Which assessment strategy is most effective for assessing a student's progress toward Illinois English Language Arts learning standards?

The most effective assessment strategy for assessing a student's progress toward Illinois English Language Arts learning standards is the use of curriculum-based measures assessing specific learning objectives. This approach is designed to align closely with the curriculum and the specific skills being taught. By focusing on the learning objectives outlined in the standards, these measures provide targeted data that can illustrate a student's proficiency and growth over time.

Curriculum-based measures offer frequent and relevant information about a student’s performance in relation to the specific expectations of the language arts curriculum. They can include various forms of assessment, such as quizzes, writing samples, and reading fluency tests, which are directly linked to what students are learning. This alignment ensures that educators can monitor progress, identify areas of strength and weakness, and tailor instruction accordingly to support each student's learning journey.

In contrast, other assessment strategies might not provide as direct a connection to the specific learning standards. Summative assessments, while useful for evaluating overall achievement, are typically administered at the end of a learning period and may not inform day-to-day instruction. Districtwide criterion-referenced assessments can be beneficial but may not always reflect a student's individual learning progress in real-time. Norm-referenced assessments are designed to compare a student's performance against a larger group, which may not necessarily relate