Math Exemplars

Exemplars is a student-based math performance assessment program. It is designed to reflect state and national standards, as well as, grade level expectations. Assessments are given twice a year to grades K-8. The goal is to help students to become better problem solvers and to communicate mathematically both verbally and in written form.

DIBELS

DIBELS, or the “Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills”, is an early literacy assessment used primarily in our Kindergarten and First Grade classes. The assessment is used three times a year to determine whether students are at risk for reading difficulty, and to monitor student progress over time. It includes the following areas: recognizing initial sounds, naming alphabet letters, segmenting the phonemes in a word, reading nonsense words, reading a passage orally, and retelling of the passage.

Writing Assessments

These assessments are administered to all students in grades K-8 three times per school year. The writing prompts created by a diocesan committee of educators, provide teachers an opportunity to assess students’ writing abilities and to plan instruction to promote their strengths, as well as, to work on weaknesses. Because writing is such an important means of communicating, the teachers and students value the importance of these writing prompts.

Student Achievement Testing

Students in grades 2-8 are tested in the fall. OLMC, along with the entire Diocese of Erie Schools, use the Stanfords. This assessment measures the growth from year to year in student achievement. Students in grades 3 and 6 also take the OLSATS which is the Otis Lennon Student Ability Test.

BLeST (Building Level Support Team)

BleST is a process of professional collaboration designed to help students achieve greater success and to support classroom teachers and principals. The entire school faculty is the BLeST team. The BLeST Nucleus meets on a consistent basis in order to offer teachers alternative strategies to address individual and group concerns. These concerns may be of an academic, social or emotional nature.