Assessments

Assessment Practice

Early Literacy Intervention and Indiana Dyslexia Legislation

Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, Indiana’s public and charter schools must meet added requirements to identify, as early as possible, struggling readers who show risk factors for dyslexia. Schools must provide systematic, sequential, and multisensory instruction to meet these students’ needs. All students in grades kindergarten through second grade will undergo universal screeners to check their skills in six different areas. These areas are: phonological and phonemic awareness (ability to separate and change sounds in words), alphabet knowledge (name different letters), sound symbol relationship (phonics), decoding (reading), rapid naming (quickly name common objects), and encoding (spelling). Students who fall below a set score or benchmark on the universal screener will be considered by their school to be  “at risk” or “at some risk” for the characteristics of dyslexia. Students who are considered “at risk” or “at some risk” will receive targeted, intensive instruction to grow their foundational literacy skills.

Dyslexia as defined by IC 20-18-2-3.5 is a specific learning disability that:

• is neurological in origin and characterized by:
  • difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition; and
  • poor spelling and encoding abilities;

• typically results from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction; 

• may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge; and 

• may require the provision of special education services after an eligibility determination is made in accordance with 511 IAC 7-40. 

In accordance with this law, each school corporation and charter school shall report on the school corporation or charter school's website the following information:

WHAT INTERVENTION PROGRAMS ARE USED TO ASSIST STUDENTS WHO SHOW RISK FACTORS FOR DYSLEXIA?

Students in Carmel Clay Schools who need intervention in foundational literacy skills receive additional direct, explicit, and multisensory instruction utilizing the following programs: 

• Wilson Fundations Tier 2 Intervention Lessons 

• Orton-Gillingham 

HOW MANY STUDENTS RECEIVED DYLSEXIA INTERVENTION THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR?

296 students

HOW MANY STUDENTS WERE OFFICIALLY DIAGNOSED WITH DYSLEXIA BY A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL DURING THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR? 

11 students

Background
In Indiana, each student enrolled in a U.S. Government course where credit is awarded for General, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, or Core 40 with Technical Honors designation is required to take the naturalization examination provided by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as administered by the student’s high school. U.S. Government courses include Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual credit, and Cambridge International courses. Students do not need to pass the naturalization examination in order to pass the U.S.Government course. Retests are not required or published in the results.

Indiana Code 20-30-5-7(d) requires, not later than November 1, 2022, and not later than November 1 each year thereafter, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to report student data from the naturalization examination to the Indiana General Assembly. 

Test Materials and Process
General information regarding the naturalization examination can be found here. The 2020 naturalization examination contains 128 items. Students participating in the naturalization examination complete 20 of the 128 items. These items are presented orally by the U.S. Government instructor. The U.S. Government instructor is responsible for selecting the 20 items to present to students. The total number of students, student scores, and student passing rates are collected at the school level for each semester or trimester the course is offered (Indiana Department of Education, 2021). 

Reporting
Starting with the 2021-2022 school year, the Indiana Department of Education requires that all Indiana school districts publish naturalization examination results to the district’s website. Retests are not required or published in the results.

Carmel High School Naturalization Exam Results for Semester 1, 2021-2022:
Number of students taking the exam: 577
Number of students who passed the exam on their first attempt: 512
Pass rate of the naturalization exam with regard to the number of students who participated: 89%

Carmel High School Naturalization Exam Results for Semester 2, 2021-2022:
Number of students taking the exam: 561
Number of students who passed the exam on their first attempt: 495
Pass rate of the naturalization exam with regard to the number of students who participated: 88%

Students in grades K-8 take the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments. These assessments are research-based and aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards for Math and English Language Arts.  The assessments are computerized adaptive tests that provide us information on the instructional level of each student and the amount of growth that occurs during the school year. The results help us to identify the skills and concepts individual students have learned, diagnose instructional needs, monitor academic growth over time, make data-driven decisions about curriculum, instruction, and resources at the classroom, school, and district levels, and place new students into appropriate instructional programs. Student Progress Reports are sent to families in the fall and spring.

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I AM measures student achievement and growth according to Indiana’s Content Connectors aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards. I AM is the summative accountability assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-8 and 10. It assesses:

• English/Language Arts (Grades 3-8 and 10)
• Mathematics (Grades 3-8 and 10)
• Science (Grades 4, 6, and Biology)
• Social Studies (Grade 5)

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ILEARN measures student achievement and growth according to Indiana Academic Standards. ILEARN is the summative accountability assessment for Indiana students and assesses:

• English/Language Arts (Grades 3-8)
• Mathematics (Grades 3-8)
• Science (Grades 4 and 6)
• Social Studies (Grade 5)
• Biology (High School)
• U.S. Government – Optional (High School)

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The Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD-3) assessment measures foundational reading standards to Grade 3 students each spring. Based on the Indiana Academic Standards, IREAD-3 is a summative assessment that was developed in accordance with House Enrolled Act 1367 (also known as Public Law 109 in 2010).

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ISTEP+ is an assessment that measures student achievement beginning in Grade 10. ISTEP+ assesses student achievement levels in English/Language Arts, and Mathematics according to the Indiana Academic Standards that were adopted by the Indiana State Board of Education. ISTEP+ assesses:

• English/Language Arts
• Mathematics

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The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires state education agencies to establish and implement standardized, statewide entrance and exit procedures for English learners (Section 3113). In accordance with federal regulations, all states are required to:

• identify the languages other than English present in their student population;
• assess the language proficiency of students in order to place them in the appropriate language development program; and
• administer an annual assessment of English proficiency, which includes measuring a student’s oral language, reading, and writing skills in English.

The purpose of the English Language Proficiency Assessments is to determine a student's level of English proficiency. WIDA ACCESS is the English Language Proficiency Assessment administered in Indiana. The W-APT placement test (kindergarten) and the WIDA Screener (grades 1-12) function as a screener that is used for both initial and English Language (EL) program placement of students who are identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP). The annual assessment, ACCESS and Alternate Access, is administered to determine a student's current level of English proficiency. The annual assessment is also used for accountability purposes.

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