Group Reading Assessment & Diagnostic Evaluation

Audience: This session is targeted for users new to GRADE.

Course description: This 6-hour session will equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to implement GRADE Online successfully. In the first half of the session, participants will learn how to access the online platform, create groups, manage test sessions, access student login credentials, and proctor sessions. This session will also include an overview of the Individual Score Summary Analysis, Group Score Summary, and Group Diagnostic Analysis by Type reports. The second half of the session will focus on how to interpret and analyze GRADE data to make informed instructional decisions and will include a brief review of the research supporting the GRADE assessment and an explanation of the scoring components. Participants will then take a deeper dive into evaluating scores to determine students' strengths and weaknesses and utilizing data at the district, school, grade, class and/or individual level to drive instruction. Finally, recommendations for instructional strategies to support differentiated instruction will be included.

Learning objectives: After attending this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of GRADE
• Discuss the role of assessment in educational planning and data-driven decision making
• Identify materials needed to administer GRADE subtests
• Demonstrate how to navigate the app from the students' perspective
• Navigate the platform to create and manage groups and test sessions and to generate student login credentials
• Define the essential normative scoring components
• Explain how each score provides a distinct way to identify strengths or weaknesses
• Learn how to turn assessment data into instructional information at the district, school, grade, class, and individual level
• Introduce a variety of instructional strategies to emphasize the importance of differentiated instruction