Strong measurement. Better learning.

Measuring growth toward college and career readiness for grades 3–8

eMPower Assessments give you:

• A coherent program for grades 3–8, anchored to the SAT Suite of Assessments

• The ability to reduce redundant, disconnected testing andgain targeted classroom instruction time

• Immediate reporting, so teachers can makeinstructional adjustmentsthat have an impact

• Consistency in standards and expectations across classroom instruction, district-wide interim assessment, and state accountability tests

eMPower Assessments™ by Measured Progress

are college and career readiness assessments for

grades 3–8 in reading, writing and language, and

mathematics. eMPower Assessments give you

an accurate indicator of student progress toward

meeting grade-level expectations, and provide the

only assessment solution with a direct predictive

connection to the SAT® Suite of Assessments.

Together, eMPower and the SAT Suite of

Assessments represent a comprehensive approach

that yields valid and reliable data to show growth

over time, through graduation.

Create a consistent assessment systemto measure college and career readiness

measuredprogress.org2

“At Measured Progress, we’ve created statewide accountability assessments for more than

30 years. With eMPower Assessments, we've brought that assessment expertise in test

creation, design, and delivery to the district and classroom levels.”

Measured Progress is a partner with the College Board.This collaboration provides consistency between eMPower and theSAT Suite of Assessments, with similar standards, level of rigor, and

item types. Measured Progress developed many of the English languagearts and mathematics items used on the PSAT™ 8/9 and PSAT 10 assessments.

evidence-based reliable valid• Follow evidence-centered

design principles

• Made up of entirely new items focused on the outcomes that are important to measure

• Meet test design standards as put forth in the Standards of Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA/NCME/APA, 2014)

• Generate sufficient evidence to support program decisions

• Demonstrate rigorous alignment of item and test designs to content standards

• Enable meaningful inferences from test scores

–Stuart Kahl, Founding Principal at Measured Progress

measuredprogress.org 3

measuredprogress.org

Consistency across grades

Consistency across your assessment program

Timing Description

eMPower Assessments report 8th-grade results on both the eMPowerscore scale and the score scale of the SAT Suite of Assessments, to provide a direct predictive connection to the PSAT 8/9, PSAT 10, and SAT. This connection gives you an early indicator of a student’s college and career readiness. Together with the SAT Suite, eMPower Assessments representa comprehensive assessment approach for grades 3–12.

Gain consistency in measurement

Reporting Link

Grade Level

Timing DescriptionAssessment Level/Type

eMPowerAssessments

eMPowerAssessments

Statewide Summative

DistrictInterim

Once a year

Up to 3x/year:Fall, Winter, Spring

eMPower can be used to fulfill federal accountability requirements. States may augment the test design to meet additional needs.

District interim assessments address the full year’s standards to show student growth over time.

eMPower Assessments suite for grades 3–8

4

Type of assessment: interim, criterion-referenced

Format: fixed-form

Grades: 3–8

Subjects: • reading• writing and language• mathematics

Administrations per year:up to 3

Structure of test: 1 subject-area test, per grade level. Each test has 2 sections that can be administered back-to-back or separately

Testing time: average 50 minutes, depending on grade level and subject area

Types of items: selected-response, including multiple-choice, multiple-select, and evidence-based selected-response

Delivery mode: online

Scoring: auto-scored

Reporting time: immediate

Accommodations available:• magnification• visual contrast controls• answer masking

Beginning-of-year, mid-year, and end-of-year tests help you measure student growth up to three times a year. From the data, you can see trends, evaluate program effectiveness, and identify instructional areas that need additional support.

Measure growth toward grade-level performance

eMPower Assessments

at a glance

measuredprogress.org 5

The student experienceeMPower gives students a consistent testing program throughout their academic journey so they are fully prepared for high school, college, and career.

Here’s the story of one student, Emma, as she goesthrough school.

3rd Grade: Fall

Emma takes eMPower to establish a baseline of what she knows.

The test includes questions built on both grade 2 and grade 3 standards. Emma’s eMPower score report shows where she needs support and where she is on track. Using information from the reports, her teacher adjusts Emma's instruction based on a deeper understanding of her strengths and weaknesses.

3rd Grade: Winter

Emma takes eMPower again.

Emma shows expected growth in some subject areas. Subscore results indicate areas where she needs support and give her teacher actionable information to continue to adjust and target instruction.

3rd Grade: Spring

Emma takes eMPower soon after the statewide accountability test.

The timely results from eMPower give Emma's teacher a good idea of what Emma's state results will be, with no waiting. If her state uses eMPower as its accountability test, Emma only takes one test this spring.

6 measuredprogress.org

8th Grade

Emma receives an estimated PSAT 8/9 score.

The test design and item types she sees on eMPower are similar to those found on the SAT Suite of Assessments, so Emma is familiar with how she's expected to demonstrate her understanding on college readiness exams.

High School

Emma takes the PSAT 8/9, PSAT 10, and SAT.

Emma is well-prepared and confident, because she has successfully taken on challenging tasks and rigorous assessments like eMPower throughout her educational career.

4th–7th Grades

Emma continues to take eMPower Assessments three times each year.

Emma’s teachers use eMPower score reports to engage her in the formative feedback process, set stretch learning targets, and establish growth expectations together.

measuredprogress.org 7

Reading

§§ Key Ideas and Details

§§ Craft and Structure

§§ Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

§§ Comprehension

§§ Analysis and Interpretation

§§ Literary Text

§§ Informational Text

Writing and Language

§§ English Language Conventions

§§ Narrative Writing Analysis

§§ Expository Writing Analysis

§§ Argument Writing Analysis

Mathematical Concepts and Procedures

§§ Operations & Algebraic Thinking

§§ Number & Operations in Base 10 and Fractions

§§ Measurement & Data

§§ Geometry

§§ Ratios & Proportional Relationships

§§ Functions

§§ The Number System

§§ Expressions & Equations

§§ Statistics & Probability

Mathematical Practices

§§ Reasoning and Argument

§§ Patterns & Structure

§§ Problem Solving, Reasoning, and Argument

§§ Modeling, Patterns, and Structure

Content standards covered

Support accurate reporting and analyticsEvidence-centered design, test delivery, and reporting with

eMPower Assessments provide accurate, reliable, and valid

information about students’ particular strengths and needs,

and their progress toward readiness for college and career.

Rigorous item development process

The professional content specialists at Measured Progress follow a detailed item development process. Multiple steps include specific bias and sensitivity screening to ensure a fair and consistent test for all students.

The eMPower Technical Bulletin provides additional details regarding test design, accuracy, validity, and reliability of the test instrument. Sample items for all grades and content areas are also available, online.

Measured Progress is a certified WebbAlign® Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Partner. This certification means that you can be sure eMPower items accurately represent the range of complexity at the level of rigor required to measure the intended constructs.

eMPower Assessments measure the full year’s worth of college and career readiness standards, up to three times a year. The fall assessment serves as a baseline and includes questions builton the previous year’s standards. You gain a solid picture of student growth toward grade-level proficiency.

Strong growth measures built to today’s standards

Standards Assessed

WINTER

Interim

FALL

Baseline

Grade Level

PreviousGrade Level

SPRING

Interim

measuredprogress.org9

Grade 8 reports include estimated PSAT 8/9 scores, and indicate their relationship to the PSAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks.

Clear reporting results with reliable scores

Individual Student Reports show parents their student's progress

toward grade-level proficiency.

Classroom Reports show class rosters with achievement levels

and subscores to give at-a-glance views of class performance.

School/District Summary Reports support subgroup filter comparisons

such as gender or ethnicity, and facilitate district-wide decision making.

Growth Reports provide interim results to gauge student growth

against expected growth patterns.

Students receive a scale

score for each overall

subject area.

The achievement level is

displayed in a color-coded

indicator to show progress

toward mastery of grade-

level standards.

Subscore achievement

levels indicate a finer

grain of proficiency for

specific skills within

each content area, such

as Functions within

mathematics.

eMPower reports on

math practices as well as

concepts and procedures

for every grade level.

eMPower Assessments provide multiple score reports for parents, teachers, principals, and district leaders.

9measuredprogress.org

Using eMPower Assessments, you gain a powerful picture of student learning during each school year

and throughout your students’ academic careers. The eMPower Assessments suite supports school and

district leaders every step of the way, to ensure students get the right instructional support at the right

time to meet college and career readiness goals.

Support for every level

Support for school and district leaders Support for teachers and students

Control your assessment calendar. Each eMPower Assessments test session fits within a class period—average of 50 minutes or less —to give you more control of your assessment schedule and minimize classroom interruptions.

Receive data quickly. eMPower Assessments provide immediate score reporting in a teacher-friendly design, so teachers can take action to plan individual instruction and communicate progress.

Session Timing

eMPower Assessments are untimed tests. Subject-area tests consist of a single session with 2 sections, to give flexibility for test administation within a single class period. Session timing estimates below include administration time.

Reading50–60 minutes

Mathematics55–65 minutes

Writing and Language35–40 minutes

Respect instructional time. eMPower Assessments assess the multi-dimensional nature of college and career readiness standards with an appropriate level of rigor and complexity. The test design yields the most information possible in the shortest timeframe possible.

Identify student groupings. eMPower provides a class roster report that shows students' subscores, so instructional small-group possibilities are easy to see. Teachers can use these reports to identify individual instructional needs and observe whole-class patterns.

Engage students with a variety of item types. eMPower Assessments feature multiple-choice, multiple-select, and evidence-based selected-response items. Paired reading passages are authentic, previously published texts.

Inform instruction. The reporting system gives teachers a simple view of complex data to see growth. Teachers can rely on the indicators of students' strengths and needs and adjust instruction accordingly.

10 measuredprogress.org

eMPower Assessments were built according to research from the National Governors’ Association and

the Council of Chief State School Officers on the knowledge and skills students must have in order to

be prepared for high school and beyond in reading, writing, and mathematics. For example, the research

on mathematics learning and cognition demonstrates that mathematical proficiency depends on

students’ abilities to use mathematical practices such as problem solving, reasoning, and modeling—

not just on their grasp of concepts and procedures.

Multi-dimensional content development

Multi-dimensional item

The above examples illustrate the difference between 7th grade math test questions written to the new standards and those written to older standards. The reading and writing standards have similar significant shifts that require a new approach to content.

Single-dimensional item

eMPower Assessments mathematics questions, or items, address both concepts and procedures and mathematical practices. Measured Progress content developers delved into the eight math practices to create detailed item specifications and “focus points” for each practice. Each eMPower math assessment includes items that address a range of focus points within each mathematical practice to better reach the intent of the new standards. Items are aligned and coded to both a mathematical practice and to a concept or procedure—to yield a greater depth and breadth of insight for educators making instructional decisions.

This item measures students’ ability to find and calculate surface area without a real-world context. It is devoid of meaning, such that students may be able to solve the problem, but not make the cognitive leap to understand how they would apply the skill within their daily life.

This item asks the student to find the surface area for a real-world purpose: they need to know how much wax coating will cover a piece of cheese. This item is coded to the 7.G.B.6 7th-grade Geometry Concepts and Procedures standard that requires a student to solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects. It is also coded to the mathematical practice 2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

College and career readiness standards require new test questions

8 cm

The figure below is a rectangular prism.

What is the surface area of the figure?

cm2

cm2

cm2

cm2

A piece of cheese is shaped like a right triangular prism.

The entire surface of the cheese will be covered with a wax coating.What is the total area of the cheese coated by the wax?

11measuredprogress.org

Provide a stable and secure testing environmenteMPower Assessments are delivered through TestConnect™, the Measured Progress assessment platform. You can expect smooth implementation, with personal support from your account manager and from customer care experts who answer your questions in detail, via phone or email. Find system requirements and other technical specifications online.

Learn more about eMPower AssessmentsReview the research or schedule a demo to see how strong measurement supports better learning.

measuredprogress.org/empower

© 2018 Measured Progress. All rights reserved. Measured Progress and its logos are registered trademarks of Measured Progress, Inc. eMPower Assessments and the eMPower Assessments logo are trademarks of Measured Progress, Inc. College Board, SAT, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks owned by the College Board. PSAT is a trademark owned by the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. eMPower_B_Aug2018_08022018-BB

It's all about student learning. sales@measuredprogress.org 866.239.2150

Clearing a path for all students to own their future. psat@info.collegeboard.org 212.713.8000

Our account manager at Measured Progress was with us every step of the way as we implemented eMPower Assessments. When we needed additional information, customer care specialists knew our situation and were very responsive.”

—District test administrator, IL