Istation approved as alternate test for third grade promotion in Florida

By Ossa Fisher

Earlier this month, the Florida Department of Education announced that Istation has been approved as an accepted alternate assessment for determining third grade promotion. The Florida Department of Education requires that providers meet the following guidelines to be approved as alternative assessments:

They must demonstrate both reliability and validity.

They must have completed norming studies, preferably within the last five years.

They must measure grade 3 achievement in reading comprehension.

“We are delighted that we can help provide a strong alternative for school districts in Florida to help identify students who qualify for third grade promotion. We believe in helping students achieve their full potential, and we are excited to deepen our partnerships with schools and districts who help accomplish this broad mission,” said Richard H. Collins, Istation Chairman and CEO.

Istation assessments take less time away from instruction since teachers do not administer the assessment individually. An entire class can be assessed in all reading measures in 30–40 minutes in a computer lab setting. Individually, the subtests range from approximately 3–10 minutes. Instant scoring results and a wealth of reports are available, including Lexile measures.

Florida students would have to pass at the 50th percentile or higher on Istation assessments to qualify for promotion, according to the DOE.

Learn more about Istation ISIP™ ER here: http://www.istation.com/Product/EarlyReading

Read more about the announcement here: http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-7704/dps-2016-116.pdf

Ossa Fisher

Ossa Fisher is the Chief Marketing Officer of Istation. She is also proud to hold the titles of Mom, Wife, Daughter, and Sister. She is passionate about education, technology and empowerment. Ossa earned a Master of Arts in Education (MAED) from Stanford Graduate School of Education and and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Stanford Graduate School of Business.