Assessments at Sandlapper
The South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) program is a statewide assessment in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science administered to students in grades 3–8 as required by the Education Accountability Act (EAA). The SC Ready test assesses students' knowledge and skills providing important information about their progress and understanding of the material. This testing helps our teachers identify areas where students may need additional support, ensuring they are on the right track for success.
Sandlapper will administer the SC Ready testing on the following dates:
- April 28th: SCReady Reading
- April 29th: SCReady Writing
- May 5th: SCReady Math, Day 1
- May 6th: SCReady Math, Day 2
- May 12th: SCReady Science (4th Grade Only)
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The WIDA ACCESS for ELLs measures students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English. It provides valuable information that helps teachers tailor instruction to meet the needs of each child, ensuring they receive the support necessary to succeed in school. This important assessment helps us understand how well our students are progressing in learning English.
Sandlapper will administer the WIDA ACCESS testing for English language learners between January 21st and February 6, 2026.
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MasteryConnect Benchmarks are standardized tests administered at specific intervals throughout the academic year to evaluate 3rd-5th grade students' academic progress and understanding of the curriculum in ELA, Math, and Science (4th Grade Only). The benchmarks administered following each quarter will assess only those standards taught in the preceding quarter. The second and third benchmarks will also include a small number of items to address frequently missed standards from the preceding benchmarks. These assessments serve several key purposes:
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Progress Monitoring: Benchmark assessments help educators track student progress over time, allowing them to identify areas where students are excelling or struggling.
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Data-Driven Decision Making: The results from these assessments provide valuable data that teachers and administrators can use to inform instructional practices, curriculum adjustments, and resource allocation.
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Identifying Learning Gaps: By analyzing benchmark assessment results, educators can identify learning gaps and targeted areas for improvement, enabling them to provide additional support to students as needed.
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Setting Goals: Benchmark assessments can help set academic goals for students and measure their growth against those goals throughout the year.
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Preparing for Summative Assessments: These assessments can also serve as practice for summative assessments, helping students become familiar with the testing format and content.
Sandlapper will administer the benchmark assessments three times per year as follows:
- 1st Quarter Benchmark Testing (3rd -5th) ~ October 20th-24th
- 2nd Quarter Benchmark Testing (3rd -5th) ~ January 12th-16
- 3rd Quarter Benchmark Testing (3rd -5th) ~ March 16th-20th
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CogAT, or the Cognitive Abilities Test, is an assessment designed to measure a student's reasoning abilities in three areas: verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal skills. The test is often used to identify students for gifted and talented programs, as well as to evaluate cognitive development and academic potential.
The CogAT will be administered to all students in 2nd grade on October 6th, 7th, 8th, 14th, and 15th.
The test includes multiple-choice questions that assess a student's ability to analyze and solve problems using reasoning skills.
The "IA" in "CogAT/IA" often refers to the "Interactive Assessment" component, which is an extension of the traditional CogAT test that provides a more dynamic and engaging assessment experience. This interactive format may include digital components that help assess skills in a more integrated manner.
Overall, CogAT is a valuable tool for educators to understand students' cognitive abilities and tailor educational approaches to meet their needs.
Iowa Assessment is an achievement-based test that evaluates students in reading, language, math, vocabulary, spelling, word analysis, listening, social studies, and science.
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Ravens Testing, also known as the Ravens Progressive Matrices, is a non-verbal intelligence test that measures abstract reasoning and problem-solving abilities. The test consists of a series of visual puzzles that require the test-taker to identify patterns, complete sequences, or choose the correct piece to fit into a larger design. It is designed to assess fluid intelligence, which is the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. All of the 2nd Grade students at Sandlapper will take the Ravens Test in September. RAVEN’s 2.0 is a 30-minute, timed test.
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MAP stands for Measures of Academic Progress. MAP is a two-part test that measures student knowledge in reading and mathematics. All students in grades 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th will take the Spring MAP Assessments between March 27th and April 2nd.
MAP measures your child’s academic progress or growth. By having precise measurements of student achievement, teachers and others are able to monitor academic progress. This testing keeps you informed on the progress of your child in basic skill areas. Each Measure of Academic Progress is made up of parts, which are called goals. These goals are closely aligned to reflect progress toward the standards. MAP scores are used to measure growth in each of the three academic areas tested. Scores depend on two things: how many questions are answered correctly and the difficulty of each question. When you, your child, and your child’s teacher look at MAP results, it may become apparent that certain goal areas need more attention than others.