Why did the Student Performance Groups for my CommonLit Pre-Assessment change slightly?

This article is intended only for customers and partners using the Assessment Series.

Why did the student groups change slightly?

After routine quality assurance checks across all grades, the psychometric team at CommonLit determined that the best representation of the “On Grade” and “Above Grade” markers for 5th and 10th grades was slightly lower than what was displayed in the charts. These updates are a slight shift in the benchmarks and a closer representation of grade-level expectations as set by a panel of teachers in each grade. 

How did the student groups change?

The benchmarks for “On Grade” and “Below Grade” were lowered slightly for 5th and 10th grades. This change means that students who were close to being “On Grade” or “Above Grade” previously might now fall into these categories. 

Did anything change about students’ scaled scores? 

Nothing changed about students’ scaled scores. Students still received the same scores on the pre-assessment, the “On Grade” and “Above Grade” benchmarks just changed slightly. 

Will this happen again on the Mid-Year Assessment or the Post-Assessment? 

These routine checks were conducted by the psychometric team at CommonLit early in the school year in order to ensure that any needed changes would only be made once. Conducting these checks early ensures that students’ performance groups and scaled scores are comparable through the rest of the academic year.  

Will this type of thing happen in the future?

While there’s always a chance CommonLit will find it necessary to make changes going forward, the psychometric team aims to keep changes small and as minimally disruptive as possible. We'll inform users in the program if we make changes like this going forward.