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Benchmark Assessments
The State School Aid Act currently requires districts to administer benchmark assessments as follows:
- Administer benchmark assessments to all students in K-8 in reading and mathematics
- Administer benchmark assessments at least twice in the school year - within the first 9 weeks of school and again before the end of the school year
- Benchmark assessment data are not included in accountability calculations or results
- Benchmark assessment data are reported publicly in the aggregate
- Individual district results are not identified in public reporting
What's New?
- 2022-2023 Benchmark Assessments Reporting and Funding Application
- Benchmark Fact Sheet and FAQ 2022-23
- Benchmark Aggregation Rules and Templates, 2022-23
Communications
Benchmark Resources
- Benchmark Aggregation Rules and Templates, 2022-23
- Benchmark Fact Sheet and FAQ 2022-23
- Benchmark Assessment Guidance for Learning at a Distance
- 2022-2023 Benchmark Assessments Reporting and Funding Application
Legislative Actions and Reports
- Public Act 144, Section 104h: Benchmark assessment system for 2022-2023
- Michigan’s Fall 2021 Benchmark Assessments, April 2022
- K-8 Student Achievement and Achievement Gaps on Michigan’s 2020-21 Benchmark and Summative Assessments, December 2021
- Michigan's 2021 Benchmark Assessments Report
MDE Approved Benchmark Assessment Providers
The law is flexible and provides districts with several benchmark options. Districts options include choosing: 1) benchmark assessment(s) offered by an assessment provider on the MDE-approved provider list below, 2) benchmark assessment(s) or tool(s) that provide progress monitoring and enhanced diagnostics in reading and/or progress monitoring in mathematics, 3) local benchmark assessment (s), especially if used in previous years, or 4) any combination of the three prior choices.
Benchmark Assessments and Assessment Literacy
- Spotlight Article - Comprehensive Assessment System, March 12, 2020
- Spotlight Article - Purpose of Interim Assessments, May 9, 2019
- Interim Benchmark Assessments
A curated Collection offered by the Michigan Assessment Consortium - What do we mean by interim/benchmark assessments?
Introduction to benchmark assessments and where they fit in the balanced assessment system - Interim Assessment: What are some key characteristics?
Selecting interim assessments - Purposes for the Essential Characteristics of Interm Assessment Chart
Outlines characteristics and purposes