KeyMath-3 Diagnostic Assessment

KeyMath-3 Diagnostic Assessment

The KeyMath-3 assessment and instruction system gives you tools to assess and improve math skills of students ages 4½ – 21. This is a comprehensive system consisting of 3 linked components:

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  The updated KeyMath-3 Diagnostic Assessment


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  ASSIST™ Scoring and Reporting Software


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  The new KeyMath-3 Essential Resources instructional program

Overview of the KeyMath 3 Diagnostic Assessment

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  Designed to assess: Understanding and application of critical math concepts and skills from counting through algebraic expressions


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  Administration: Individually administered


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  Norms: Ages 4:6 – 22:11 


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  Administration Time: 30-90 minutes 


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  Scores/Interpretation: Standard scores, scale scores, percentiles, and grade/age equivalents for the Total Test, 3 areas, and 10 subtests.


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  Graphical profile, growth score values, progress monitoring report, and a comprehensive narrative report for interpretation.


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  User Qualification: Level 2 


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  Author: Austin J. Connolly 

Content

The KeyMath–3 Diagnostic Assessment (KeyMath-3 DA) is a comprehensive, norm-referenced measure of essential mathematical concepts and skills. Like previous versions of the widely used KeyMath assessments this addition to the KeyMath family is untimed and individually administered. However, the KeyMath–3 DA represents a substantial revision in concept and design, including:

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  updated content that extends through factoring and solving algebraic expressions


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  new subtests


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  alignment with national math curriculum standards


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  updated norms and new interpretive reports


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  link to the KeyMath-3 Essential Resources companion instructional program.

The items are grouped into 10 subtests that represent three general math content areas

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  Basic Concepts (conceptual knowledge),


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  Operations (computational skills),


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  Applications (problem solving),


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  KeyMath–3 DA content covers the full spectrum of math concepts and skills that are typically taught in kindergarten through ninth grade and can be used with individuals aged 4½ through 21 years who are functioning at these instructional levels. It is available in two parallel forms, designated as Form A and Form B, each of which contains 372 full-color test items.

Each area is further divided into subtests (see Table 1 below), with the content of each subtest spanning kindergarten through eighth- or ninth-grade math curricula. The five basic concepts subtests parallel the five content standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Much like the NCTM Focal Points, the content of the basic concepts subtests represents a carefully selected set of concepts and skills at each grade level that form the foundation for mathematics learning and connections across subtests. In addition, the KeyMath–3 assessment places more emphasis on math communication, connections, and reasoning than does the KeyMath Revised version (published in 1988).

Unlike the NCTM standards, which embed math operations in the numeration strand, the KeyMath–3 assessment includes two separate written computation subtests (Addition and Subtraction; Multiplication and Division). Operations skills are fundamental for success in mathematics and are often the source of math learning difficulties. By providing separate measures of operational skills, the KeyMath–3 assessment is able to focus particular attention in this important area.

The two applications subtests assess a student’s ability to apply conceptual knowledge and operational skills to solve math problems. The Foundations of Problem Solving subtest includes items that require students to identify missing elements in a problem, operations needed to solve a problem, and optimal strategies for solving the problem. The Applied Problem Solving subtest presents math problems in real-world contexts and includes items that require standard and nonstandard problem-solving strategies.

Progress Monitoring

The KeyMath–3 DA has a substantial advantage over its predecessors in that it provides a means of monitoring an individual’s progress over time. It includes two parallel forms (Form A and Form B), which can be administered in alternating sequence every 3 months, as well as growth scale values (GSVs), which are a type of developmental scale score. GSVs enable users to accurately measure progress across the full range of math concepts and skills. The KeyMath–3 DA ASSIST software application can be used to automatically generate a Progress Report, which (a) shows the amount of change across test administrations, (b) indicates whether an individual has made measurable progress, and (c) compares an individual’s growth rate with the average growth rate of the representative population.

Norms

A large sample, consisting of approximately 4,000 individuals representing U.S. demographics by sex, race, socioeconomic status, region, and disability condition, was used to obtain normative data. The norm sample ranges in age from 4 years 5 months through 21 years 11 months. Both age norms and grade (kindergarten – grade 12, fall and spring) norms are available.

Scores

Several types of norm-referenced scores are provided, including scale and standard scores, percentiles, age and grade equivalents, and growth values.

ASSIST Scoring and Reporting Software

Enjoy the convenience of KeyMath–3 DA ASSIST, software application which electronically generates normative scores and interpretive reports. This time-saving tool can produce an accurate and comprehensive report in as little as five minutes and provides interpretive and reporting options that are not available with hand-scoring. The ASSIST also allows users to import and export data and provides a direct link to the KeyMath–3 Essential Resources instructional program.

Diagnostic and Interpretive Reports

Like its predecessors, the KeyMath–3 DA provides a range of scoring and interpretive tools that inform the development of individually tailored instructional programs and enhance users’ ability to communicate test results. Below is a complete listing of the reports available with the KeyMath–3 DA:

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  Score Summary. Presents all KeyMath–3 DA norm-referenced scores (for the Total Test, the 3 content areas, and 10 subtests) in a single, comprehensive table.


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  Score Profile. Provides an excellent tool for identifying and prioritizing instructional programs. Subtest scale scores and area and Total Test standard scores are plotted on a graph, enabling the practitioner to easily and quickly identify an examinee’s lowest and highest areas of functioning.


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  Progress Report (available with the ASSIST software only). Charts an examinee’s progress and provides an analysis of his or her growth. Progress is reported using growth scale values (GSVs), which allow practitioners to track individuals’ improvement over time (i.e., across multiple test administrations). GSVs for each of the three KeyMath–3 DA areas and the Total Test are presented in graphical and tabular formats.


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  Item and Functional-Range Analysis Report (available with the ASSIST software only). Identifies KeyMath–3 DA items that fall within an individual’s functional range, identifies items that may require particular attention, and presents the behavioral objective measured by each of the items included in the analysis. In addition, the report identifies appropriate lessons contained in the KeyMath–3 Essential Resources instructional program.


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  Area Comparisons. Enables the practitioner or researcher to determine whether an examinee’s performance differs significantly across KeyMath–3 DA content areas.


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  Focus Items. Provides a tool for identifying items that may require particular attention on the part of the practitioner. For example, an item to which an examinee responded incorrectly that falls below his or her functional range may indicate a specific gap in understanding of prerequisite skills and concepts.


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  Narrative Report (available with the ASSIST software only). Provides a description of an examinee’s KeyMath–3 DA subtest, area, and Total Test scores. It includes explanations of percentile ranks and descriptive categories (e.g., well-above average, average, below average) and describes an examinee’s mathematical performance in relation to a nationally representative sample of individuals of the same grade or age.


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  Parent/Caregiver Letter (available with the ASSIST software only). This one-page letter provides a means of communicating an examinee’s test results to his or her parents or caregivers. It briefly describes the various features of the test and provides content area and Total Test percentile ranks and descriptive categories, which are useful in identifying and communicating an examinee’s test performance.