Acuity Reports for Parents Division of Academics, Performance and Support 2011-2012 School Year
Objective and Agenda Objective: Parents will be able to log into Acuity and view their child s reports for Acuity Assessments Agenda > Components of Acuity > Access Acuity > Navigate Student Homepage > Read Predictive Assessment and Progress Reports > Read Instructionally Targeted Assessment and Progress Reports > Read Custom Test Assessment and Progress Reports > Read Performance Assessment Rubric Reports 2
What is Acuity? Acuity provides formative, low-stakes assessments that students will take throughout the school year to provide information to their teachers regarding their strengths and weaknesses in preparation for the NYS exam Reports are generated from the results of the student s assessment and made available online for the student and parents The data can be used to help teachers differentiate instruction based on the specific needs of each student The data can also be used to help parents identify areas where their student needs remediation (additional assistance to address gaps in learning) or enrichment (extension activities). 3
Components of Acuity Instructionally Targeted Assessment (ITA) > Aligns to the skills that the student is learning in the classroom at specific points in time throughout the year. > ITAs may include diagnostic or predictive assessments Custom Assessment > Teacher developed assessments that can be given to students for enrichment and/or remediation based on their predictive and ITA performance > Report displays are identical to the Instructionally Targeted Assessments Performance Assessment > Ask students to demonstrate higher order thinking skills through open-ended and real-world tasks > Require students to be active learners and apply skills in multiple contexts > Provide clear criteria for student performance through scoring rubrics 4
Components of Acuity Type of Assessment Description Level of Customization Instructionally Targeted Assessments (ITAs) Match NYC instructional approaches May be customized Custom Assessments Available to make customized classroom assignments Customized Performance Assessment Students demonstrate knowledge of a topic May be customized 5
How do Parents Access Acuity Reports? To access Acuity, open your Internet browser and enter the following URL > https://nyc-acuity.mcgraw-hill.com/index.jsp You may request your child s username and password from his/her classroom teacher > If you only know your child s Student ID, you can contact the NYC Acuity Helpdesk for the password NYCAcuity@ctb.com 866-NYC-6550 (866-692-6550)
Acuity Login Screen Enter the Acuity URL here and press Enter Enter your child s username and password here To contact the NYC Help Desk, click here or call this number 7
Acuity Student Homepage Your child will click TAKE A TEST to begin his/her Acuity Assessment (Predictive, ITA, or Custom) if it is being administered online Your child will click STUDY to begin instructional exercises that have been assigned to him/her You and your child will click VIEW REPORTS to see his/her performance on an Acuity Assessment 8
Access Acuity Reports Click VIEW REPORTS 9
Access Acuity Reports Click on a Subject 10
Access Acuity Reports The Assessment Report provides information on your child s performance by NYS standards and performance indicators The Student Progress Report compares scores for each custom and/or diagnostic test completed throughout the current school year The Student Performance Assessment Rubric Report provides a list of scores for each completed Performance Assessment for the current school year 11
Access Acuity Reports Click on the link for the Predictive Assessment report 12
Student Assessment Report Predictive Click here to print the report This area displays information about the test such as your child s teacher, class, school and the date your child completed the test 13
Student Assessment Report Predictive Your child s Acuity Scaled Score is a number that allows educators to measure growth from one assessment to another. The Local Percentile Rank reflects your child s placement on the test compared to other students who took it. Example: this student performed better than 55% of the students who completed this assessment in the school. 14
Student Assessment Report Predictive Your child s overall test score (55% in this example) Your child s overall scores based on item type multiple choice questions vs constructed response (written answers) 15
Student Assessment Report Predictive NYS Standards included on the assessment Your child s overall score for all the questions included in each of the NYS Standards For each standard you will see the total number of items, total number of points possible and the total number of points your child received. 16
Student Assessment Report Predictive In this example, this child received a score of 43% for all the questions included in grade 5 Algebra. There were 7 questions in the Algebra strand worth a total of 7 points. This child received a total of 3 points out of 7 (equals 43%). 17
Student Assessment Report Predictive Click on the Standard to view the questions and skills that were assessed You will also see the questions your child answered correctly and incorrectly 18
Access Acuity Reports Click on the link for the ITA or Custom Test Assessment report 19
Student Assessment Report ITA or Custom Click here to print the report This area displays information about the test such as your child s teacher, class, school and the date your child completed the test 20
Student Assessment Report ITA or Custom Your child s overall test score (46% in this example) Your child s overall scores based on item type multiple choice questions vs constructed response (written answers). 21
Student Assessment Report ITA or Custom NYS Standards and performance indicators included on the assessment Your child s overall score for all the questions included in each of the NYS Standards and performance indicators For each standard and/or performance indicator you will see the total number of items, total number of points possible and the total number of points your child received. 22
Student Assessment Report ITA or Custom In this example, this child received a score of 50% for all the questions included in Grade 5 Algebra; Create algebraic or geometric patterns using concrete objects of visual drawings. There were 2 questions in this performance indicator worth a total of 2 points. This child received a total of 1 point out of 2 (equals 50%). 23
Student Assessment Report ITA or Custom Click on the Standard to view the questions and skills that were assessed You will also see the questions your child answered correctly and incorrectly 24
Student Assessment Report ITA or Custom Click on the Item Number to view the actual question and answer choices 25
Access Acuity Reports Click on the link for the Predictive Student Progress Report 26
Student Progress Report Predictive This report will summarize your child s performance on the predictive test. See your child s Scaled Score and Overall Test score 27
Access Acuity Reports Click on the link for the Diagnostic (ITA) or Custom Test Student Progress Report 28
Student Progress Report ITA or Custom This report will summarize the performance on all the ITA or Custom tests completed by your child. See a graphical representation of your child s overall scores for all ITAs and Custom tests completed 29
Student Progress Report ITA or Custom See a graphical representation of your child s overall scores for all ITAs and Custom tests completed This also displays the overall scores and completion dates for all the ITAs and Custom tests completed by your child 30
Access Acuity Reports Click on the link for the Student Performance Assessment Rubric Report 31
Student Performance Assessment Rubric Report Click here to print the report Note the teacher s comments Hover and scroll to see all of the aligned standards The scored performance level is highlighted in green 32
Next Steps For You and Your Child Work with your child s teacher to identify areas of concern Remember there is still time for your child to improve with continued targeted instruction Work with your child on any homework, instructional resources or custom tests that are assigned In areas where your child excels, he/she may be given enrichment activities to further develop these skills Check in with your child s teacher to monitor progress 33
Frequently Asked Questions What is an assessment? > An assessment is another name for a test given to your child. Why are some of my child s percent correct scores highlighted in blue? > There is no pass or fail in Acuity, however any percent scores of 50% or below will be highlighted as a visual indication that this may be an area of weakness for your child On the Student Progress Reports why does it say for Diagnostic > The diagnostic term is an Acuity generic label for the Instructionally Targeted Assessments created by NYC. What is a Constructed Response (CR)? > This is an open-ended question that requires your child to respond using paper/pencil and is scored manually by the teacher. A rubric (guidelines) are provided for the teacher to determine the point values for your child s response. 34