With the diverse methods of teaching and learning in today’s educational world, knowing where the strengths and weaknesses of each student is imperative in order to guarantee students’ needs are being met.
Recently, Istation published 10 Assessment Must-Haves as a starting point for measuring student growth and providing teachers with the necessary information as they determine which tool is best when creating a personalized academic and SEL program.
Reflection Sciences takes the reliability and effectiveness of screening and placement assessments very seriously and developed an Executive Function Assessment tool, EFgoPRO™, that meets each of the criteria mentioned in the article.
Let’s take a look at how:
1. Choose Valid and Reliable Assessments
EFgoPRO™ is valid and reliable and supported by current research in brain science and learning. It is being used by several universities including Harvard. It is normed with over 50,000 children and across16 languages.
2. Screen Students at Least 3 Times Per Year
Data empowers teachers to meet the needs of each student. Because EFgoPRO™ takes less than five (5) minutes to complete, EF skill development can easily be completed three or more times per academic year.
3. Progress Monitor Students Frequently
By following the recommended four instructional periods built into the EFgoPRO™program, teachers can track EF skill development and adjust accordingly to determine the effectiveness of specific intervention activities.
4. Streamline Assessment Tools
Because of the design of EFgoPRO™, individual child data can be accessed and interpreted immediately. The results can be shared within an entire school community including specialists and social workers. It is up to the organization if they would like to share the data with parents as well.
5. Support Flexibility
EFgoPRO™ can be used in-school or virtually. producing reliable results educators can track within the provided data portal.
6. Encourage Student Choice, Voice, and Agency
EFgoPRO™ is a card-sorting, game-based activity that children as young as 24 months engage with and enjoy. The algorithm adjusts to keep children at the right challenge level and self completes when a child begins to struggle or no longer is motivated to ensure the experience remains fun.
7. Ensure Assessments are Device Agnostic
EFgoPRO™ can be used on any iOS or Android tablet as well as Chromebooks. It will soon be releasing an HTML5 version that will be available for any digital device with access to the internet. (Except phones)
8. Provide Immediate Results
Upon completion, results are immediately available in the Reflection Sciences’ Administrative Portal and the program provides personalized intervention activities specifically chosen for an individual child’s score. Fast, accurate, real-time data is a starting point for educators to plan what’s next.
9. Save Teachers Time
EFgoPRO™ can be completed in under 5 minutes per child and is adult or self-administered depending on the student’s age. Because it is fully digital, access to present and past data helps teachers monitor and adjust instruction.
10. Link to Instruction
Data-driven instruction is powerful in the classroom. Reflection Sciences offers a full catalog of professional development courses to help teachers understand Executive Function, how to understand the data, and what steps to take next to ensure academic and SEL success for everyone.
Curious? Try a free version today in the classroom or take the assessment yourself. It’s never too early or too late to test your brain.
