St. Louis Public Schools

Comprehensive Assessment Program (CAP)

Dr. Cleopatra Figgures

Chief Accountability Officer

Office of Accountability, Assessment, and Intervention

St. Louis Public Schools

Purpose:

Introduce the Comprehensive Assessment Program (CAP)

The 2009-10 CAP will:• Provide data regarding the performance status of the district,

schools and students• Generate data to guide policy making decisions• Address the relevance of major curriculum/content areas• Support development of measurable and attainable objectives for

the district, schools and students• Respond to the needs of students with data that informs instruction

and career/college planning• Provide outcome information to community stakeholders

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Grades K – 8 ComparisonGrade & School

Year TN 1 TN 3 Pre Test TN 3 Post Test ACUITY (1) MAP CA MAP MA MAP SC DRA SRI (2)

Number of Tests(3)

Hours in Testing (3)

KG 08-09 3 1 3KG 09-10 4 3 2 7

Grade 1 08-09 3 1 3Grade 1 09-10 4 4 3 3 11

Grade 2 08-09 4 3 2 7Grade 2 09-10 4 4 3 3 11

Grade 3 08-09 4 10 5 4 3 1 15 27Grade 3 09-10 4 6 5 4 3 1 11 23

Grade 4 08-09 4 10 4 5 3 1 15 27Grade 4 09-10 4 6 4 5 3 1 11 23

Grade 5 08-09 4 10 4 4 4 3 15 29Grade 5 09-10 4 6 4 4 4 3 11 25

Grade 6 08-09 4 10 4 4 3 1 15 26Grade 6 09-10 4 6 4 4 3 1 11 22

Grade 7 08-09 4 10 5 4 3 1 15 27Grade 7 09-10 4 6 5 4 3 1 11 23

Grade 8 08-09 4 10 4 5 4 3 1 11 31Grade 8 09-10 4 6 4 5 4 3 1 12 27

Information generated by the 2009-10 CAP for grades K-8 will offer the following improvements:

◦ Provide assessment information on reading and math for primary grade students

◦ Reduce the number of formative assessments – students test less and teachers have more time to teach

◦ Eliminate the Explore test for grade 8 students and move this test to grade 9, where this information will be more useful for high school and college/ career planning

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Grade 9 – 12 Comparison:

Grade & School Year TN 1 KAPLAN (1)

End of Course Tests (2)

Final Exams (3) EXPLORE PLAN

ACT Project

Test PSAT AP (4)

Number of Tests(5)

Hours in Testing (5)

Grade 9 08-09 4 15 2 18           29 39Grade 9 09-10   15 6 18 4         34 43

     Grade 10 08-09   15 4 18   4   4   31 45Grade 10 09-10   15 6 18   4       31 43

     

Grade 11 08-09   15   18     4   See (4) 28 37

Grade 11 09-10   15 4 18     4   See (4) 30 41     

Grade 12 08-09   15   18         See (4) 27 33

Grade 12 09-10   15   18         See (4) 27 33

The information generated by the 2009-10 High School CAP will offer the following improvements:

◦ Focus on meeting the secondary and post secondary planning needs of our students

◦ Use complete set of ACT tests (Explore, PLAN and ACT) in all high schools to help prepare for college and careers

◦ Support the roll out of End of Course (EOC) tests by enhancing rigor and relevance of assessment data in core courses

◦ Reduce the concentration of testing at grade 10,

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AssessmentCosts in 2008-09

Projected for 2009-10

Difference 2008-09 to

2009-10 ReasonTerraNova Third Edition (TN3) $210,000 $420,000 Increase of 

$210,000Upgrade to TN3.  Expand from Grades 3 - 8 to K - 8, with pre and post testing for Grades 1 & 2.  A one-time cost of $75,000 will provide reusable test books for 

students Grade 3 - 8.

Acuity Formative Assessments $240,000 $200,000 Savings of $44,000

Change from five tests per year to three tests per year.  SLPS will administer predictive tests that are used across the state. 

Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) Grades 3 - 8

$79,000 $40,000 Savings of $38,973

Change from MAP at Grades 3 - 8, 10 and 11 to MAP for Grades 3 - 8 only.

End of Course Tests (EOCs) $22,500 $36,000 Increase of $15,500

Districts currently pay $1.80 for each of the three tests.  Three tests windows beginning summer 2009 will require additional materials for each window.  

Document inventory management system included. Diagnostic Reading Assessments (DRA)

Budget Neutral The district will sustain its current use of the DRA to assess student reading levels three times each year. 

Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI)

Budget Neutral The district will sustain its current use of the SRI.

KAPLAN/SchoolNet (1) $1,900,000 $900,000 Savings of $1,000,000

Continuation of the high school core curriculum formative assessments, provided by a new vendor, SchoolNet, beginning Fall 2009. 

EXPLORE $12,000 $12,000 Budget Neutral The test will be moved from Grade 8 to Grade 9,  beginning Fall 2009-10.PLAN $16,800 $16,800 Budget Neutral

Contination of the Grade 10 test in the ACT test series.PSAT $33,000 Savings of 

$33,000The PSAT at Grade 10 will be eliminated from the Comprehensive Assessment 

Program in 2009-10.TOTAL COSTS $2,513,300 $1,624,800 $888,500 Net Savings from 2008-09 Costs to 2009-10 Proposed Budget

The CAP will be managed by the Office of Accountability

CAP will◦ generate valid and reliable information about student learning in

SLPS◦ reduce the number of tests students take and the amount of time

spent testing◦ minimize costs of essential assessments◦ ensure alignment between assessment and curriculum◦ tie assessments to technology, where possible◦ commit to a quicker turnaround time of assessment results

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