Grades 3-8 Instructional Reports Now Available to Schools

The State Education Department today announced that instructional reports for the 2015 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Testing Program are available for schools and districts. The reports have been made available to schools and districts to use for summer curriculum writing and professional development activities. They have been available in prior years, but the Department authorized an earlier release schedule in response to requests from teachers, principals, and superintendents. This early release provides educators additional time to use the results to plan for the upcoming school year. Schools access their district’s instructional reports through the Regional Information Centers (RIC) and/or Big 5 city school district data centers.

“One of the main reasons for assessing students is to provide our teachers and principals with information they can use to improve student learning,” Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said. “Educators tell me these instructional reports help them make more strategic decisions about curriculum and professional development. The sooner they can access this information, the better it is for our schools and students.”

“The instructional reports show teachers, superintendents, and principals where their students’ learning is strong, what learning standards their students have mastered, and what subject areas need more attention,” Senior Deputy Commissioner Ken Wagner said. “Our teachers and administrators are using this information in thoughtful ways to help improve outcomes for our students. The earlier release of the reports gives them more time this summer to plan for the next school year.”

The reports show students’ responses to every question on the assessments. Teachers, administrators, and other authorized school personnel can use the reports to review whether the student answered the question correctly. The reports also show the Common Core learning standards measured by each question. Many superintendents say their districts use the reports to take a more thoughtful approach to instructional planning and professional development for teachers. The data allows district teams to create meaningful plans for the new school year that will help improve student learning.

As in years past, the instructional reports are based on raw scores only and do not include scale scores or performance levels. Later this summer, the Department will release statewide results as well as results from individual schools and districts. Parents will also have access to their children’s scores over the summer. Additionally, the Department will once again release at least 50 percent of the 2015 test questions

The Regional Information Centers (RICs) are organized under the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). Presently, there are 12 RICs across the State, each administratively aligned under a BOCES. Typically, a RIC serves several BOCES within their region. To learn more about the reports produced by RICs for schools, use this link: http://boces.org/Portals/0/Web%20Docs/RIC%20Reports/NYSRICsCommonDataViews%20062215.pdf. The New York City Department of Education and Yonkers Public Schools serve as their own data centers and have different reporting structures and timelines.

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