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Interpreting Results for the Georgia State
Criterion Referenced Competency Tests
- Overview of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) Program
- On November 13, 1997, the Georgia State Board of Education adopted the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) as revised by a committee of Georgia educators and citizens. In May 1998, the Georgia Department of Education contracted with Riverside Publishing to develop criterion-referenced competency tests to directly measure the QCC in the content areas of reading, English/language arts, and mathematics among 4th, 6th, and 8th grade students. Georgia educators were involved in all aspects of development of the CRCT program, from item writing and review to the crafting of performance level descriptors to guide the development of test items. The test was administered for the first time in the Spring of 2000.
- Scale Scores and Performance Levels
- Scores on all reports are expressed as scale scores, which can range from 150 to 450 for each grade and content area. A scale score is reported for each content area, as well as the domains (groupings of similar content standards) within the content area. Scores that are at or above 350 indicate a level of performance that Exceeds the Standard set for the test (Performance Level 3). Scores from 300 to 349 indicate a level of performance that Meets the Standard set for the test (Performance Level 2). Scores below 300 indicate a level of performance that Does Not Meet the Standard for the test (Performance Level 1), i.e., the state's minimum level of proficiency, based on this test administration, and may indicate a need for some type of additional instructional support.
- Performance Level Descriptors
- 6th Grade - Reading
Level 3 - The student's overall performance in reading a variety of 6th grade-appropriate materials exceeds the standard set for students in this grade. Most students performing at this level consistently apply their reading skills to a variety of texts, particularly to expository text. They have a clear understanding of what they read and go beyond the literal meaning of text. They understand text in which the meaning is implicit, synthesizing or making inferences from the text to accurately respond to questions. Students summarize, interpret, and analyze relevant information from a variety of texts. They recognize different text types, such as poetry and dramas, and understand that text can be organized in a variety of ways and for different purposes. Students recognize and analyze literary elements, such as theme and point of view, and literary techniques, such as alliteration and metaphors, to enhance comprehension. They read critically by examining and interpreting text information in order to draw conclusions, make predictions and generalizations about text, analyze characters, and distinguish between facts and opinions. Students apply a variety of effective reading strategies and vocabulary skills while reading.
Level 2 - The student's overall performance in reading a variety of 6th grade-appropriate materials meets the standard set for students in this grade. Most of the students performing at this level apply reading skills appropriately. They typically understand what they read and go beyond the literal meaning of text. They use information from the text to correctly respond to questions. They locate and recall information from the text. They recognize many text types, identify the purpose of most texts, and recognize some text organizational structures. Students can identify and use literary elements and techniques to aid comprehension. They examine and interpret text information. Students apply reading strategies and vocabulary skills while reading.
Level 1 - The student's overall performance in reading a variety of 6th grade-appropriate materials is below the standard set for students in this grade. Students performing at this level are inconsistent in the application of their reading skills. They typically have a limited understanding of text and tend to read at a literal level. They may find it difficult to locate and use information from the text to respond to questions. They demonstrate a limited ability to identify the text type and purpose. Students display a basic knowledge of literary elements and techniques. They demonstrate a basic ability to examine and interpret text. They are limited in their reading strategies and vocabulary skills.
6th Grade English/Language Arts
Level 3 - The student's overall performance in language arts exceeds the standard set for students in 6th grade. Students performing at this level are consistent in their application of language arts skills. They have a thorough understanding of effective written communication skills. They display control of the standard conventions of grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage. They have a solid understanding of paragraph organization and focus. They recognize the unifying idea of a paragraph, identify topic and clincher sentences, and delete unrelated information and redundancy. They select appropriate transitions. Students identify parts of sentences and sentence types, and they recognize effective sentence revision. Students demonstrate a solid familiarity with the research process and with use of a variety of resource materials.
Level 2 - The student's overall performance in language arts meets the standard set for students in 6th grade. Students performing at this level generally apply language arts skills appropriately. They show understanding of effective written communication skills. They correctly apply many conventions of grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage. They are developing an understanding of paragraph organization and focus. Students identify parts of sentences and sentence types but their accuracy decreases as the sentence structure becomes more complex. They often recognize effective sentence revision. Students demonstrate familiarity with the research process and with use of resource materials.
Level 1 - The student's overall performance in language arts is below the standard set for students in 6th grade. Students performing at this level are inconsistent in the application of their language arts skills. They have a limited understanding of effective written communication skills. They show minimal control of the conventions of grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage. They demonstrate an understanding of simple paragraph structure. Students can identify basic parts of sentences and simple sentences. They can recognize some effective sentence revision. Students demonstrate some familiarity with the research process and with the use of common resource materials.
6th Grade Mathematics
Level 3 - The student's overall performance in mathematics exceeds the standard set for students in 6th grade. Students performing at this level are consistent in the application of their math skills. They demonstrate strong mathematical conceptual understanding and procedural knowledge. Students accurately apply computational skills to operations involving whole numbers and fractions with common denominators. They have a basic understanding of prime and composite numbers and can interpret numbers that have been rounded. They can also order a set of numbers in mixed forms. Students are able to evaluate a simple linear expression for a given value of the variable involved. Students can find the probability of a simple event, and they can transfer data from one graphic form to another. Students can identify, compare, and classify figures and solids and their characteristics. They use order of operations in performing computations. Students can select strategies to solve complex problems, including those that involve ratios of whole numbers.
Level 2 - The student's overall performance in mathematics meets the standard set for students in 6th grade. Students performing at this level generally apply math skills appropriately. They demonstrate evidence of mathematical conceptual understanding and procedural knowledge. Students' computational skills reveal understanding of the four operations with whole numbers and decimals having an equal number of digits. Students can round whole numbers to specified place values. They are able to read and interpret line graphs. Students can identify, compare, and classify figures and identify solids. Students can solve simple linear equations involving whole numbers. Students identify and use strategies to solve multi-step problems including those that involve time and money.
Level 1 - The student's overall performance in mathematics is below the standard set for students in 6th grade. Students at this level are inconsistent in the application of their math skills. They demonstrate limited evidence of mathematical conceputal understanding and procedural knowledge. Students' conceptual skills are often inaccurate. They have difficulty analyzing and using data to predict and determine the probability of an event. Students can define basic geometric terms. Students' problem-solving strategies are limited to one-step problems.
- 8th Grade - Reading
Level 3 - The student's overall performance in reading a variety of 8th grade-appropriate materials exceeds the standard set for students in this grade. Most students performing at this level consistently apply their reading skills to a variety of texts, particularly to expository text. They have a clear understanding of what they read and go beyond the literal meaning of text. They understand text in which the meaning is implicit, synthesizing or making inferences from the text to accurately respond to questions. Students summarize, interpret, and analyze relevant information from a variety of texts. They recognize different text types, such as poetry and dramas, and understand that text can be organized in a variety of ways and for different purposes. Students recognize and analyze literary elements, such as theme and point of view, and literary techniques, such as alliteration and metaphors, to enhance comprehension. They read critically by examining and interpreting text information in order to draw conclusions, make predictions and generalizations about text, analyze characters, and distinguish between facts and opinions. Students apply a variety of effective reading strategies and vocabulary skills while reading.
Level 2 - The student's overall performance in reading a variety of 8th grade-appropriate materials meets the standard set for students in this grade. Most of the students performing at this level apply reading skills appropriately. They typically understand what they read and go beyond the literal meaning of text. They use information from the text to correctly respond to questions. They locate and recall information from the text. They recognize many text types, identify the purpose of most texts, and recognize some text organizational structures. Students can identify and use literary elements and techniques to aid comprehension. They examine and interpret text information. Students apply reading strategies and vocabulary skills while reading.
Level 1 - The student's overall performance in reading a variety of 8th grade-appropriate materials is below the standard set for students in this grade. Students performing at this level are inconsistent in the application of their reading skills. They typically have a limited understanding of text and tend to read at a literal level. They may find it difficult to locate and use information from the text to respond to questions. They demonstrate a limited ability to identify the text type and purpose. Students display a basic knowledge of literary elements and techniques. They demonstrate a basic ability to examine and interpret text. They are limited in their reading strategies and vocabulary skills.
8th Grade English/Language Arts
Level 3 - The student's overall performance in language arts exceeds the standard set for students in 8th grade. Students performing at this level are consistent in their application of language arts skills. They have a thorough understanding of effective written communication skills. They display control of the standard conventions of grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage. They have a solid understanding of paragraph organization and focus. They recognize the unifying idea of a paragraph, identify topic and clincher sentences, and delete unrelated information and redundancy. They select appropriate transitions. Students identify parts of sentences and sentence types, and they recognize effective sentence revision. Students demonstrate a solid familiarity with the research process and with use of a variety of resource materials.
Level 2 - The student's overall performance in language arts meets the standard set for students in 8th grade. Students performing at this level generally apply language arts skills appropriately. They show understanding of effective written communication skills. They correctly apply many conventions of grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage. They are developing an understanding of paragraph organization and focus. Students identify parts of sentences and sentence types but their accuracy decreases as the sentence structure becomes more complex. They often recognize effective sentence revision. Students demonstrate familiarity with the research process and with use of resource materials.
Level 1 - The student's overall performance in language arts is below the standard set for students in 6th grade. Students performing at this level are inconsistent in the application of their language arts skills. They have a limited understanding of effective written communication skills. They show minimal control of the conventions of grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage. They demonstrate an understanding of simple paragraph structure. Students can identify basic parts of sentences and simple sentences. They can recognize some effective sentence revision. Students demonstrate some familiarity with the research process and with the use of common resource materials.
8th Grade Mathematics
Level 3 - The student's overall performance in mathematics exceeds the standard set for students in 8th grade. Students performing at this level are consistent in the application of their math skills. They demonstrate strong mathematical conceptual understanding and procedural knowledge. Students are able to compute with fractions and mixed numbers. Students have a strong grasp of properties and order of operations in simplifying computations. Students can solve simple problems involving multiples, powers, and factors of whole numbers. They can use scientific notation to interpret and represent numbers. Students have an understanding of integers and inequalities and can use this knowledge in solving simple situations involving inequalities in formal and number line settings. They can graph ordered pairs of numbers in all four quadrants. Students can compare and contrast measures of central tendency and use them as appropriate representations. They can find the probability of a simple event theoretically or from data. Students can solve problems involving ratio, proportion, and percent.
Level 2 - The student's overall performance in mathematics meets the standard set for students in 8th grade. Students performing at this level generally apply math skills appropriately. They demonstrate evidence of mathematical conceptual understanding and procedural knowledge. Students can simplify complex expressions involving whole numbers and fractions. Students understand both simple whole number exponents and square roots of whole numbers. They can solve multiple-step linear equations involving whole numbers. They can identify rotations and reflections and apply them to geometric figures. Students have a command of basic geometric concepts and definitions. Students can read and interpret a wide variety of graphs. Students can identify and use problem-solving strategies.
Level 1 - The student's overall performance in mathematics is below the standard set for students in tth grade. Students at this level are inconsistent in the application of their math skills. They demonstrate limited evidence of mathematical conceputal understanding and procedural knowledge. Students' computational skills are limited to single operations with whole numbers and fractions. Students can identify a multiple of a given number. They can solve linear equations involving whole numbers requiring few steps. They can recognize geometric symbols and notations.
6th Grade Performance Summary
8th Grade Performance Summary
Data provided by Atlanta Public Schools, Department of Research, Planning and Accountability
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