Pre-assessment

Five smiling children lying on their stomachs side by side

Pre-assessment gives students the opportunity to demonstrate prior knowledge, skills, attitudes, perceptions, and interests. It allows teachers to understand learners individually and as a class.

Data collected from pre-assessments informs instructional decisions. The emphasis given to pre-assessments is a major shift in Pathways 2.0.

Pre-Assessment Examples:

Grade 1Grade 4Grade 7
Vocabulary

Basic Reading Inventory
by Jerry Johns
(comprehension questions)

Beginning-of-Year Oral Vocabulary Assessment (Appendix C)

Conduct informal checks for understanding of the weekly vocabulary

Vocabulary Inventory
(Appendix C, Appendix D)

Generating Words with Prefixes and Suffixes activities
(Appendix C, Appendix D)

Basic Reading Inventory
by Jerry Johns
(comprehension questions)

Conduct informal checks for understanding of the weekly vocabulary

Basic Reading Inventory
by Jerry Johns
(comprehension questions)

Conduct informal checks for understanding of the weekly vocabulary

Spelling

Spelling Assessment
(Appendix C, Appendix D)

Beginning-of-Year Phonological/Phonemic Awareness Assessment
(Appendix D)

Collect a sample of each student’s first-draft writing and analyze the errors

Weekly Pretest

Day 1 Independent Sort Activity

Spelling Assessments
(Appendix C, Appendix D)

Collect a sample of each student’s first-draft writing and analyze the errors

Weekly Pretest

Day 1 Independent Sort Activity

Spelling Pre-assessment
(Appendix C, Appendix D)

Collect a sample of each student’s first-draft writing and analyze the errors

Weekly Pretest

Day 1 Independent Sort Activity

Reading

Basic Reading Inventory
by Jerry Johns

Reading A–Z Benchmark Assessment
(Running Reading Record)

Close Reading Scoring Guide
(Teacher Manual)

Reading Interest Inventory
(Teacher Manual)

Basic Reading Inventory
by Jerry Johns

Close Reading Scoring Guide
(Teacher Manual)

Reading Interest Inventory
(Teacher Manual)

Basic Reading Inventory
by Jerry Johns

Reading A–Z Benchmark Assessment
(Running Reading Record)

Close Reading Scoring Guide
(Teacher Manual)

Reading Interest Inventory
(Teacher Manual)

Writing

Writing Benchmark Assessment
(Appendix C, Appendix D)

Collect a sample of each student’s first-draft writing and use a writing scoring guide

Differentiate instruction as needed

Collect a sample of each student’s first-draft writing and use the grade-level appropriate Writing Benchmark Scoring Guide (Appendix D)

Differentiate instruction as needed

Collect a sample of each student’s first-draft writing and use a writing Scoring Guide

Writing Benchmark Scoring Guide (Appendix D)

Differentiate instruction as needed

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