Norms updated for 2024

This research-driven, computer-adaptive assessment program for reading and math has been updated with new norms in 2024, reflecting student performance data from across the country during the 2022-2023 school year. Updated normative data is crucial for several reasons:

Accuracy in Assessment: It ensures that assessments reflect current educational standards and student performance trends. Without updated data, evaluations may become outdated and less accurate in measuring student progress and abilities.

Relevance to Current Curriculum: Educational standards and curricula evolve. Updated normative data helps align assessments with contemporary teaching practices and learning goals, making sure that the evaluations are relevant and useful.

Equitable Benchmarking: It provides a fair and up-to-date benchmark for comparing student performance against peers. This helps in identifying where students stand relative to current norms, rather than outdated or less relevant benchmarks.

Improved Student Outcomes: By using the most recent data, educational programs and tools can better address the needs of students, leading to more effective support and improved learning outcomes.

Reflects Changes in Population: Student populations change over time due to demographic shifts, changes in educational practices, and societal influences. Updated normative data captures these changes, providing a more accurate picture of student performance trends.

Essential Scores on the Reading Results Report

Lexile Score: A Lexile score is a measure of a reader’s ability and the difficulty level of texts. It is represented as a number followed by the letter “L” (e.g., 850L). Higher numbers indicate more advanced reading skills, while lower numbers indicate less advanced skills. The Lexile framework helps match readers with texts that are appropriately challenging.

Percentile Rank:A percentile rank indicates the percentage of scores in a distribution that fall below a particular score. For instance, if a student is in the 75th percentile, this means they scored higher than 75% of the students who took the same test. It helps compare an individual’s performance to that of their peers.

Scaled Score: A scaled score is a standardized score that has been adjusted from the raw score (number of correct answers) to account for variations in difficulty across different versions of a test. This allows for a consistent comparison of scores across different forms or administrations of a test.

Instructional Reading Level: The instructional reading level is the level at which a student can read and understand a text with some help or support. It’s typically where the student can read with 90-95% accuracy and comprehension. This level is used to guide educators in selecting appropriate reading materials for teaching and learning.

Grade Equivalent Score: A grade equivalent score indicates a student's reading performance relative to the average performance of students in a particular grade. For example, a grade equivalent score of 5.4 means that the student’s reading ability is comparable to the average student in the fourth month of fifth grade. It provides a rough estimate of a student's skill level compared to typical grade-level expectations.