Focus on only ONE Standard at a time!
Most adopted curriculums lump several standards together anytime they issue an assessment. I found that these types of assessments made it more difficult to assess how students were doing on the individual standards so I began breaking my assessments down to address one standard at a time. Yes, it meant more frequent testing; however, the assessments were significantly shorter and gave much more accurate feedback.
Below, you will see an example of what each of my standardized tests looked like. 6.NS.3 was the standard that I chose to focus on for inquiry 1. This assessment served as both my pre and post test for this inquiry.
I also created a grading rubric that I felt gave far more accurate data regarding individual student results. As a teacher, I felt that a simple right or wrong didn't give me the information that I needed in order to determine WHY my students were performing where they were.
Using this rubric as a guide, it became much easier to determine where in their thinking process they were making their mistakes.
Assessment using Prodigy
For inquiry 2 when I began to use Prodigy with my students, I was shocked at just how simple it was to assign specific standards to my students for practice and assessment. This was wonderful for me because it meant that with each approaching standard, I could get the immediate feedback I needed using Prodigy's reports. Accurate formative assessment results were simple to interpret and read almost as quickly as the students finished their practice.
Prodigy offers a variety of reports to show you how your students are progressing towards the standard.