IA Assessment & Progress Monitoring 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student consistently scores well on weekly quizzes but fails unit tests. What type of assessment discrepancy is this?
- Summative outperforming formative
- Formative not predicting summative performance (Correct answer)
- Norm-referenced inconsistency
- Criterion-referenced bias
Correct answer: Formative not predicting summative performance
When formative assessments (quizzes) do not predict summative outcomes (unit tests), it may indicate test anxiety, study habit issues, or misalignment between practice and testing conditions.
Question 2: An instructional aide uses a checklist to observe whether a student can independently tie their shoes. This is an example of:
- Portfolio assessment
- Anecdotal record
- Performance-based assessment (Correct answer)
- Norm-referenced testing
Correct answer: Performance-based assessment
Performance-based assessment evaluates a student's ability to demonstrate a skill through direct observation of the actual task.
Question 3: Which data collection method is MOST appropriate for tracking how often a student calls out in class without raising their hand?
- Duration recording
- Frequency recording (Correct answer)
- Latency recording
- Interval recording
Correct answer: Frequency recording
Frequency recording counts how many times a behavior occurs, making it ideal for discrete, countable behaviors like calling out.
Question 4: A teacher asks an aide to administer a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in reading. What should the aide primarily record?
- Student's reading comprehension strategies
- Number of words read correctly per minute (Correct answer)
- Student's enjoyment of the passage
- Number of unknown vocabulary words
Correct answer: Number of words read correctly per minute
CBM reading probes measure oral reading fluency by recording words read correctly per minute within a timed passage.
Question 5: When an IEP goal states a student will 'complete tasks with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions,' the aide's data must:
- Be collected once per week
- Show accuracy across at least three separate sessions (Correct answer)
- Only be collected by the special education teacher
- Be based on test scores alone
Correct answer: Show accuracy across at least three separate sessions
The criterion of '3 consecutive sessions' requires the aide to collect and document data across multiple separate sessions to confirm consistency.
Question 6: A student's reading fluency data shows scores of 45, 47, 44, 46 over four weeks. The trend line indicates:
- Significant growth requiring acceleration
- Plateau suggesting an instructional change may be needed (Correct answer)
- Regression requiring intensive intervention
- Mastery and readiness for the next level
Correct answer: Plateau suggesting an instructional change may be needed
A flat or minimally varying trend line indicates the student is not making meaningful progress and the instructional approach should be reviewed.
Question 7: Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of error analysis in student assessments?
- To assign a grade based on wrong answers
- To identify patterns in mistakes that reveal misunderstandings (Correct answer)
- To compare a student to peers who made similar errors
- To document errors for disciplinary records
Correct answer: To identify patterns in mistakes that reveal misunderstandings
Error analysis examines the types of mistakes students make to uncover specific misconceptions or skill gaps that should be targeted in instruction.
IA Assessment & Progress Monitoring 2
A student consistently scores well on weekly quizzes but fails unit tests.
What type of assessment discrepancy is this?