Benchmark Assessments in Unique Learning System® are modified performance tools that provide data on selected skill areas. Teachers may select the areas of assessments that are appropriate for an individual student. Baseline data is generated from each assessment that can be compared to monitor growth over a period of time.
The GPS has several tools that can aid the educational team in determining which Benchmark Assessments are appropriate for the individual student. The Profile records observational information on the current abilities of students with significant cognitive and multiple disabilities. The results of the Profile will help guide the team in selecting assessments, by providing suggested instructional strategies that will increase levels of skill performance in areas of standards-based learning. The descriptions and suggested strategies should be key factors in the decision-making process for selecting assessments in the GPS.
After completion of a Profile, teachers can select skills to be tracked for each student in the GPS. These skills are most likely chosen from the student’s IEP and in conjunction with the results of the completed Profile. The educational team should decide on the appropriate skills to be tracked for each individual student. Tracking a skill gives an appropriate recommendation on which Benchmark Assessments the student should take in the GPS.
Purpose of Benchmark Assessments
Student
- To provide baseline data on student skill areas in areas of academic learning (assessment 2-4 times/year)
- Modified assessment in skill areas that cannot be assessed in typical tools
- To show growth in identified student skill areas
Classroom
- To determine the effectiveness of instruction
- To determine program and material needs
- To show class growth in skill areas
District/School
- To show alignment to standards
- To make decisions and evaluate materials and program
Each Assessment in the GPS has its own administration guide. The administration guide is encouraged to be read prior to performance of each assessment. Important assessments information such as rationale, design and scoring are included in each guide. Within each administrative guide is also a hard copy of the assessment if an offline version is necessary for student success. Any hard copy assessment performed offline is encouraged to be entered in as a raw score within Unique GPS in order to track data on the student.
Reading assessments address key areas of reading that have been identified as critical in reading developments. These are modified but coincide with skills that are assessed for the general student population, including word recognition and reading fluency.
Writing assessments include a Writing probe that is applicable for students who have developed some ability to generate text and sentences, spell words, and convey information on a topic. The Developmental Writing assessment is a rubric-type checklist that can be applicable to identify early skills of students who are able to use typical writing tools, students who generate writing via an alphanumeric keyboard, or students who generate written information via an AAC interface.
Mathematics assessments are presented in two categories: Basic Mathematics and Mathematics Problem Solving.
Benchmark Assessments
Administering & Reporting
The team is encouraged to select the assessments that are pertinent to the student’s educational demands. Using the results from the Profile, educators should select appropriate skills to track based on the student’s present level of performance and indications of instructional strategies with the IEP.
The Benchmark Administration Planning Guide can assist with planning and selecting Benchmarks for each individual student.
Access the Benchmark Assessments by clicking Benchmarks in the student’s GPS.
- Throughout any area of the GPS, teachers can toggle between students and stay in the same part of the website. For example, if you are administering the Initial Letters assessment on five students, you can simply click the Students tab to change the student and run the test for them in a quick manner.
- To navigate back to the GPS, use the breadcrumbs at the top to go back as far as you need in the GPS.
Change the Benchmark category by clicking the tab at the top. The active category is highlighted in orange.
Each Benchmark has its own administration guide that can be accessed by clicking the PDF form to download.
The administration guide is encouraged to be read prior to performance of each assessment. Important assessments information such as rationale, design and scoring are included in each guide. Within each administrative guide is also a hard copy of the assessment if an offline version is necessary for student success. Any hard copy assessment performed offline is encouraged to be entered in as a raw score within the GPS in order to track data on the student.
To run a new test or view results from a previously ran assessment, click on the Benchmark.
Run a Test
- Choose Online of Offline for how the test will be administered
- Click the Run Test button to perform a new Benchmark
- Administer the teacher-led assessment by reading the prompts and selecting the student’s answers
- Enter Notes at the end of each assessment
View & Print Test Results & History
- The most recent test results display at the top.
- Assessment history is listed in the bottom section and plotted on a graph.
- Clicking on the assessment gives a detailed summary of the answers that were selected by the student.
AIM Line
- Each assessment score is plotted on a graph to show progress throughout a period of time.
- The aim line can be used to set a goal for the individual student. The goal for the aim line should be determined by the educational team from the student’s Profile results in conjunction with the student’s IEP.
- Click Edit Aim to change the goal for the graph. As scores are plotted on the graph, the arrow indicates the progression of the student. The graph line turns red if it is below the aim line and green if it is above the aim line.
A green line pointing up indicates the student is doing well.
A red line pointing down indicates the student is regressing.
Change students in this view to quickly see how your students are doing in this skill.
Emerging Skills
Early Emerging Skill assessment tools have been specifically designed to look for the emerging skills that have the potential to increase with the inclusion of instructional activities for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
Who are these assessments for?
The following Early Emerging Performance Assessments are recommended for early learners or students who obtained a suggested differentiated task level of 1 in their Profiles.
What is the suggested administration?
2-4 times/year
Early Emerging Rubrics
The rubrics were originally developed in 2005 by Kathy Staugler to use in regional assessment when determining academically based levels on students with the most significant disabilities. It was piloted in many school districts around the state of Ohio. Eventually, the 2007 version of the rubrics was tried and adopted in several states (e.g., Louisiana, West Virginia) as a means to assess literacy skills on students with significant disabilities. This was presented, modified and adopted by n2y as part of the Unique Learning System GPS.
| Early Emerging Reading Rubric | Identifies emerging behaviors in the areas of concepts of print, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. |
| Early Emerging Writing Rubric | Aligned to the following areas of writing: writing process, writing applications, writing conventions and communication. |
| Early Emerging Math Rubric | Addresses skills aligned to number sense, time and money. |
Early Emerging Performance Assessments
It is difficult to find skill areas that reflect intentionality. However, it is important to identify when a student begins to make intentional responses to stimuli. In the early learning skills, matching and picture recognition are areas of assessment, which may reflect intentionality.
- Matching of like objects is recognized as an early developing milestone (Cherry, K. (2012) Cognitive Developmental Milestones: Important Milestones in Cognitive Development). The skills identified in these Benchmark assessment (picture match, letter match and number match) were selected as performance assessment that could indicate levels of intentional recognition of these academically based skills.
- Picture recognition is also an early learned skill (Shelov, S. P. (Editor-in-Chief). (2004). Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5. The American Association of Pediatrics. Revised edition. New York: Bantam Books.) and selected to again assess academic skills with intentional responses.
| Picture Matching | Involves matching/selecting a picture from three choices. Pictures include "things, actions, and descriptors." |
| Letter Matching | Involves matching/selecting a named letter. The target letter is presented in the initial position of a word in a capital and lower case option. |
| Number Matching | Involves matching/selecting a picture from three choices. |
| Picture Recognition | Involves matching/selecting a named picture with one distracter. |
Early Emerging Errorless Writing
Errorless writing strategies have been recognized in the field of special education for students with significant cognitive disabilities as a means to increase responses in a meaningful writing/communication activity. The Errorless Writing assessment is an adapted performance assessment to show student performance to make selections without an error in accuracy.
| Errorless Writing | Three choice options are presented to complete a writing prompt sentence. Any response will be scored as correct. |
Early Learning
Who are these assessments for?
The following Early Learning Benchmark assessments provide baseline information on areas of reading that are fundamental in learning to read. These assessments are appropriate for students who are emerging readers.
The Developmental Checklists are provided for Pre-K and Toddler students.
What is the suggested administration?
2-4 times/year
Early Learning Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness is a skill area that has been identified by the National Reading Panel (2002) as a key factor in learning to read. The selected reading skills in the Early Learning assessments reflect early phonological awareness skills in a format that can be accessed by students with diverse abilities. These skill areas are generally identified in grade K through 5. However, for students with significant cognitive disabilities, these may be areas of reading instruction that should extend into older grades (Browder and Spooner, 2011). There has been evidence that some students with significant cognitive disabilities may continue to benefit from instruction in these early literacy skills into later ages/grades (Erickson, et al. 2009).
- Browder, D. and Spooner, F. (2011) Teaching Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities. The Guilford Press.
- Erickson, K., Hanser, G., Hatch, P. & Sanders, E. (2009) Research-based Practices for Creating Access to the General Curriculum in Reading and Literacy for Students with Significant Intellectual Disabilities. Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
| Rhyming Words | Three choice options are presented to identify another word that rhymes with the target word selected. |
| Phoneme Blending | Three choice options are presented to identify a picture of a word pronounced with segmented sounds. |
| Letter ID (upper and lower case) | Presented in two versions – students will name the presented letter (Version A) or point to or otherwise select the name letter (Version B) |
Early Learning Emerging Math
Emerging Math asks questions on the scope of mathematical concepts that have been identified as the "big ideas" for preschool aged children. (The Early Math Collaborative, (2013). Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know. Erickson Initiative). The assessment includes areas of sets, number sense, counting, number operations, pattern, data analysis and shape.
| Emerging Math | Includes areas of sets, number sense, counting, number operations, pattern, data analysis and shapes. |
Early Learning Emerging Writing
Emerging Writing asks students to perform writing related skills that show indicators of an understanding that writing is a form of communication and their marks on paper convey a message.
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Mayer, K. (2007). Research in Review: Emerging Knowledge about Emergent Writing. Young Children, 62(1), 34-40.
Developmental Checklists
The Early Emerging Developmental Checklists assist teachers and parents in gathering and sharing information about a child’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to a set of skills regarded as typical milestones for Toddler-aged (3-4 years) and Pre-K-aged (4-5 years) children.
| Toddler-aged (3-4 yrs) | Includes checklists for these areas: Social and Emotional, Motor Skills, Language and Communication, Early Learning. |
| Pre-K-aged (4-5 yrs) | Includes checklists for these areas: Social and Emotional, Motor Skills, Language and Communication, Cognitive Learning. |
Reading
Reading Assessments address key areas of reading that have been identified as critical in reading developments. These are modified but coincide with skills that are addressed for the general student population, including word recognition and reading level.
Who are these assessments for?
Reading Benchmark Assessments provide baseline information on areas of reading that are fundamental in learning to read. These assessments are appropriate for students who are emerging readers.
What is the suggested administration?
2-4 times/year
Reading - Phonics & Word Study
The primary purpose of phonics or word study instruction is to help students develop strategies in reading words. To become a successful reader, the student must experience opportunities to learn strategies to recognize letter association and patterns and conventions within English print. Phonics is a decoding skill that has been identified by the National Reading Panel (2002) as a key factor in learning to read. While research has not produced any definitive recommendations on the most effective approach to teaching phonics to students with significant cognitive disabilities, there is a growing understanding that students can learn these phonics strategies for decoding words and should be provided instruction to teach these skills (Erickson, et al. 2009). The skills selected in this section of the GPS include onset and rime, initial letter sound identification and final sound identification.
- Erickson, K., Hanser, G., Hatch, P. & Sanders, E. (2009) Research-based Practices for Creating Access to the General Curriculum in Reading and Literacy for Students with Significant Intellectual Disabilities. Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
| Word Rimes | Word rimes chunk similar word parts (rimes) with varying onsets (initial sound). |
| Initial Letters | Initial sound is selected for the picture and word presented. |
| Final Sound ID | Final sound is selected for the picture and word presented. |
Reading - Word Recognition
Word recognition is a reading skill that has been identified by the National Reading Panel (2002) as a key factor in learning to read. For many years, teaching sight words (survival words) was a general belief as part of functional curriculum learning for students with significant disabilities. Research reviews have shown (Browder, et al. 2006) that students were able to learn to "read" sight words by saying or pointing to a word. However, when looking at the general educational descriptions of sight words, it is clear that the high frequency words provide the most utility in reading. The selection of words for these three-word recognition assessments have been selected from a combined Dolch/Fry words list.
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Browder, D., Wakeman, S., Spooner, F., Aghlgrim-Delzell, L., and Algozzine, B. (2006). Research on Reading Instruction for Individuals with Significant Cognitive Disabilities. Exceptional Children, June 22, 2006.
| Word Recognition (List 1,2, 3) | Provides a baseline measure of words read from three levels of Dolch/Fry's high-frequency words. |
Reading Level Assessment
For many students with significant cognitive disabilities, a measure of fluent reading may be difficult to obtain on a "one minute read." Reading passages for the GPS reading fluency assessments are specially written from levels A – F/G (approximately a Primer/Grade 1 level). It is felt that students who are reading at a level higher than this could potentially participate in general fluency assessments. The GPS reading level assessments are not timed but based on scoring criteria to determine an independent, instructional or frustration reading level.
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Erickson, K., Hanser, G., Hatch, P. & Sanders, E. (2009) Research-based Practices for Creating Access to the General Curriculum in Reading and Literacy for Students with Significant Intellectual Disabilities. Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A MAZE assessment is generally considered a comprehension indicator. However, in the GPS, this MAZE format is used to evaluate reading skills for students who do not have the verbal ability to read aloud. There are relatively no assessments that are able to show reading abilities for these non-verbal students. This is suggested as one means to calculate some level of reading.
A comprehension assessment is included after each story in the Fluency assessment tools. These are designed to provide diverse learners an opportunity to answer literal questions as well as provide open indicators of understanding (Question 5: What else can you tell me about this story?) Administrators of these fluency assessments should feel able to be flexible in access and response from these tools as a means to truly recognize a student's reading ability.
| Reading Level Assessment (Oral & Maze) | Modified fluency passages that can be scored for an accuracy rating and comprehension checks. Two administration versions are available. |
| Listening Comprehension | The ability to listen and understand the meaning of words and sentences in oral language. Listening comprehension is a prerequisite skill to reading comprehension. |
Reading - Reading with Symbols
For some students, the inclusion of symbols with text may support reading fluency and comprehension. For other readers this may become a deterrent to fluent reading. Reading with Symbols is a quick assessment tool to provide indicators of when symbolized text may be useful for a student.
| Reading with Symbols | Provides a baseline measure of words read from three levels of Dolch/Fry's high-frequency words. |
Writing
Writing assessments include a Writing Probe that is applicable for students who have developed some ability to generate text and sentences, spell words, and convey information on a topic.
Who are these assessments for?
Reading Benchmark Assessments provide baseline information on areas of reading that are fundamental in learning to read. These assessments are appropriate for students who are emerging readers.
What is the suggested administration?
2-4 times/year
Writing Probe
When we write, we do more than just put words together to make sentences. Good writers go through several steps to produce a piece of writing. The Writing Probe takes students through six-step of the writing process in order to generate a writing sample.
| Writing Probe | Evaluates the writing skills of students who are able to create basic paragraphs and topic documents in written or typed formats. |
Basic Mathematics
Basic Mathematics Assessments were selected on foundational math skills that are identified in the Common Core Standards for Mathematics in grades K-3.
Who are these assessments for?
Basic Mathematics Benchmark Assessments provide baseline information on areas of math that are fundamental to the application of math skills in real-world situations.
What is the suggested administration?
2-4 times/year
Basic Mathematics - Common Core Standards K-3
The overall outcome for mathematics instruction will certainly be focused on helping students learn to solve problems in everyday situations. This should include learning to identify a problem, to represent the problem and to solve the problem. The selected areas of the GPS assessments may provide a baseline of mathematical skills that can be expanded through problem-solving instruction.
- Browder, D. and Spooner, F. (2011) Teaching Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities. The Guilford Press.
| Numbers and Counting to 20 | An early number skill assessment that looks at number recognition to 20 and counting to 20. |
| Coins/Bills and Values | An early money skill assessment that looks at coin recognition and money values with mixed amounts up to $5.00. |
| Shapes | An early geometry assessment that looks at shape recognition. |
| Measurement | An emerging mathematics skills assessment including measurement vocabulary, measurement tools and measurement units. |
| Fractions | An emerging mathematics skills assessments including the number of units in a whole, recognizing fractions as parts and identifying fractions. |
| Telling Time | An early math skill assessment that looks at telling time to the hour, half hour, quarter hour and five-minute intervals on both digital and analog clocks. |
Mathematics Problem Solving
Problem-Solving Assessments present scenarios that assess the student's ability to apply mathematical skills to solve real-world problems.
Who is this assessment for? Mathematics Benchmark Assessments provide baseline information on areas of math that are fundamental to the application of math skills in real-world situations.
What is the suggested administration?
2-4 times/year
Mathematics Problem-Solving
- Ahlgrim-Delzell,L. Knight,V. Jimenez, B. and Agnello, B. (2009) Research-based Practices for Creating Access to the General Curriculum in Mathematics for Students with Significant Intellectual Disabilities . Retrieved July 10, 2013 from http://www.ccsso.org/Resources/Publications/Research-based_Practices_for_Creating_Access_to_the_General_Curriculum_in_Mathematics_for_Students_with_Significant_Intellectual_Disabilities.html.
- Van de Walle, J and Lovin, L. (2006). Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics Grades K – 3. Pearson Eduction, Inc.
| Mathematics Problem Solving | An early number sense skill assessment that looks at more/less, addition and subtraction. |
| Calculating and Making Change | A money skills assessment that looks at money calculations, including more or less, addition and subtraction. |
| Calculating Time | A more advanced math skills assessment that looks at calculating time forward and backward in 1 and 2 hour increments. |
| Multiply and Divide | A number sense skill assessment that looks at multiplication and division. |
| Data Analysis | A mathematics skill assessment that uses charts for data analysis. |