From Inky's list:
How do I know which test I should give a student?
Several tests are available for administration in each subject area. It is important that teachers understand the distinctions between these tests in order to correctly select a test for a specific student. For each subject, there are Survey w/ Goals tests and Survey tests. Even though the names of these tests are similar, the end results of each are very different. The Survey w/ Goals test is the longer form of the test (between 42 and 64 items) and is the primary test given in the fall and the spring. This test will report not only an overall RIT score at the end, but it will also report how a student performed on each of the goal areas on the test; for example, Computation or Geometry. This gives teachers more data in order to make instructional decisions about a particular student or about an entire class.
The Survey test is a short test (20 items) that will simply survey the domain of a subject area. This test will only report an overall RIT score at the end. It is primarily given as an intake test when a student enters the district or as a monitoring tool mid-year to determine how a student is progressing.
Teacher Handbook
www.nwea.org 1
Other differences in the tests refer to grade level; for example, 2-5 and 6+. Be sure to review all of the choices and, as a district, select the test appropriate to the grade level of the student being tested. These tests have some important differences in the types of items that can be selected in order to build each student a unique test. The chart below, Guidelines for Choosing the Correct Test􏰀, is helpful in determining the correct test for a student.
Guidelines for Choosing the Correct Test
In the chart, the Survey takes 30min and the goals test takes 65min. The Goals test has twice as many questions.
