Balanced Assessment System

A balanced assessment system measures the depth and breadth of student learning and monitors student progress towards college and career readiness. It includes multiple measures and produces actionable data to inform planning for instruction, academic supports, and resource allocation. A balanced assessment system empowers educators to be responsive to the needs of all students, including English learners and students with disabilities. It also helps build learning partnerships between educators, students, and families.

CPS's balanced assessment framework includes three assessment types.
Assessment Type	Description
Large-scale Assessments	Large-scale assessments help stakeholders understand student mastery of grade-level standards, monitor progress to college & career readiness, and assist in determining the extent to which curriculum and instruction are supporting student achievement.
Screening/Benchmark Assessments Diagnostic & Progress Monitoring Assessments	Screening/Benchmark assessments help stakeholders understand: students' general skill and ability levels whether students are meeting established benchmarks which students may need additional supports, interventions, or enrichment Diagnostic assessments help determine specific skill gaps and guide instruction and/or intervention planning for students. Progress monitoring assessments provide teachers with ongoing feedback to help determine intervention effectiveness.
Classroom Assessments	Classroom assessments reflect the critical abilities of the subject and grade level standards and ask students to apply these abilities to situations that are authentic to the discipline and relevant to students’ lives. These assessments support moving all students forward with grade level learning. Common unit assessments help teachers, students, and families understand how well students are demonstrating mastery of the curriculum’s unit objectives. Curriculum-connected interim assessments help teachers, students, and families understand how well students are applying their learning to new situations and how they are progressing towards end of year goals.

Each spring school teams collaboratively develop and approve an assessment plan for the following school year. To support this process, CPS provides guidance, resources, and recommended assessments paid for by the district and aligned to the CPS balanced assessment framework. School teams use the CPS balanced assessment guides for elementary school and high school to create plans that help advance their school improvement goals, making informed decisions that take into account their local school contexts (e.g. grade levels, programs, school priorities, languages spoken by students, etc.). These plans are a supplement to the required assessments in the SY25 CPS assessment calendar.

Professional Learning

CPS provides comprehensive, research-based professional learning to support educators in designing and implementing a balanced assessment system. During the 2023-2024 school year, the district engaged thousands of educators across hundreds of professional learning sessions.

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SY25 Balanced Assessment Ratings

The tables provide information about the alignment of schools’ assessment plans for School Year 2024-2025 (SY25) with the CPS balanced assessment framework. For each recommendation, a school could earn a designation of “Fully Meeting,” “Partially Meeting,” or “Not Meeting.” Schools earn this designation based on 1) the assessment the school uses 2) the grade-levels it is administered to and 3) the number of assessment administrations .The table only includes assessments that are included in schools’ yearly assessment plan process; it does not include required assessments, such as those required by the state or those mandated as a part of specific programs (e.g. AP, IB, observational assessments in Pre-K classrooms, etc.) . Refer to the SY25 Guide to the CPS Assessment Landscape or visit the CPS Assessment page for more information.

This plan data is updated as of 10/25/24.

Assessment Type:

Common unit assessments help teachers, students, and families understand how well students are demonstrating mastery of the curriculum’s unit objectives.

Common Unit Assessments
Subject	Recommended Grade Bands	Assessed Grades	District-funded Assessments	School-selected Assessment	Recommended Number of Administrations	Planned Number of Administrations	Adoption Status
ELA	K-8	K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8	Skyline Common Unit Assessments	Common Unit Assessments	At the End of Each Unit	2	Partially Meeting
Math	K-8	K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8	Skyline Common Unit Assessments	Common Unit Assessments	At the End of Each Unit	2	Partially Meeting
Science	K-8	K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8	Skyline Common Unit Assessments	Common Unit Assessments	At the End of Each Unit	2	Partially Meeting
Social Studies	K-8	K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8	Skyline Common Unit Assessments	Common Unit Assessments	At the End of Each Unit	2	Partially Meeting
SLA	K-8	Not Included in Plan	Skyline Common Unit Assessments	Not Included in Plan	At the End of Each Unit (if offered)	0
World languages	K-8	Not Included in Plan	Skyline Common Unit Assessments	Not Included in Plan	At the End of Each Unit	0	Not Meeting
Arts	K-8	Not Included in Plan		Not Included in Plan	At the End of Each Unit	0	Not Meeting
Health/PE	K-8	Not Included in Plan		Not Included in Plan	At the End of Each Unit	0	Not Meeting

Diagnostic and Progress Monitoring Assessments
Subject	Recommended Grade Bands	Assessed Grades	District-funded Assessments	School-selected Assessment	Recommended Number of Administrations	Planned Number of Administrations	Adoption Status
Reading	K-2	K,1,2	i-Ready Assessment Suite	i-Ready Assessment Suite	As Needed	As Needed	Fully Meeting
Math	K-2	K,1,2	i-Ready Assessment Suite	i-Ready Assessment Suite	As Needed	As Needed	Fully Meeting
Reading	3-8	3,4,5,6,7,8	Star Assessment Suite	Star Assessment Suite	As Needed	As Needed	Fully Meeting
Math	3-8	3,4,5,6,7,8	Star Assessment Suite	Star Assessment Suite	As Needed	As Needed	Fully Meeting

STEM

School-level information about how well assessment plans meet district standards for balanced assessment systems across grades, subjects, and types of assessments.

SY25 Balanced Assessment Ratings