Reading the MCA Reports
What do Partially Meets, Meets, and Exceeds mean on the Individual Student Reports (ISR)?
On the new Individual Student Reports (ISR) there are a number of graphs and classifications. One example of what a graph could look like is shown.
On the bottom of the graph are the four categories of achievement/performance: Does Not Meet, Partially Meets, Meets, and Exceeds. To the right of the graph the “Performance Level Description” states in words which category represents the student’s score.
On a later page of the ISR is a table similar to the one shown.
The table gives more detail about the student’s overall performance in each of the strands on the MCA. Notice that even though the student in this example achieved an overall performance of Exceeds the Standards, they did not have the same performance level in all four strands.
The descriptions of the four categories of achievement/performance are different for each grade level. Descriptions of these four categories (given in the Achievement Level Descriptors) are available at the following websites (a QR code is also provided):
http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/EdExc/Testing/AchievLevDesc/
If a goal is set by a district or school to have every student or a specific percentage of students perform at Meets the Standards or Exceeds the Standards, it is necessary for teachers to know what those categories mean in terms of student achievement.
A possible next step is to evaluate curriculum and teaching materials using the defined goal. One way to do this is to review classroom materials and classify them using the ALDs. The document below was created to assist teachers and PLC groups in the evaluation of teaching materials with the ALDs.
The document guides a teacher or a PLC group through a process of evaluating teaching materials against the ALDs. This process, or one similar, provides a clearer understanding of what Does Not Meet, Partially Meets, Meets, and Exceeds mean on the ISR in more concrete terms.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact Ann and Angela with any questions, concerns, or requests to come out to your school.
Angela Hochstetter – Math Assessment Specialist
angela.hochstetter@state.mn.us
Ann Page – Math Assessment Specialist