective coloration,mimicry, claws, beaks, etc.
• Identify physical traits that are passed fromparents to offspring.
• Recognize and evaluate the harms and ben-efits that result when mutations occur.
• Describe in basic terms the structure andfunction of DNA.
• Define and distinguish between dominantand recessive genes and how each isexpressed in parents and offspring.
Standard Objective Item Specification
Science
Assessment Readiness Tests
Distinguish relationshipsamong cell structures,functions, and organ-
ization in living organisms.
Standard 5:Understand concepts ofcells.
• Recognize differences between active andpassive transport of substances and theenergy requirements associated with thesetransport systems.
• Identify and define similarities and differ-ences between plant and animal cells.
• Classify organisms as prokaryotic oreukaryotic; identify and define similaritiesand differences between prokaryotic andeukaryotic cells.
• Describe cell locomotion by means of ciliaand flagella and recognize some organismsthat depend on one or the other of thesemeans of locomotion.
• Identify cell organelles and define functionsof cell organelles—may include graphicrepresentations.
Standard Objective Item Specification
Science