Stanford 10 Achievement Test FAQ's
ABOUT THE TESTWhat is the Stanford 10?
Why are Issaquah students taking this test?
What grade levels are taking Stanford 10?
How did the Issaquah School District decide Stanford 10 was the best test to give?
How do families find out when the Stanford 10 testing dates are?
How do I prepare my student to be successful on the Stanford 10?
How long does it take for students to complete Stanford 10?
How will my student's Stanford 10 data be used?
Is there an alternative assessment for Stanford 10?
ABOUT THE SCORING
What is the Scaled Score on my student's score report?
What does NCE mean on my student's score report?
What does Percentile Rank mean?
What is the Basic Battery?
Do the Stanford 10 and the WASL measure the same things?
Does the Stanford 10 qualify my student for MERLIN or SAGE?
What does DNA mean?
At what grade levels do students take the Stanford 10?
What is the Stanford 10?
- We researched newly normed broad based tests that would give us useful data on our students.
- We took the list of tests and requested samples from each test.
- Teachers spent time looking at the test samples to identify how well the tests measured what we teach in Issaquah and Washington.
- The top two tests were identified by the teachers.
- Our assessment personnel reviewed the type of data that we would get back on students and how useful it would be for educators within the district.
- Without knowing it, their ranking matched the ranking by the teachers.
- Conversations began on purchasing the top ranked test by both groups. Harcourt, the publisher of the Stanford 10 sold materials to us at a 50% savings in order to get our contract and help us to meet our budget.
Why are Issaquah students taking this test?
In previous years, we gave the ITBS / ITED test which gives us different type of information on our students than what we get from WASL. When the state went to WASL only – at the same time that the old ITBS/ITED tests got too old to use anymore – we began to look for other tests that would continue to give us this type of information. Both types of information are important for teachers to be better informed about providing the appropriate level of challenge and support for students.
back to questions
What grade levels are taking Stanford 10?
Students in kindergarten through grade 9 take the Stanford 10.
back to questions
How did the Issaquah School District decide Stanford 10 was the best test to give?
- We researched newly normed broad based tests that would give us useful data on our students.
- We took the list of tests and requested samples from each test.
- Teachers spent time looking at the test samples to identify how well the tests measured what we teach in Issaquah and Washington.
- The top two tests were identified by the teachers.
- Our assessment personnel reviewed the type of data that we would get back on students and how useful it would be for educators within the district.
- Without knowing it, their ranking matched the ranking by the teachers.
- Conversations began on purchasing the top ranked test by both groups. Harcourt, the publisher of the Stanford 10 sold materials to us at a 50% savings in order to get our contract and help us to meet our budget.
How do families find out when the Stanford 10 testing dates are?
A district wide Assessment Calendar is always posted on the district website in August of the current school year. Additionally, these dates are included on building calendars and newsletters.
back to questions
How do I prepare my student to be successful on the Stanford 10?
Parents can help by taking an active interest in schoolwork throughout the year, making sure that the student has a good breakfast the morning before the test, and by helping students to be well rested when they arrive for testing.
Research consistently says that too much pressure on student performance or a lack of adult interest in how students perform both create a negative environment for student performance on all standardized tests.
back to questions
How long does it take for students to complete Stanford 10?
Different grade levels test for different lengths of time.
While taking the Stanford 10, students may continue to work as long as they are productively engaged. However, the longest planned block is 2.5 hours on two separate days at the high school level.
Each student, in kindergarten through grade 11, will be tested in reading and math. Teachers and principals may decide to have students tested on other subject areas at each building where additional information is needed.
back to questions
How will my student's Stanford 10 data be used?
- Stanford 10 data will be used entrance in special programs (SAGE, MERLIN, Humanities Plus, Advanced Middle School Math, BEL)
- To provide additional guidance for students in creating their secondary schedules.
- By classroom teachers in learning more about the need for challenge and support that a group of students has.
- To help measure the improvement that professionals are making with students in the building goal area.
Is there an alternative assessment for Stanford 10?
Yes. Students who take the WAAS Portfolio will have a Checklist based on their Individual Education Plan (IEP) in Reading and Mathematics as their alternative to the Stanford 10 Achievement test.
back to questions
What is the Scaled Score on my student's score report?
Scaled Scores represents approximately equal units on a continuous scale from 1 to 999. Scaled scores are used to convert to other score types and can help with studying change over time. They are not equivalent from one subtest to another and are not particularly useful to parents, but are automatically included in student reports from the company which publishes the test.
back to questions
What does NCE mean on my student's score report?
NCE stands for Normal Curve Equivalent. This is a score that allows comparison from one subtest to another in a way that percentile ranks do not. NCE scores of 1, 50 and 99 correspond to percentile ranks of 1, 50 and 99 respectively, through a mathematical calculation. These are also not particularly useful scores for parents.
back to questions
What does Percentile Rank mean?
Percentile rank indicates the relative standing of a student in comparison with other students in the same grade in the norm reference group who took the test at a comparable time. A score of 50 is always the mean for this score. A score of 87, for example, means that 87 out of every 100 students in the norming sample scored lower than this student. This score is usually used for discussions around student academic performance and may be most useful to parents and others as a measure of how a student is doing.
back to questions
What is the Basic Battery?
At some grade levels, the Basic Battery may include subtests on this test that were not administered to your student. At other grade levels, it may be the total points of Total Reading and Total Math combined.
back to questions
Do the Stanford 10 and the WASL measure the same things?
They are different types of tests, used for different purposes. The WASL is a standards-based test. Students are measured against a standard (400 and above) for a content area and theoretically, all students could pass a standards-based test. WASL scores can be used to see how Issaquah students are doing compared to other students in Washington and to see if students are at standard or not. The Stanford 10 is a norm-referenced achievement test. The mean will always be at the 50th percentile and students are rank-ordered higher or lower that that in comparison to the norming group. Stanford 10 scores allow comparison other students in the norming group across the country at the same grade level and time of year.
back to questions
Does the Stanford 10 qualify my student for MERLIN or SAGE?
Stanford 10 is one of the tests used to screen students for several district programs. For MERLIN or SAGE, students also take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the SOI.
back to questions
What does DNA mean?
DNA stands for Did Not Attempt. Either your student did not take this subtest or your student left enough items in this subtest blank that a score was not generated.
back to questions
At what grade levels do students take the Stanford 10?
The test is given in February to students in grades K-9.
back to questions
back to Stanford 10 page