What is the LinkIT test?
LinkIt! is not actually a specific test. Instead, it’s a K-12 Assessment Solution, allowing administrators and/or teachers to build tests using the LinkIT test bank. When creating a test, administrators can search by standard or skill, question type, difficulty, language, passage genre, passage length, passage complexity, and more. LinkIt has over 100,000 questions in their test bank.
Schools may use the LinkIt system to design assessments to be given at any point in the year. While some schools may choose to administer lengthier LinkIt tests at the start and end of the year, other schools may also give students mini-assessments on single standards or small groups of standards throughout the year to monitor student progress on specific learning objectives.
This means that the tests given vary from school to school (and sometimes classroom to classroom within a school). In other words, the “Linkit” test that a 3rd grade student takes in one school is likely not the same as the “LinkIt Test” that a 3rd grade student takes in another school. These tests were designed using the same test bank; however, this test bank is fairly large, and administrators can pick and choose which standards to test, in what way to test the standards, the level of difficulty for the questions, and the number of questions given.
How is the LinkIt Test administered?
Tests produced using LinkIT are typically administered on devices; however, LinkIT also provides the option to print plain-paper bubble sheets (like Scantron) that can be scanned for automated grading. LinkIt tracks student performance on these assessments and provides administration and teachers with a wide array of reporting options.
How is the LinkIt test scored?
Actual scoring for the LinkIt test varies based on the type of assessment. In many cases, schools use this for internal progress monitoring only, and they may not provide any scores to parents. Administration and teachers have access to a “Data Dashboard” which allows them to analyze the results of a specific assessment with the purpose of grouping students by skill set (such as determining which students may need intervention or ability grouping students), analyzing student performance by item(question), analyzing mastery of standards (such as seeing which students have passed certain standards, which standards the class or school needs the most improvement in, etc), viewing a student’s historical performance (which tests the student has completed, their proficiency levels for each test, etc), and more.
The school may provide you with a score or a report from any combination of these data reporting options. It’s worth noting that if your child’s school provides you with a raw score – how many questions your child answered correctly – it’s only as useful as any other test your child takes at school. Unless you know which standards (and at what level) your child was assessed, this score is just that – a score. A school may administer the LinkIt test at the beginning of the year as a pre-assessment. In this case, it may be expected that your child doesn’t answer very many questions correctly. Similarly, a school may choose to administer the LinkIt test at the beginning of the year as a sort of post-assessment, testing all of the skills from the prior year.
Can the LinkIt test be used to identify gifted students?
No, the LinkIt test is not meant to identify gifted and talented students. With that said, the LinkIt test can be used to group students by ability which can be beneficial for gifted and talented students.
What’s the difference between the LinkIt test and other tests my child has taken?
The LinkIt isn’t a specific test. It’s a K-12 assessment solution. Essentially, LinkIt is an online software that allows teachers and administrators to easily create tests using their test bank. In that way, itt’s similar to the “regular” tests your child takes in school. The test itself is designed by the administration or teacher. It’s somewhat similar to standardized tests because the questions are “standardized;” they’re aligned to specific learning standards, and a large student population has answered the same question.