Insights
CommonLit Assessments are Strongly Predictive of State Test Results in New York and Florida
Researchers find positive correlation between Assessment Series and end-of-year state tests
Two recent studies discovered meaningful and positive correlations between how students performed on CommonLit's Assessment Series benchmark exams and their state assessment.
CommonLit’s Assessment Series is a standards-aligned exam for grades 3-12 that features both literary and non-fiction reading passages along with 25+ multiple choice questions. The Assessment Series includes 3 benchmark assessments - a pre-assessment, mid-year assessment, and post-assessment that have been evaluated based on the usage of over one million students throughout the past two years.
CommonLit Assessments Predict State End-of-Year Test Scores in New York
The first study was conducted by LearnPlatform by Instructure, an independent evaluation group for edtech products. Using student data from the spring of 2022, they looked at test results on CommonLit Assessments and the NYC State Assessment from two middle schools in New York City. Both schools receive Title I funding from the federal government to support their student populations who live in poverty, and their demographic makeup is racially diverse with over 50% of students reporting as either Black or Latino. In reviewing students’ scores, LearnPlatform found a positive correlation between both the beginning-of-year (r = 0.60) and end-of-year (r = 0.56) CommonLit assessments and the New York State end-of-year tests. These promising findings are extremely positive and show the effectiveness of CommonLit’s Assessment Series in gauging how students may perform on critical end-of-year tests.
Table 1. Correlations between CommonLit Assessment Tests and NY State End-Of-Year Tests (N = 188)
Strong Findings in Florida
The second study was done in Alachua County, Florida, in the spring of 2023 and was conducted by researchers at CommonLit. The team looked into students’ performance on the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) ELA test in connection with their CommonLit Assessment Series test. The researchers focused on students enrolled in grades 6 through 8 who were taught by 17 different teachers. Demographically, the sample was racially diverse and 40% of students were classified as low-income.
This research shows an even higher correlation overall (r = .71) between students’ scores on the Assessment Series and the FAST end-of-year exam. A correlation of .71 overall correlation is considered substantial and indicates that there was high similarity in how students scored on the two tests. For example, students who scored high on the Assessment Series test also scored high on the FAST end-of-year exam, and vice versa. The findings suggest that CommonLit’s Assessment Series benchmark exams can give educators beneficial insights into students’ skills as they prepare for high stakes end-of-year tests.
CommonLit’s Assessment Series Provides Educational Insights Ahead of End-Of-Year State Tests
The data from these two school districts supports the use of CommonLit’s Assessment Series to help educators see which students may need more interventions throughout the school year. It also points to the effectiveness of the Assessment Series in determining students’ potential performances on their end-of-year tests and how best to provide support ahead of time.
For more information on how to partner with CommonLit and access the Assessment Series, click on the button below.