The AERO Assessment System

What is it? During the Placement Test, the student attempts to independently read increasingly challenging lists of decodable words.

What is the purpose? The purpose of the Placement Test is to individually assess a student’s current decoding skills and provide the teacher with information on which unit in the curriculum is the appropriate starting point for the student. If the student completes the entire Placement Test without placing into a unit, this indicates AERO is not appropriate for them and they are not eligible to participate.

When does it occur? The Placement Test is given to each student one time prior to beginning the curriculum.

How do I access it? To get to the AERO assessments, return to your CLI Engage dashboard, and in the “Screening, Progress Monitoring and Observation” section, go to the AERO Assessments. Select Wave 1 to access the Placement Test.

How do I administer it? The directions for administering the Placement Test are embedded in the assessment on CLI Engage. Teachers use the teacher computer/laptop to view the directions and score students. All the materials that students look at during the AERO assessment process should be opened on the teacher tablet or the student tablet using this AERO Materials Website. A training session on administering all AERO assessments is available from the Online Learning and Professional Development section of CLI Engage.

How long does it take? The length of the Placement Test is based on student performance. Students who have more developed decoding skills may take longer. On average, the assessment takes approximately 5-10 minutes per student.

How do I use the results? Based on the student’s performance, the Placement Test automatically provides the teacher with the unit in the curriculum that the student should begin with.

Does it tell me how to group my students? The Placement Test does not automatically group students. However, results from the Placement Test can be used to identify and group students who are placed in the same or a close unit.

What if I want to give the Placement Test a second time? The Placement Test is required when students are starting with the AERO Curriculum. At the end of the school year or when a student exits the program, you may want to administer the Placement Test a second time to demonstrate student growth. This second administration is not required. The optional second Placement Test is located in Wave 12.

What is it? Each Mastery Check has four skill areas in which students are assessed: letter sound knowledge, decoding words, sight word recognition, and sentence reading.

What is the purpose? Mastery Checks are a way to monitor students’ progress as they move through the curriculum. The goal of the Mastery Checks is to ensure proficiency of skills taught in the previous units before moving to the next unit.

When does it occur? A Mastery Check is given to each student approximately every two units. When it is time to give a Mastery Check, it will appear on the Unit Planner page with a link to the assessment area.

How do I access it? To get to the AERO assessments, return to your CLI Engage dashboard, and in the “Screening, Progress Monitoring and Observation” section, go to the AERO Assessments. The Mastery Check assessments are located in Waves 3 to 11.

How do I administer it? The directions for administering Mastery Check assessments are embedded in the assessment on CLI Engage. Teachers use the teacher computer/laptop to view the directions and score students. All the materials that students look at during the AERO assessment process should be opened on the teacher tablet or the student tablet using this AERO Materials Website. A training session on administering all AERO assessments is available from the Online Learning and Professional Development section of CLI Engage.

How long does it take? Mastery Checks take approximately 5 minutes per student.

How do I use the results? On each Mastery Check, the student receives an overall score as well as scores for each skill area (i.e., letter sound knowledge, decoding words, sight word recognition, and sentence reading). The Next Steps page provides guidance on how to interpret Mastery Check results. If a student’s overall score is “On Track”/green, teachers usually proceed to the next unit. With the Mastery Check at the end of levels 1 to 8, if a student’s overall score is green, teachers administer a Placement Check to determine unit placement. If a student’s overall score is “Monitor”/yellow, complete the Mastery Check Review Activity. If a student’s overall score is “Support”/red, complete the Reteach Lesson. Additionally, for any skill area in which a student scores “Support,” it is recommended that the teacher provides the student with review and practice using the specific activities related to that skill.

What happens if the scores for the students in my group varies? What if only one of my students needs support? If within a group of students, some score “On Track” and some score “Monitor,” consider providing the Review Activity to the whole group before continuing to the next unit. If within a group of students, some score “Monitor” and some score “Support,” consider providing the Reteach Lesson to the whole group before continuing to the next unit. If only one student in a group has an overall score of “Monitor” or “Support,” consider providing the Review Activity or Reteach Lesson to only that student before moving forward with the group.

What is it? Placement Checks are a shorter version of the Placement Test in which the student attempts to independently read increasingly challenging lists of decodable words.

What is the purpose? Placement Checks are designed to assess the student’s current decoding skills and provide the teacher with an opportunity to move the student to a different unit in the curriculum based on their performance.

When does it occur? Placement Checks are used at the end of each of the first 8 levels of the curriculum. In each unit with a Placement Check there is also a Mastery Check assessment.  The Mastery Check assessment is administered before the Placement Check.  If students demonstrate mastery (by scoring green, “on track”) on the Mastery Check, then a Placement Check is given. A prompt to administer the Placement Check will appear on the “Next Steps” page for the unit.

How do I access it? To get to the AERO assessments, return to your CLI Engage dashboard, and in the “Screening, Progress Monitoring and Observation” section, go to the AERO Assessments. Select Wave 2 to access the Placement Check assessments.

How do I administer it? The directions for administering Placement Checks are embedded in the assessment on CLI Engage. Teachers use the teacher computer/laptop to view the directions and score students. All the materials that students look at during the AERO assessment process should be opened on the teacher tablet or the student tablet using this AERO Materials Website. A training session on administering all AERO assessments is available from the Online Learning and Professional Development section of CLI Engage.

How long does it take? Placement Checks take approximately 5 minutes per student.

How do I use the results? The Placement Check provides the teacher with the unit in the curriculum that aligns with the student’s current skills. Teachers are encouraged to move students ahead in the curriculum (e.g., skip units) based on their Placement Check results, Mastery Check results, and professional judgement.

What if the students in my group are “placed” into different units? If students in an existing group have different results on the Placement Check (e.g., two placed into Unit 30, but one placed into Unit 28), then it is recommended that the teacher move the group to the unit suggested for the lowest performing student. If based on Placement Check results a student is placed significantly (e.g., more than four units) behind the peers in their group, consider moving that student to a different group with peers working in a closer unit.

Should I use AERO assessment data to make decisions about providing more intensive support, referring students for further evaluation, or returning students to Tier 1 instruction? While AERO assessments are proximal measures of students’ progress through the AERO reading curriculum, they are not designed to determine whether students are in need of additional support (e.g., whether it may be appropriate for students to move to Tier 3 support) or to initiate evaluations for learning disabilities. However, AERO assessment data can be utilized as one source of data to help inform decisions related to providing more intensive support to students. Furthermore, AERO assessment data may also indicate that students are no longer in need of the support provided by AERO, making it suitable for them to return to Tier 1 instruction. Again, AERO assessment data should be considered alongside other relevant data sources when making such decisions because AERO assessments provide only a single perspective on student performance.