Grade 3 screener benchmark scores marking any level of risk map to MCAS ELA scores from mid Partially Meeting Expectations to the beginning of Meeting Expectations¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: tool and model accuracy changes quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Equipercentile linking places most any-risk benchmark scores within the MCAS Partially Meeting Expectations performance level, with some variability across assessments. → Lemke 2023

Evidence¶

Lemke 2023¶

Lemke, M., Murphy, D., Soo Ping Chow, A., Spencer, H., & Zhang, A. (2023). Comparing early literacy screening assessment benchmarks in Massachusetts. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED638508

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Equipercentile linking analysis of grade 3 screener benchmark scores onto the MCAS ELA scale, using data from more than 4,000 students across 28 districts and 63 schools in 2021/22. The analysis shows risk benchmarks 'fall in the MCAS Partially Meeting Expectations performance level, though there is some variability' (Figure 1).

"Results of an equipercentile linking analysis show that most benchmark scores that identify students at any level of risk (for example, the score that divides students who are "At Benchmark" or "Above Benchmark" from students who are "Below Benchmark" or "Well Below Benchmark" in DIBELS 8th Edition terms) fall in the MCAS Partially Meeting Expectations performance level, though there is some variability (see Figure 1)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Screening assessment benchmarks indicating significant risk shift up and down on the MCAS scale within and across grades, so students with the same skills may be classified differently at different times — related
• Early literacy screening assessments provide multiple benchmarks or performance levels defined in different ways, with no common definition of 'at risk' — related
• Equipercentile linking shows grade 3 screening benchmark cut scores identifying at-risk students cluster in the MCAS Partially Meeting Expectations performance level, with variation among assessments — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• The predictive value of grade 3 screening benchmarks for MCAS ELA proficiency varies widely: 15 to 69 percent of students classified as on track did not reach MCAS proficiency, and students flagged at risk rarely met proficiency — related
• Literacy screener benchmarks predict which grade 3 students will not meet MCAS ELA expectations, but not necessarily who will meet them — related
• Screening assessments vary in design, administration, and risk definitions such that there is no truly common definition of risk across assessments — related