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CORE K12
Algebra Readiness Program
A Unique Approach to Algebra Readiness
CORE K12's methodology for our Algebra Readiness Program measure enables educators to make two important decisions in the instructional process:
- Are students on-track or at-risk for meeting expectations, and
- What is the degree of intensity of instructional supports or supplemental interventions needed for students who are at-risk for not meeting expectations?
CORE K12 offers an Algebra Readiness Program that is grounded in psychometric research, characterized by state-of-the-art items that are not biased toward students with ELL or Special Education identification, and is statistically stable for measuring teacher effect. It is conceivable for school districts to consider CORE K12’s Algebra Readiness Program as an initial step toward measuring student progress toward curricular outcomes. Once identified as requiring RtI, students may then be measured periodically using CORE K12’s ipGrowth as a progress monitoring process. All of these can be accomplished in the same assessment platform: Assessment Center.
CORE K12 Algebra Readiness Program items are developed to exhibit two state-of-the-art characteristics that contribute to item validity and form an essential foundation for test reliability: transitory knowledge representations and principals of universal design as promulgated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Items written embody these two characteristics and are intended to engage a population of students who possess varying stages of development for a particular focused outcome – who would otherwise be denied access to the test items’ content due only to superfluous language or reading contextualization.
The test design provides a framework of items distributed across three levels of cognitive demand that is congruent to the stages of knowledge representation of a targeted outcome.
CORE K12’s algebra readiness program validity and equating statistics are analyzed using a multi-stage process involving Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Rasch IRT. During CTT, proportion correct, point-biserial, and biserial statistics are reviewed for problematic items that require removal prior to item fit analyses, dimensional analyses, and b-parameter estimation using Rasch IRT.
Scale score transformation is completed through an MLE technique combined with a Kolen and Brennan (2004; pp.176-180) technique for assigning scale transformations for zero and perfect scores.