The Imagine Español Placement test is a computer-adaptive test designed to place students into their individualized learning path tailored to their needs. Before students take the Imagine Español Placement test, Administrators and Teachers should understand what the test measures, how the test determines placement, and when the test will be administered.
When the Placement test is administered
Students who are new to Imagine Learning take the Placement test the first time they log in to Imagine Español. Provided that their account is never deleted and then recreated with a new student ID, students take the Placement test only once throughout their entire tenure using Imagine Español. Students have no time limit in which they must complete the test and the test window never closes.
Note
The Placement test is enabled by default and cannot be disabled. However, PreK and Kindergarten students do not take the Placement test because they automatically begin with the Kindergarten curriculum.
Teachers should plan on at least 25 minutes to administer the Placement test. Because the test is adaptive, students may take anywhere from 10-45 minutes to complete the test, depending on their knowledge, skills, and understanding of Spanish Language Arts.
What the Placement test measures
The Imagine Español Placement test determines students’ proficiency in key skill areas and then places them in the Imagine Español curriculum so they can receive appropriate and adaptive instruction. The Imagine Español Placement test was designed to be conservative in placing students so that the program can address any gaps in students' foundational skills or knowledge of prior grade-level content. The test uses small groups of questions called testlets to efficiently determine the student’s current knowledge and skills of Spanish Language Arts. Testlets quickly assess students' decoding skills along with their independent reading abilities. The content for the testlets was developed by Imagine Learning’s Content Experts in conjunction with the Imagine Learning Assessment Team. The placement test was designed with a strategic approach based on our team’s knowledge of grade-level standards in Spanish Language Arts and understanding of what students should master when. This strategic approach places students appropriately while allowing students who perform below grade level to exit early and students who are at or above grade level to invest time in demonstrating their knowledge.
How the Placement Test determines a student’s placement
The primary function of the Imagine Español Placement test is for students to be placed into the appropriate grade level for success. When students begin the test, they initially receive test questions that are on or below their rostered grade level. Students in Grade 1 begin with kindergarten testlets, and students in Grades 2-5 begin with a first grade testlet. As students work through the test, it adapts to their knowledge and skill level, which means the students will see test questions at various levels of difficulty. Students will be placed based on the level of mastery they demonstrate in the Placement test; however, students will not receive an initial placement that is beyond their rostered grade level. For students who need enrichment, the adaptivity of Imagine Español ensures that students can skip through content they already know when appropriate.