Math Test Design

The summative math assessments are available in Grades 3 – 8 and high school. Students solve multi-step math problems that require reasoning and address real-world situations. This requires students to reason mathematically, make sense of quantities and their relationships to solve real-world problems, and show their understanding. Many previous assessments focused mostly on rote procedure only.

There are test specification documents, including high-level assessment blueprints and evidence statement tables, to help educators and the general public better understand the design of the state summative assessments. The assessments include both New Meridian full form and short forms.

Performance-level descriptors describe what a typical student at each level should be able to demonstrate based on his/her command of grade-level standards.

The Mathematics High Level Blueprint defines the total number of tasks and/or items for any given grade/course assessment, the item types, and the point values for each.

The Mathematics Assessment Unit Structure defines the structure for the mathematics assessments including the number of units, and the timing and calculator designation for each unit.

The Claims Structure Document defines the master claim of the mathematics assessments as well as the four sub-claims in which student achievement will be measured.

Evidence Statement Tables and Evidence Statements describe the knowledge and skills that an assessment item or a task elicits from students. These are aligned directly to the Common Core State Standards and highlight their advances especially around the coherent nature of the standards.

Evidence Statements include information on “Clarifications, Limits and Emphasis,” related “Mathematical Practices” and “Calculator Designations.”

Evidence Statement Documents

Mathematics Performance-Level Descriptors – Grades 3-11

Results are reported according to five performance levels that delineate the knowledge, skills, and practices students are able to demonstrate:

  • Level 1: Did not yet meet expectations
  • Level 2: Partially met expectations
  • Level 3: Approached expectations
  • Level 4: Met expectations
  • Level 5: Exceeded expectations

Performance level descriptors (PLDs) indicate what a typical student at each level should be able to demonstrate based on his/her command of grade-level standards. In mathematics, the performance levels at each grade level are written for each of four assessment sub-claims:

  • Major content
  • Additional and supporting content
  • Reasoning
  • Modeling

The performance levels within each claim area are differentiated by a number of factors consistent with the Common Core’s inclusion of standards for both mathematical content and mathematical practices and the Cognitive Complexity Framework for Mathematics.

Performance-Level Descriptors by Grade Band