Skip to main content

Assessment Result Calcuations

Assessment Results Calculations

An assessment result has limited value if the administrator can not see a trend over time in how the student is performing.  Therefore, the difference in academic performance between a previous assessment result must be calculated, but the difference in time must also be calculated in order to obtain a trend. The following terminology is used when making these calculations.

  • AP = Academic Performance
    • DAP = different in Academic Performance values between two assessment result records that are associated to the same assessment code record.
  • DT = Difference in time frame
    • DTterm = difference in time frame, measured in units of school terms
    • DTGrade = difference in time frame, measured in units of grade levels
    • DTSpan = difference in time frame, measured in number of terms in the grade span
  • DAPDT = the difference in Academic Performance / difference in a time frame
    • DAPDTerm = difference of Academic Performance / difference in time frame, measured in units of school terms
    • DAPDTGrade = difference of Academic Performance / difference in time frame, measured in units of grade level
    • DAPDTSpan = difference of Academic Performance / difference in time frame, measured in units of grade span

A student may take an assessment at anytime in the academic school year.  When calculating  time frame differences, PEMS selects the most relevant historical assessment record.  

  • For the term time frame, PEMS selects the earliest assessment result within the term.
  • For the Grade time frame, PEMS selects the earliest assessment result in the grade level.
  • For the Grade Span time frame, PEMS selects he earliest assessment result in the grade span.

Assessment Antecedent

However, a school may use end of term, end year, or end of grade span assessments to set the baseline for the next phase of learning rather than assessments taken at the start of the term.  In this case, the school prefers to use the assessment results taken just prior to the start of the term to determine academic performance. 

Academic Results are based on calendar dates, so PEMS lets the user can set an "earliness" time frame that finds results prior to the start of the time frame (term, grade level, span), called the assessment antecedent.

The assessment antecedent is configured per term label. For example, the fall term may calculate a time frame difference from the end of the last school term, or may choose to spend the first week setting the academic baseline. Assessment antecedent is entered in number of weeks.

Note: Create the field called "assessment antecedent" in the term label table, decimal field.


Calculations Workflow

When ever a new assessment result record is entered, each result is associated to an assessment code, the assessment allocations are made.  PEMS searches for prior assessment result records, and calculates the time difference academic performance difference between assessment result records.  Then PEMS calculates the ratios.  Once entered, these values are not recalculated.

Back to top