The Placement Test is designed to identify the appropriate level of instruction for each student. Initial placement within Imagine Language & Literacy and selection of developmentally appropriate activities in the program are determined by student performance on the Placement Test. Placement tests data carries over from year to year and serves a dual role as an initial benchmark test. The Placement test is comprised of a series of sub-tests.
Student Placement Test performance is reported via two metrics. These metrics and a brief explanation relevant to their interpretation are provided below.
Information Reported | Placement Test Overview | Placement Test Sub-test | Interpretation/Use |
---|---|---|---|
Raw Score | No | Yes | Sub-tests results are shown as a percentage of correct answers out of the total number of items for each sub-test. |
Overall Score | Yes | No | Students' Overall Literacy and Overall Oral Vocabulary Scores are based on their sub-test scaled scores* and represent peak performance on the most difficult sub-test they attempted during testing. |
*Scaled scores are the product of a statistical transformation of raw scores that places all results on the same scale and allows for meaningful comparisons across sub-tests.
The proficiency level demonstrated within each sub-test is displayed as the student’s percent of correct responses.
Overall scores are holistic measures of student performance on the Placement Test. They increase when students demonstrate proficiency on sub-tests they attempt, but they also increase for lower-skill sub-tests the program allows them to skip. For example, if a student demonstrates she can proficiently recognize words, she is not tested in letter recognition, a lower-level skill. However, her overall score will reflect her proficiency in both word and letter recognition.
Overall Literacy and Overall Oral Vocabulary scores are calculated from sub-test performance. To calculate these overall scores, the raw scores from sub-tests are statistically transformed into scaled scores, which places the results from different sub-tests on the same, fixed scale. This allows a direct mathematical comparison of scores from increasingly difficult curriculum areas. Scale scores for sub-tests increase not only as a student answers more questions correctly, but also as the assessed content becomes more difficult.
A table of test score ranges by grade level is provided toward the bottom of the page that presents details of a student’s test results. The table can be used to facilitate a meaningful interpretation of a student’s scores. The score ranges are determined by proficient performance in content designed for the respective grade levels. Next to the table is a legend that provides descriptions and recommended actions for test statuses provided in student test results.
Grade Level | Test Score Range |
---|---|
PreK | 0-175 |
Kindergarten | 176-550 |
Grade 1 | 551-925 |
Grade 2 | 926-1400 |
Grade 3 | 1401-1915 |
Grade 4 | 1916-2150 |
Grade 5 | 2151-2317 |