Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the Diagnostic Assessments? Why should I use them?
What kind of information is provided by the Diagnostic Assessments?
What kinds of measures are included in the Diagnostic Assessments?
How many and what types of questions are on the Diagnostic Assessments?
How and when are Diagnostic Assessments administered? How much time do they take?
What should I do with the rest of my class
when I’m conducting one-on-one
assessments?
How often must the Diagnostic Assessments be administered?
How should I use the results of the Diagnostic Assessments?
Is intervention required, depending on results of the Diagnostic Assessments?
What are the Diagnostic Assessments? Why should I use them?
The Diagnostic Assessments are aligned with the Ohio Academic Content Standards. To date, assessments have been developed for reading (kindergarten–grade 2), writing (kindergarten–grade 3) and mathematics (kindergarten–grade 2).
The Diagnostic Assessments support teachers in planning focused, standards-based instruction for their students. You can use the results of the Diagnostic Assessments to check your students’ progress toward meeting the standards; to evaluate, adjust and strengthen their instruction; and to determine whether further diagnosis is needed.
Where can I find more information about Ohio’s Instructional Management System (IMS) and Statewide Assessment System?
Ohio’s Instructional Management System (IMS)
The IMS includes all components of Ohio’s model curricula including the academic content standards, model lessons, assessments, and other useful information.
http://ims.ode.state.oh.us
More Information on Ohio’s Statewide Assessment System
Ohio’s diagnostic tests and achievement tests measure how well students are meeting the expectations of the academic content standards.
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/curriculum-assessment/Assessment/
What kind of information is provided by the Diagnostic Assessments?
Information from the Diagnostic Assessments shows how well (and whether) your students understand specific concepts. The Diagnostic Assessments indicate whether
- a concept is understood by all students;
- a concept is understood by one student or by merely a few students.
This information allows you to adjust classroom instruction for the entire class and provide more personalized instruction or intervention that is based on the needs and abilities of a group or an individual.
What kinds of measures are included in the Diagnostic Assessments?
The Diagnostic Assessments are made up of four components:
- screening measures, which provide an analysis of students’ understandings of fundamental concepts and skills and help you to identify those students who may be at risk and may need intervention
- diagnostic measures, which provide profiles that you can use for formative or summative assessment at key checkpoints during the school year or as gauges of the progress your students have made as a result of instruction
- observational measures, which are embedded in daily instruction and provide mechanisms for collecting information for use in monitoring student progress and their intervention needs
- short screening measures, which quickly tell you whether students are clearly on track to meet standards or whether further assessment will be necessary to make such a determination
How many and what types of questions are on the Diagnostic Assessments?
The screening, short screening and diagnostic measures are made up of a mixture of tasks, including multiple-choice, short-answer and/or extended-response questions.
The number of questions for each assessment varies, based on the subject area and the grade. For example, whereas the Kindergarten Mathematics Diagnostic Measure has 31 questions that are administered individually, the Kindergarten Reading Diagnostic Measure has 51 questions that are administered individually.
How and when are the Diagnostic Assessments administered? How much time do they take?
Districts have flexibility in how they choose to administer the short screening, screening and diagnostic measures. They may be administered in parts over the course of the year or they may be used in their entirety at any one time.
Current annual requirements can be found at http://www.ode.state.oh.us/proficiency/Diagnostic_Achievement/default.asp. You may also call the Office of Assessment at 614-466-0223 if you have specific questions. Additionally, see the Assessment Selection Tool for more information about recommendations for your students.
Kindergarten and grade 1 diagnostic measures are most often administered individually, with some small-group activities. Diagnostic measures for grades 2 and 3 are most often administered in large-group settings, with some small-group activities.
Assessment activities are divided into three formats: one-on-one, small-group or whole-class. For one-on-one activities, you may choose to administer the activity to more than one student at a time, if sufficient materials are available.
What should I do with the rest of my class when I’m conducting the one-on-one assessments?
One goal of the Diagnostic Assessments is to make them look and feel like real classroom activities. Therefore, one way to integrate assessment into instruction is by treating it like a regular classroom activity. Depending upon your grade level, you might have other students listen to books at a listening center, write in their journals or work on writing projects, read silently, meet in literature circles, or work with aides.
Does the state expect me to do an individual 60-minute diagnostic assessment for each of my grade 1 students?
Although teachers must assess each student, they are permitted, and even encouraged, to administer parts of an assessment at different times. Each diagnostic measure is made up of sessions and accompanying activities. Teachers can administer these sessions over the school year as they provide instruction.
How often must the Diagnostic Assessments be administered?
Current annual requirements can be found at http://www.ode.state.oh.us/proficiency/Diagnostic_Achievement/default.asp.
How should I use the results of the Diagnostic Assessments?
When you administer the Diagnostic Assessments in their entirety, you should use the results to gain a sense of how well your students are progressing toward the goals expressed in the state academic standards. You also should share the results with parents so they will be aware of their children’s strengths and weaknesses in specific areas.
When you administer the Diagnostic Assessments in sessions over the school year, you should use the results as part of your decision-making process about student needs.
Regardless of how the Diagnostic Assessments are administered, the information they provide can help you target needs for instructional adjustments and interventions.
Is intervention required based on results of the Diagnostic Assessments?
Each district is required to provide intervention services to students whose profiles show that they are failing to make progress toward the grade-level indicators.
