Using Interim Assessment - IABs and Focused IABs

The OSAS IABs and Focused IABs are designed to support your teaching and your students' learning periodically throughout the year in alignment with current instruction. Additionally, by aligning instruction to the Oregon Academic Content Standards and the full range of cognitive complexity to the OSAS IABs and Focused IABs, you have an opportunity to connect formative assessment practices to support students in the moment-to-moment process of learning.

Standard and Non-standard administration

OSAS IABs and Focused IABs can be administered in standardized and non-standardized ways. Click here to download the image below.

In a traditional standardized administration, using the OSAS Portal Interim Assessment page, you assign each student an interim assessment to take individually, and then use your students’ results to determine instructional next steps. The primary advantages of standardized administration are that students can utilize the accessibility supports of OSAS and their results are loaded into the Centralized Reporting System (CRS).
You can also use interim assessments for non-standardized administrations by displaying items to a class using the OSAS Assessment Viewing Application (AVA) for students to answer on paper, in small groups, or as a class discussion. The primary advantages of non-standardized administration are that you can choose a subset of items to administer and that your students can make their thinking visible (e.g., as a group task, on whiteboards, giving and receiving peer feedback on a constructed response, etc.).

Four uses: 1 - quick check. 2 - instructional activity. 3 - clarify expectations. 4 - formal assessment.

Here are four primary uses of OSAS Interim IABs and Focused IABs:

A quick check of the whole class around a specific concept or standard using a single interim test item or task;
A non-standardized administration as part of an instructional activity, checking for individual or collective understanding via partner or small group work;
A tool to clarify expectations around concepts, standards, specific item designs, complexities, and scoring criteria as part of formative assessment practices, including both self-assessment or peer feedback; or
A formal assessment using a standardized administration of the entire IAB or Focused IAB to measure or collect evidence around student learning specific to taught content to determine additional instructional decisions.

Note: The Adjusted ICAs should be administered in accordance with the standardized administration procedures for validity and security consistent with summative test administration. Educators and students cannot review items because students respond to different items based on the computer adaptive algorithm.

Formative Assessment Practices

The OSAS IABs and Focused IABs support educators in implementing formative assessment practices, as seen in this circular four-leaf clover model.

Four leaf clover of formative assessment process. Leaves are titled "Clarify", "Elicit", "Interpret", and "Act".

Educators can:

First, clarify learning goals and success criteria to make the learning expectations clear to students by showing students concrete examples of interim items or tasks that require higher cognitive demand;
Second, elicit evidence of student thinking through activities and instructional strategies designed around a specific interim item or task;
Third, interpret evidence of learning - often in the moment - to provide actionable student feedback; and
Finally, act on observations or feedback based on specific interim test items or tasks to adjust instruction as needed.

A high-quality formative assessment process is built on the foundation of a collaborative and respectful learning environment and requires the ownership of both students and educators. Throughout the process, students must not only be engaged with their teacher, but also with peers and allowed to self-reflect on their learning progress.

Take a moment to become familiar with both the OSAS Interim Assessment Fact Sheet and Understanding the Formative Assessment Process to identify additional connections between the OSAS IABs and Focused IABs and formative assessment practices.

Additionally, this Understanding the Formative Assessment Process Video (Approx. 8 mins.) explores what formative assessment is, what it isn't, and why it is such a powerful tool for boosting learning outcomes.

(The video above is linked within the Understanding Formative Assessment Process PDF)

As you consider the role of formative assessment in a balanced assessment system, consider the following:

In what ways do students have ownership of the formative assessment process within a learning environment? How about within your school/classroom?