K-12 Assessments

Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Revised (KRA-R2) is a required assessment for all kindergarten students during the first 20 instructional days of school.  The KRA-R2 provides an Overall Readiness score as well as a Language and Literacy score.

Ohio’s State Tests (OST) and End of Course (EOC) exams are required content-specific assessments, covering the knowledge and skills outlined in Ohio’s Learning Standards.  Districts are required to administer EOC tests to all students at the completion of the associated course as part of the state graduation requirements. Students with significant cognitive disabilities may qualify for the Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (AASCD) in place of other state tests.   

Assessed areas include:

• English Language Arts:  Grades 3-8 and sophomore English (English Language Arts II)

• Math:  Grades 3-8, Algebra and Geometry

• Science:  Grades 5 and 8; and Biology

• Social Studies:  American History and American Government

Students who have been subject-accelerated in a course will take the exam that corresponds to their grade level of instruction. 

As part of the state’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee, the English Language Arts assessment for students in grade 3 is administered in the fall and spring. It can be retaken in the summer if students do not reach the needed score on either the fall or spring administration.

Any student who scores proficient on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 English language arts (700 or higher) on the English language arts scaled score will be eligible for promotion to fourth grade at the end of the school year.  In addition, any student who scores 50 or higher on the reading subscore will be eligible for promotion to fourth grade at the end of the school year, even if the student scores below 700 on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 English language arts.  

The Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA) is a required assessment for all English language learners in kindergarten through grade 12.  The assessment consists of four parts: reading, writing, listening and speaking.  Students who are English learners and also have a significant cognitive disability may participate in the Alt-OELPA. Students who score at proficient levels will no longer be considered an English learner.

The PSAT/NMSQT is a standardized college readiness assessment developed by the College Board.  Upper Arlington Schools offers the assessment to 10th and 11th grade students.  The PSAT/NMSQT results can be used by students who take tests during their 11th grade year to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program and compete for academic recognition and scholarships.  All students may use the results to help inform decisions about participation in Advanced Placement coursework. 

Ohio law requires school districts to offer either the state-funded ACT or SAT to all students during their junior year. Upper Arlington Schools has elected to administer the ACT to students during the spring of their junior year. ACT assessment areas include English, mathematics, reading and science. Assessment results can be used when applying to college and/or being identified as gifted per Ohio law. 

The state-funded ACT is administered to juniors with no expense to the family. Students may register for additional ACT opportunities at their own expense.  

The Iowa Assessments are achievement tests that assess students’ foundational skills and higher-order thinking skills in specific content areas. 

The tests provide national and local comparisons. The results of the Iowa Assessments are reported as national percentile ranks that indicate how an individual’s performance compares with other students around the country who took the same test. According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) guidelines, a score at the 95th percentile or above in a subject area identifies a child as achieving at a gifted level in that subject area. For information about gifted services in the Upper Arlington Schools, please visit our Gifted Education webpage.

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) appraises the development of students’ reasoning abilities using verbal, quantitative and nonverbal cognitive tasks. 

Scores on the CogAT identify students as gifted in the superior cognitive ability.  Specific scores by grade level and test form can be located here.

Star assessments are computer-adaptive tests for students that measure reading, math and early literacy skills. These assessments are administered a minimum of three times a year (fall/winter/spring).

Assessed areas include:

• Star Early Literacy:  kindergarten and 1st grade

• Star Reading:  2nd through 10th grade

• Star Math:  1st grade through Geometry

• Start CBM Reading: kindergarten through 3rd grade

You can access the documents for more information about receiving the results of your child’s Star assessments. Star CBM results are not currently available through Home Connect. Results will be shared via email at the end of each window.

How to Sign Up for Star Home Connect

Star Email Updates for Parents/Guardians

Star CBM results are not currently available through Home Connect.  Results will be shared via email at the end of each window. 

Ohio law requires school districts to administer dyslexia screening assessments to students in grades K after January 1 of their kindergarten school year.

Upper Arlington Schools utilizes Star Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) assessments to meet this requirement.  Star CBM begins by assessing students’ understanding of letters and their sounds, moves on to basic phonological awareness and early decoding, and progresses to passage reading.