Acuity™ is a comprehensive assessment solution that delivers formative and interim assessment to help us target instruction and effectively impact student achievement, for grades 3-8 in math, reading/language arts, and science. Acuity is also available for Algebra. Acuity offers many features that provide us with ongoing support for transforming student learning, including targeted assessments, robust reporting, instructional resources that can be assigned to students to provide guided practice and instructions on all skills, and the ability to create custom tests.

Acuity® Predictive Assessments forecast student performance on the Indiana state exam in a timeframe and format that allow us to impact learning for each student. Acuity comprises up to three 30- to 40-point scaled predictive assessments that reflect the state’s accountability exam in terms of structure and item type. All three assessments are designed to be administered in a single school year and each Acuity Predictive Assessment is developmentally appropriate for the time of year in which it is administered. The assessments become more challenging from Form A to B to C to more accurately capture your student’s understanding of important skills and concepts presented sequentially throughout the school year. This design supports the development of accurate predictions that indicate students’ subsequent level of achievement on your state exam. Acuity Predictive Assessments are administered approximately six weeks apart and prior to the state NCLB assessment—reflect the content structure and item formats of the subsequent state summative NCLB assessment.

Although each Predictive Assessment form includes content measuring the state standards in similar proportions to that of the state summative assessment, the predictive item selection strategy further supports the coverage of content that is appropriate for the specific time of testing during the school year. For example, the first Predictive Assessment includes content explicitly measuring standards from the prior year state assessment as well as content from early in the current year while the third Predictive Assessment fully measures on-grade content and standards.

Predictive A: 2/3 previous years standards + 1/3 current years standards

Predictive B: 1/3 previous years standards + 2/3 current years standards

Predictive C: All current years standards

Measurement error is decreased when students and forms are appropriately matched by
ability and difficulty. This structure was intended to provide Acuity Predictive Assessments of appropriate difficulty. As students increase in ability, the forms also increase in difficulty, so that students and forms are appropriately matched.
The three Predictive Assessment forms per grade are designed to provide a measure of growth and progress toward end-of-year goals. This is accomplished by (a) providing a common scale for the Predictive Assessments within and across the grades of each content area and (b) providing predictive information toward the end-of-year goals measured by the state NCLB assessments.

The common scale is developed using Item Response Theory calibration, scaling, and
equating during the first year of the testing program—the same rigorous psychometric
methods that are applied to most state NCLB assessments. The common scale will provide students, teachers, parents, and administrators with a powerful tool to monitor and foster student achievement. The relationship established in the first year of administration between the three Acuity Predictive Assessment forms and the state NCLB assessment will be used to develop concordance and prediction tables that will provide teachers with empirical predictions from current performance to the end-of-year criteria. Each form is on the common scale within and across grades of a content area. The common scale is indicated by the dashed lines connecting the forms in Figure 1. The three withingrade forms will be linked to the state summative NCLB test using matched student data. That is, the total scores from the three Acuity Predictive Assessment forms in a given grade will be linked to the total score from that grade’s state summative assessment results, indicated by the large arrows in Figure 1. The scaling and prediction studies will be based on the data collected in the baseline year.

After you administer an Acuity Predictive Assessment, helpful reports feature easy-to-read forecasts of your students’ achievement on your state exam.
In the graphic below, a sample student's predicted performance is shown with a black arrow pointing directly to her expected proficiency level on your state exam. This information helps you understand which students need the most attention prior to your state exam.

The multi-colored performance level bands represent the performance categories used in your state. The width of each performance level band on Acuity Predictive Assessment Reports is directly proportional to the size of the scaled score interval associated with the corresponding performance level on your state exam. 

Scaled scores
Acuity Predictive Assessments deliver scaled scores after an appropriate set of baseline data is available. Scaled scores are on a common scale that can be compared for students taking a given predictive assessment or for an individual student taking multiple predictive assessments. Scaled scores are useful because they allow you to track individual or group progress over time; you can add, subtract, or average scaled scores. This allows you to compare scores on different Acuity Assessments over time, or to make direct comparisons among individual students on the same form in a way that is statistically valid. Alternatively, number-correct or raw scores alone can not be compared to measure growth over different assessments.

Finally, Acuity Predictive Reports also show results by Tier of student performance. Tiers are different from the Expected Performance Levels described above because they are associated with specific percent-correct scores. The number of Tiers and the percent correct ranges associated with each Tier can be customized for your district.

Acuity™ is a comprehensive assessment solution that delivers formative and interim assessment to help us target instruction and effectively impact student achievement, for grades 3-8 in math, reading/language arts, and science. Acuity is also available for Algebra. Acuity offers many features that provide us with ongoing support for transforming student learning, including targeted assessments, robust reporting, instructional resources that can be assigned to students to provide guided practice and instructions on all skills, and the ability to create custom tests.

Acuity® Predictive Assessments forecast student performance on the Indiana state exam in a timeframe and format that allow us to impact learning for each student. Acuity comprises up to three 30- to 40-point scaled predictive assessments that reflect the state’s accountability exam in terms of structure and item type. All three assessments are designed to be administered in a single school year and each Acuity Predictive Assessment is developmentally appropriate for the time of year in which it is administered. The assessments become more challenging from Form A to B to C to more accurately capture your student’s understanding of important skills and concepts presented sequentially throughout the school year. This design supports the development of accurate predictions that indicate students’ subsequent level of achievement on your state exam. Acuity Predictive Assessments are administered approximately six weeks apart and prior to the state NCLB assessment—reflect the content structure and item formats of the subsequent state summative NCLB assessment.

Although each Predictive Assessment form includes content measuring the state standards in similar proportions to that of the state summative assessment, the predictive item selection strategy further supports the coverage of content that is appropriate for the specific time of testing during the school year. For example, the first Predictive Assessment includes content explicitly measuring standards from the prior year state assessment as well as content from early in the current year while the third Predictive Assessment fully measures on-grade content and standards.

Predictive A: 2/3 previous years standards + 1/3 current years standards

Predictive B: 1/3 previous years standards + 2/3 current years standards

Predictive C: All current years standards

Measurement error is decreased when students and forms are appropriately matched by
ability and difficulty. This structure was intended to provide Acuity Predictive Assessments of appropriate difficulty. As students increase in ability, the forms also increase in difficulty, so that students and forms are appropriately matched.
The three Predictive Assessment forms per grade are designed to provide a measure of growth and progress toward end-of-year goals. This is accomplished by (a) providing a common scale for the Predictive Assessments within and across the grades of each content area and (b) providing predictive information toward the end-of-year goals measured by the state NCLB assessments.

The common scale is developed using Item Response Theory calibration, scaling, and
equating during the first year of the testing program—the same rigorous psychometric
methods that are applied to most state NCLB assessments. The common scale will provide students, teachers, parents, and administrators with a powerful tool to monitor and foster student achievement. The relationship established in the first year of administration between the three Acuity Predictive Assessment forms and the state NCLB assessment will be used to develop concordance and prediction tables that will provide teachers with empirical predictions from current performance to the end-of-year criteria. Each form is on the common scale within and across grades of a content area. The common scale is indicated by the dashed lines connecting the forms in Figure 1. The three withingrade forms will be linked to the state summative NCLB test using matched student data. That is, the total scores from the three Acuity Predictive Assessment forms in a given grade will be linked to the total score from that grade’s state summative assessment results, indicated by the large arrows in Figure 1. The scaling and prediction studies will be based on the data collected in the baseline year.

After you administer an Acuity Predictive Assessment, helpful reports feature easy-to-read forecasts of your students’ achievement on your state exam.

In the graphic below, a sample student's predicted performance is shown with a black arrow pointing directly to her expected proficiency level on your state exam. This information helps you understand which students need the most attention prior to your state exam.

The multi-colored performance level bands represent the performance categories used in your state. The width of each performance level band on Acuity Predictive Assessment Reports is directly proportional to the size of the scaled score interval associated with the corresponding performance level on your state exam. 

Scaled scores
Acuity Predictive Assessments deliver scaled scores after an appropriate set of baseline data is available. Scaled scores are on a common scale that can be compared for students taking a given predictive assessment or for an individual student taking multiple predictive assessments. Scaled scores are useful because they allow you to track individual or group progress over time; you can add, subtract, or average scaled scores. This allows you to compare scores on different Acuity Assessments over time, or to make direct comparisons among individual students on the same form in a way that is statistically valid. Alternatively, number-correct or raw scores alone can not be compared to measure growth over different assessments.

Finally, Acuity Predictive Reports also show results by Tier of student performance. Tiers are different from the Expected Performance Levels described above because they are associated with specific percent-correct scores. The number of Tiers and the percent correct ranges associated with each Tier can be customized for your district.