Testing 101: How Do I Use the Performance Evaluation Report?
Remember how you felt when you took your driver’s test and heard the words, “You passed!” You probably didn’t care by how much or what your score was. Even being told “You barely passed” was probably OK with you since you got what you wanted- a license to drive. With achievement tests, it’s different.
On an achievement test, being told your student passed or he did average satisfies momentarily. Hearing he scored at the 53rd percentile doesn’t carry a lot of meaning. Naturally, many parents wonder what exactly did he miss.
The Performance Evaluation Report (PER) is designed to answer this question. This optional report, available only through Basic Skills, tells you what your student missed on the test.
Here’s how to use the Performance Evaluation Report:
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As an example, let’s say you’re looking at the results of your son’s reading test which is part of the TerraNova 2 Survey. You see that he scored at the 58th percentile, missing 7 out of 25 items. With the PER report, you can identify every item on the test and know exactly what each item measured.
In our example, you find that while he did well on recall, comprehension, and application questions, he didn’t do very well with questions that required analytical and evaluation skills. How do you help him improve? By picking up a copy of our e-book, How to Ask Questions That Matter, you can see what kind of questions fall into this category and how to teach him to answer them correctly.
Here’s another example. The Language Mechanics test is part of the Plus portion of the TerraNova 2. It measures a student’s skill using in punctuation marks and applying capitalization rules. Let’s say your daughter missed 10 of the 20 items on this test. In looking at the PER report, you find she missed items in every category measured by this test.
What next?
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We have two products, all available as e-books and designed to improve a student’s language mechanics skills.
In the first and foundational product, Mastering Punctuation, concepts are introduced, practiced, and revisited in a variety of short daily drills. The goal of this product is the consistent application of punctuation rules used in everyday writing, writing that is clearly expressed and understandable to the reader.
The second product, the Mastering Punctuation Flashcards is designed to drill students in critical thinking and provide repetitive practice in finding and correcting errors. This product is comprised of two sets of flash cards. The What Am I flash cards present the basic rules. The Fix-It cards help students think critically, leading them to identify and correct errors in sentences and expressions.
Didn’t get one?
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The Performance Evaluation Report is a valuable, instructional tool designed to pinpoint what your student missed as well as what he or she answered correctly. If your student has already taken an end- of-the-year test through Basic Skills and you did not order this report, it’s not too late. The PER costs $10 to process. Simply call us at 503-650-5282 or email us at and request it!
Thanks for reading!
Curt Bumcrot, MRE
Do you have a student who performed worse than expected on math or reading? We have tutors available this summer who can help your student strengthen the areas they missed. Inquire today about summer tutoring at Basic Skills!
