CCS Assessments

Summative Assessments are used to evaluate student learning and the effectiveness of teaching. These assessments are given at the end of a unit, semester, or year. Cullman City School System administers the following summative assessments:  

• Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP) Summative and Alternate
  • ACAP Summative- The ACAP Summative is a computer-based, criterion-referenced assessment, designed to measure student progress on the Alabama Courses of Study Standards. The assessment is administered to students in Grades 2-8, once a year, in the spring, and includes the content areas of English language arts, math, and science (Grades 4, 6, and 8 only). The ACAP Summative is constructed to meet rigorous technical criteria and to ensure that all students have access to the test contents via principles of universal design and appropriate accommodations.​ (Alabama Department of Education, ACAP summative/ alternate 2023)
  • ACAP Alternate- The ACAP Alternate is a criterion-referenced assessment, designed to measure student progress on the Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards (AAAS). The assessment is administered to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in Grades 2-8, 10, and 11, once a year, in the spring, and includes the content areas of English language arts, math, and science (Grades 4, 6, 8, 10, and 11 only). The ACAP Alternate is administered to students individually using a paper student test booklet with a computer-based platform for test administrators to enter student responses.(Alabama Department of Education, ACAP summative/ alternate 2023)
  • ACAP Supplemental- Any Grade 3 student whose score on the Reading portion of the ACAP Summative English Language Arts (ELA) was Below Grade Level, is offered the opportunity to take the ACAP Supplemental during the Summer. This provides those students with another opportunity to show grade level reading ability for promotion to 4th grade. 

• PreACT - PreACT is a summative assessment given to 10th grade students that is aligned to the ACT. PreACT measures what students have learned in the areas of English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science.

• ACT - The ACT is a summative assessment given to 10th and 11th grade students. The ACT includes four multiple-choice tests—English, mathematics, reading, and science—and an optional writing test. These tests are designed to measure skills that are most important for success in postsecondary education and that are acquired in secondary education. The score range for each of the four multiple-choice tests is 1–36. The Composite score is the average of the four test scores rounded to the nearest whole number.

• WorkKeys - The WorkKeys is a summative assessment given to 12th grade students. This assessment measures foundational skills required for success in the workplace, and helps measure the workplace skills that can affect job performance.

• ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs
  • ACCESS- ​​ACCESS is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment anchored in the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and administered to students in Grades K-12 who have been identified as English language learners (ELs). It is given annually in Alabama and is used to monitor EL students’ progress in acquiring academic English within the school context, as well as language associated with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies across four domains of Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. (Alabama Department of Education, ACAP summative/ alternate 2023)
  • Alternate ACCESS- Alternate ACCESS for ELLs is a performance-based assessment developed specifically for English learners (ELs) in Grades 1-12 with significant cognitive disabilities. (Alabama Department of Education, ACAP summative/ alternate 2023)

• Unit Assessments
  • These assessments are performance-based assessments developed to assess the Alabama Course of Study.

Formative Assessments are used to help teachers identify concepts that students are struggling to understand or academic standards they have not yet mastered. These assessments allow teachers to make adjustments to lessons, instructional strategies, and academic support. The goal of a formative assessment is to collect information that can be used to improve instruction and student learning before the summative assessment. Cullman City School System administers the following formative assessments: 

• DIBELS - DIBELS ® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of literacy skills. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures that can be used to regularly detect risk and monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills in kindergarten through eighth grade. Cullman City uses DIBELS 8th edition to identify reading deficiencies in our K-6 students. Students are assessed three times a year with a benchmark assessment.

• iReady - iReady Diagnostic delivers actionable data that addresses the first part of the learning process—knowing exactly where each student is. i-Ready Diagnostic provides teachers with a complete picture of student performance relating to their grade level and national norms. It also includes Lexile® and Quantile® information for insights into reading and mathematics performance. Cullman City gives the iReady Diagnostic to K-8 students three times per year to monitor student growth and make instructional decisions.

• Performance Matters - An online assessment that is standards-based. These assessments allow teachers to analyze student performance data to inform personalized instruction and identify, address, and eliminate unfinished learning. These assessments are given to grade 7-12 students.