• Assessment in the Merrimack School District

    The Merrimack School District endeavors to be a responsive school community that develops learners that are curious, connected, prepared, dedicated, and resilient. Like all New Hampshire school districts, the MSD is required by state law (RSA 193-C) and federal accountability laws (Every Student Succeeds Act) to annually assess students using a standardized assessment. The district follows and is in compliance with the NHED’s New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System Schedule and administers the required assessments to our students. 

    In addition to statewide assessments, measuring academic achievement through high quality instruction and ongoing progress monitoring is a district priority. To that end, we regularly assess student learning and provide feedback on progress towards learning goals and meeting state and national standards. The MSD Assessment Schedule captures the assessments and schedule of their administration. Most assessment results are available for parent/family review in the Performance Matters Family Portal. These directions are provided to help login to the portal. If you need additional assistance, please reach out to your school’s Main Office. 

    A Universal Screening is an assessment given to all students in a group or grade level. The purpose of this assessment is to establish current achievement levels and to identify any students who are significantly below the benchmark who may need intervention, as well as to identify students significantly above the benchmark who may need enrichment.

    A Diagnostic Screening is a form of pre-assessment or a pre-test which is used to collect data about students’ strengths, needs, knowledge, and skills that can be used to inform a teacher’s instruction. 

    Formative Assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course.

    While both diagnostic and formative assessments aim to inform teachers to instruct more responsively, they emphasize different aspects of teaching and learning. Both tools are very helpful for educators, and the results are used to identify areas that need more attention in future instruction.

    • Formative assessments are taken during a unit to assess how students are learning the material that the teacher has been teaching. 

    • Diagnostic assessments come before instruction, analyzing the prior knowledge of students from previous learning experiences.

    Summative Assessments are used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period.

    The Merrimack School District uses a variety of tools and assessments to monitor student progress.  Below are informational links to the formal assessments we utilize.