| Our Approach Common Core, Uncommon Approach |
When the Common Core State Standards were initially released in 2011, Measured Progress's team of curriculum and assessment experts carefully analyzed the differences between existing standards and the Common Core. Because the Common Core requires students to master skills that have rarely been assessed by state or benchmark assessments, content experts found that existing item banks and assessments could not adequately prepare students for the new standards and next-generation common assessments.
Learn more about Measured Progress's approach to the Common Core by downloading a white paper, The Common Core State Standards: How well are existing items aligned? How Measured Progress is approaching the Common Core differently.
Why the Measured Progress COMMON CORE Assessment Program is Different:
- Each of the items in the COMMON CORE™ Assessment Program was newly created to the Common Core State Standards and specifications outlined by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Because items are newly developed and not back-aligned, students will be exposed to new standards many item banks don't provide or measure.
- The COMMON CORE Assessment Program can be used frequently, so that teachers can gauge student understanding in real time.
- The COMMON CORE Testlets offer teachers a deeper insight into knowledge and skills- focused strands/domains to help transition students at their own pace.
- Teachers can use COMMON CORE Testlets as a template for creating their own assessments with items from the COMMON CORE Item Bank.
- Scoring rubrics and sample student responses (provided for each constructed-response item) help teachers use the program formatively.
- Student self-assessments, item review forms, and formative feedback templates engage students in their own learning.
