We teach our students about the importance of education, and we aim to help them in every way we can to enjoy learning.

In this age of accountability, assessments have become an integral part of an educational system. We use assessments for varying purposes; however, their primary purpose is to drive instructional decisions. It is important that parents have a basic understanding of the assessments used. 

AASA
AASA replaces AZM2 for reading, writing, and math for third-eighth grade students. It is a computer-based test, which provides engaging questions and measures critical thinking skills for college and career readiness. The assessment is aligned to the state learning standards, which detail what students should be able to do at each grade level. We administer the AASA during the spring testing window. Check the school calendar for specific dates. For more information, please visit the Arizona Department of Education website.

Science
Although the other state testing areas moved to AASA, science will continue to utilize the AzSci assessment. At Festival, only fifth and eighth graders will participate in this test during the spring testing window. For additional information, please visit the Arizona Department of Education website.

Acadience

Acadience is an assessment used in grades K-5 to determine if students are on track for success in reading and mathematics. We give the assessment to all students at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Students who do not meet the core standards for reading and math will be progress monitored on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. 

Galileo
Given multiple times a year in the content areas of reading and math to determine if first through eighth grade students are mastering the standards taught during the quarter as well as to determine if third through eighth grade students are on track to passing state assessments. In addition to the quarterly checks, we give a pre and post-test at the beginning and end of each school year as a measure of growth.

Math Fact Fluency
Although math is much more than basic skills, those basic skills are necessary at an automatic level. We encourage students to master basic math skills benchmarks identified for the grade level.

District Formative Assessments (DFA)
We use weekly or bi-weekly, mini-formatives to determine if students have mastered the essential standard taught during that learning period. We base instructional groupings as well as recommendations for extra tutoring on the outcomes of these assessments.