In order to establish a skills and vocabulary baseline, determine where to start students in the ARIS program, and measure student progress over time, ARIS use 4 primary tools.
Skills Baseline & Progress Tracking Sheet
ARIS Assessment Rubric
Words, Phrases & Concepts Checklist
Lesson Mastery Checklist
Quick Start to Student Assessment
Step 1: Assess Current Skills
Use the Skills Baseline & Progress Tracking Sheet to assess current skills and choose starting lessons in the ARIS program
Sheet Overview:
Provides a space for both the teacher and the parents to assess the student's competency on each skill
Intended to be an observational tool for assessment
In some circumstances, you may need to create a situation in which you can observe the student to assess a skill.
In others, you or the parents will already have a good idea of the student's abilities.
Step 2: Assess Word Knowledge
Use the Words, Phrases & Concepts Checklist assess initial word knowledge
ARIS curriculum includes images and manipulatives which represent more than 1,000 words, phrases, and concepts
Rather than test the student on all of the 1,000+ items on this assessment, ARIS provides a short list of starter words to use as a baseline
Probe these initial words, then expand your assessment over time
Send a blank version of the Words, Phrases & Concepts Checklist home with parents, and have them identify the words and phrases that the student knows
Step 3: Track Lesson Mastery
Use the Lesson Mastery Checklist to keep track of which lessons students have mastered or tested out of.
Step 4: Keep Regular Data
Use the custom Data Keeping Sheets, to keep track of student progress, then move them forward through the program, based on the detailed 'Next Steps' section in the ARIS Lesson Folders
