When you first hear the term “diagnostic assessment” coming from your child’s school or teacher, you might think: “Great. Here is ONE MORE THING for me to navigate as we figure out the whole virtual school thing.” Fortunately, among the many lessons learned this spring are some great tips to help you help your child through these tests, which aren’t like the tests you may be used to. It’s also important to understand why these assessments are important for a successful school year.

 

So, what is a diagnostic assessment?

Students take these assessments or tests at the beginning of the school year to show the teacher their strengths and areas in need of growth. This helps the teacher make sound instructional decisions.

Assessing at home is challenging regardless of the test or provider, but when you are confident about your role, it can ensure your child’s teachers get the quality data they need to target instruction. Below are simple things you can do to make the process of taking a diagnostic assessment at home go smoothly.

Help by not helping

Unlike tests given for grades, assessments to inform teachers about instruction need to focus just as much on what your child is ready to learn (or doesn’t know yet) as what they do know. Some diagnostic assessments use technology to tailor the test to your child’s individualized learning. Every child who takes the test—even those in the same grade—may get different questions. It may seem off-putting to parents, and frustrating for the child, but these types of tests are designed so your child will only get about half of the questions correct. And that’s okay. That’s how teachers figure out both what your child knows and what they still need to learn. If you help your child when they get frustrated, you are skewing the data making it an inaccurate representation of your child’s strengths and needs.

Assessment companies are creating informative websites and videos to help address the family’s role in helping your child take the assessment. An example of this is the Family Center for the i-Ready Diagnostic. This is a great place to start to understand your role in administering the assessment at home.

Support your child instead

As your child takes the assessment, it is important to encourage them without assisting them with answering questions. You can say supportive things like: “I can tell you are very focused. Keep up the good work!” Or: “Great work, you have 10 minutes left.” If your child asks for help on a question for reading, encourage them to “try going back and rereading the text,” or if it’s a question for mathematics, you can suggest that they “try working out the problem on paper.” As your child finishes up the assessment, be sure to celebrate their completion and let them know how proud you are of the work they are doing. 

Prepare for test day

Make sure your child is well rested and had a healthy meal leading up to the test. If your child is an anxious test taker, remind them that this test is designed to help their teacher teach them and they should just do their best.

You know your child’s focus and energy levels and are best suited to determine the optimal time of day for them to take the test. Find a quiet place away from distractions and make sure the login information and device are both working in advance. Have paper and pencil handy so your child can take notes or work problems by hand. Tests to inform instruction usually do not have time limits set on them so if your teacher has not assigned a specific time, we suggest splitting the assessment into several short sessions: 15 to 20 minutes for younger students (K–1) and 30 minutes for older students.

Confirm completion

Finally, ensure your child’s teacher gets the most accurate results by confirming the assessment is submitted. Your child should receive some type of congratulatory message. You should make sure your child logs out of their account after completing the assessment, and if problems arise don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher.

Adjusting to distance learning can be overwhelming, but there are many resources out there to help. If we all work together, families, teachers, and assessment providers, we can ensure every student is set up to receive the supports needed to grow in this new learning environment.