Your child’s test results serve as an ‘academic checkup’ to make sure your child is on track for the next grade level; measure progress over time so you can see your child’s year-to-year performance; and provide a deeper level of information by pinpointing what skills your child has mastered and what skills your child is still developing.
Overview of the Scoring
The New York State Education Department administers tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and math to students in grades 3-8 each year, usually in April or early May. Here is an outline of how the tests are scored:
- Raw score: Each student’s test is initially scored based on the number of questions answered correctly, resulting in a raw score.
- Scaled score: The raw score is then converted into a scaled score, which takes into account the difficulty of the questions on the test. This ensures that the scores are comparable across different test forms and years.
- Performance level: The scaled scores are then used to determine the student’s performance level, which is based on a four-point scale: Level 1 (below standard), Level 2 (partially proficient), Level 3 (proficient), and Level 4 (exceeds proficiency).
- Level 1 (Below Standard): Not yet demonstrating proficiency in the subject area. This means that they have significant gaps in their understanding of the content and are not yet meeting grade-level expectations. Students at this level need immediate intervention to address their areas of weakness so they can improve.
- Level 2 (Partially Proficient): Is demonstrating some proficiency in the subject area, but may still have some significant gaps in their understanding. The student at this level may be meeting some grade-level expectations in some areas but lacking in other areas. There most likely needs to be additional support for the student.
- Level 3 (Proficient): Is demonstrating proficiency in the subject area and is meeting grade-level expectations. For the most part, students at this level have a solid understanding of the content and are have ability to apply it in a variety of contexts.
- Level 4 (Exceeds Proficiency): Is exceeding grade-level expectations and demonstrating a deep understanding of the subject area. Students can apply the content in new and innovative ways, and may have a passion for the subject area.
- Cut scores: The performance levels are determined by cut scores, which are set by the New York State Education Department. Cut scores are based on the performance of a representative sample of students in the state and are designed to ensure that the distribution of performance levels is consistent from year to year.
- Scoring ranges: The New York State Education Department also provides scoring ranges for each performance level, which are used to provide more detailed information about a student’s performance. For example, a student who scores at the high end of Level 2 may be close to meeting the criteria for Level 3.
Overall, the scoring process for the New York State ELA and Math tests is designed to provide a fair and accurate assessment of each student’s performance. The use of scaled scores and performance levels ensures that the scores are comparable across different test forms and years, while the use of cut scores helps to ensure that the distribution of performance levels is consistent from year to year.
ELA English Language Arts Test Scores
Performance Level
New York State assigns Performance Levels 4, 3, 2, and 1 to scale scores on the test. Students can score a Level 4 through Level 1 on the test, depending on their scale score (see chart below). See the bottom of this page for definitions of each of the four Performance Levels.
Proficiency Rating
The Proficiency Rating shows where a student falls within a particular Performance Level. Ratings range from 1.0 to 4.5.
Scale Score
Student performance on the test is translated into an overall Scale Score. Scale Scores range from 148 – 423.
NYS English Language Arts Grade 3 Scale Score Ranges
Level 4: 358 – 423
Level 3: 320 – 357
Level 2: 291 – 319
Level 1: 148 – 290
New York City Percentile Range
The percentile range is displayed in quartiles; it shows whether your child’s performance falls in the bottom 25% (0-25%), between 26% and 50%, between 51% and 75%, or in the top 25% (76-100%) of all students in New York City in your child’s grade level and on this test.
Overall State Percentile Range
Same as above, except that this range shows how your child performed relative to all students in New York State in your child’s grade level and on this test.
Additional Information on the ELA Scores
Reading and Writing from Sources Subscores
Subscores are calculated based on points earned on groups of questions on the test that measure similar or related knowledge or skills. Subscores provide additional information about how your child performed. The subscores on the ELA test are divided into Reading and Writing from Sources. The Reading subscore provides a general sense of your child’s performance on multiple‐choice questions that measure Reading. These Reading questions measure learning standards in both reading and language conventions. The Writing from Sources subscore is based on the points earned on short (2‐point) and extended (4‐point) writing questions. Writing from Sources questions measure learning standards in writing, reading, and language conventions.
Points Earned By Your Child on Reading
Points Earned by Your Child on Reading represents the number of points earned by your child on questions measuring Reading. Your child earns one point for each question that he or she answered correctly. For example, if your child correctly answered 20 questions that measure Reading, he or she will have a score of 20 for Points Earned by Your Child on Reading.
Number of Possible Points on Reading
Number of Possible Points on Reading describes the total number of points measuring Reading that are possible to achieve on the test. This number can be compared with Points Earned By Your Child on Reading. For example, if the Number of Possible Points on Reading is 31 and your child answered 20 questions correctly (score of 20 on Points Earned by Your Child on Reading), then he or she answered 11 of the 31 Reading questions incorrectly.
Average Points Earned Across NY on Reading
The Average Points Earned Across NY on Reading reports the average number of points earned by students throughout New York State. This number can be used to compare your child’s performance to that of the other students throughout the State who took the ELA test in your child’s grade. For example, if your child earned 20 points in Reading, he or she has correctly answered three more Reading questions than the average grade 3 student in the State since the Average Points Earned Across NY on Reading in that grade is 17. Please note that a student may earn more points than average in Reading and still be considered not proficient.
Points Earned by your Child on Writing from Sources
Points Earned by your Child on Writing from Sources represents the total number of points earned on questions measuring Writing from Sources. Questions that measure Writing from Sources include two types of constructed‐response questions:short‐response (maximum of 2 points) and extended‐response (maximum of 4 points).
Number of Possible Points on Writing from Sources
Number of Possible Points on Writing from Sources describes the total number of points a student can earn on questions measuring Writing from Sources. This number can be compared with Points Earned By Your Child for Writing from Sources. For example, if your child earned 17 points on questions that measure Writing from Sources, and there are 24 possible points on questions that measure Writing from Sources, then he or she did not earn seven of the possible points.
Average Points Earned Across NY on Writing from Sources
The Average Points Earned Across NY on Writing from Sources represents the average number of points earned by students throughout New York State on questions that measure Writing from Sources. This number can be used to compare your child’s performance to that of the other students throughout the State who took the ELA test. For example, if your child earned 17 points on questions that measure Writing from Sources, he or she has earned five more points on that section than the average grade 3 student in the State since the Average Points Earned Across NY on Writing from Sources in that grade is 12. Please note that a student may earn more points than average in Writing from Sources and still be considered not proficient.
Mathematics Test Scores
Scaling is the process by which test results on the underlying scale are mathematically transformed to numeric (scale) scores. Scale scores reflect the difficulty of the questions when reporting student results. Scale scores are meant to help with the interpretation of test results.
For Further Reading on Scaled Scores: Why Do Standardized Testing Programs Report Scaled Scores?
The New York City Department of Education also creates Individual Student Reports (ISR’s) that provide schools and families with additional information about students’ performance on the previous year’s grades 3 – 8 ELA and math State exams.
The State Education Department plans to have instructional reports returned to teachers by the end of the school year and release at least 75-percent of the test questions. The 2017 Score Reports for parents will feature the updated clearer design and more information about what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. These will be ready over the summer.
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