MKAS Assessment Techniques & Data Interpretation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A K-3 teacher uses a running record to assess a student's reading. What is the PRIMARY purpose of analyzing miscues in this record?
- To calculate a reading speed score
- To understand the strategies a reader uses and where breakdowns occur (Correct answer)
- To assign a letter grade for reading fluency
- To compare the student to national norms
Correct answer: To understand the strategies a reader uses and where breakdowns occur
Miscue analysis reveals which cueing systems (semantic, syntactic, graphophonic) a reader relies on and where comprehension breaks down.
Question 2: Which type of assessment is BEST suited for monitoring a student's progress toward a specific learning goal over several weeks?
- Summative assessment
- Norm-referenced assessment
- Formative assessment (Correct answer)
- Standardized placement test
Correct answer: Formative assessment
Formative assessments are ongoing, low-stakes checks used to monitor and guide student learning toward instructional goals.
Question 3: When reviewing a class data report, a teacher notices that 80% of students answered the same question incorrectly. What is the MOST appropriate next step?
- Re-teach the concept using a different instructional approach (Correct answer)
- Move on because most students still passed the overall assessment
- Contact parents about poor class performance
- Remove the question from future assessments as too difficult
Correct answer: Re-teach the concept using a different instructional approach
When most students miss the same item, it signals a gap in instruction that warrants re-teaching with a new strategy.
Question 4: A portfolio assessment in a K-3 classroom is MOST valuable because it:
- Provides a single snapshot of student achievement
- Allows comparison of students to a standardized norm group
- Documents growth over time through collected student work samples (Correct answer)
- Is quicker to score than multiple-choice tests
Correct answer: Documents growth over time through collected student work samples
Portfolios collect work samples across time, making student growth and development visible in authentic ways.
Question 5: On a benchmark assessment, a second-grade student scores at the 'strategic support' tier. What does this MOST likely indicate?
- The student is performing above grade-level expectations
- The student needs some targeted intervention in addition to core instruction (Correct answer)
- The student requires intensive individualized intervention immediately
- The student is ready to be referred for special education evaluation
Correct answer: The student needs some targeted intervention in addition to core instruction
A 'strategic support' tier indicates the student is approaching but not yet meeting benchmarks and needs supplemental, targeted instruction.
Question 6: Which BEST describes a criterion-referenced assessment?
- It ranks students against each other in the same grade level
- It compares a student's score to a national sample of peers
- It measures a student's performance against a predetermined standard or benchmark (Correct answer)
- It assesses how quickly a student completes a task compared to classmates
Correct answer: It measures a student's performance against a predetermined standard or benchmark
Criterion-referenced assessments measure mastery of specific skills relative to a defined standard, not relative to other students.
Question 7: A teacher administers a phonemic awareness screener at the start of the school year. This is an example of:
- Diagnostic assessment
- Universal screening (Correct answer)
- Progress monitoring
- Summative evaluation
Correct answer: Universal screening
Universal screening is administered to all students at the beginning of the year to identify those at risk before problems become severe.
MKAS Assessment Techniques & Data Interpretation 2
A K-3 teacher uses a running record to assess a student's reading.
What is the PRIMARY purpose of analyzing miscues in this record?