Assessment & Evaluation Frequently Asked Questions

Select a topic area:

General Assessment Questions
End of Course Assessment Questions
Navigating the PLTW Assessment System (i.e. Technical Help)
How To Contact the Assessment Support Team
 

General Assessment Questions

What type of assessments will teachers be administering to students?
PLTW will offer End of Course assessments for the following courses in the Pathway To Engineering program. AE, BE, CEA, CIM, DE, IED and POE. In the Biomedical Sciences program, assessments are offered for HBS, MI and PBS. End of Course assessments are not offered for BI or EDD.

We are again utilizing a two-part assessment system for most courses. Part A assessments are required to be given to all students per the PLTW STEM agreement with the school district and are available as computer-administered, selected response assessments. Part C assessments are optional (in most states) and most are paper/pencil-administered assessments that are graded by the teacher and entered into the assessment system.

Note that three courses, AE, CEA, and POE now have online, computer-graded Part A and Part C assessments. BE, CIM, DE, IED and PBS still have paper/pencil, teacher-graded Part C assessments. HBS and MI do not have Part C assessments. Teachers will be responsible to record paper/pencil Part C scores into the Assessment System.

Will there be Growth Assessments this year?
PLTW will not offer NWEA MAP-based Growth Assessments to students during the 2011-12 school year. Our focus this year will be on the future development of the PLTW assessment program, and we are evaluating the data that was collected last year to determine its role in program improvement.

Do middle school students in the Gateway To Technology program need to take assessments as well?
There are currently no End of Unit assessments available for GTT units, so neither GTT teachers nor students need to access the online Assessment System.

How do I access the PLTW Assessment System?
The PLTW Assessment System login can be found on the PLTW Login page. Teachers will be able to access the Assessment System starting on November 1, 2011.

When will I get my username and password for the PLTW Assessment System?
All teachers will receive their 2011-12 login credentials via email on October 17, 2011. If you did not receive your login credentials, please email our School Support Team.

How will I roster my students?
During the 2011-2012 school year, teachers will have two options to enter student information into the PLTW online Assessment System, manual entry and bulk upload. Manual entry of student information is the same process by which students were entered into the system during the 2010-11 school year.

PLTW will also offer a Bulk Upload process to the entire network this year, allowing schools or districts to submit a single file that captures all necessary student information. PLTW will then load the information into the online assessment platform so that no manual input of student demographic data is necessary. Get details on the Bulk Upload process.

The deadline to submit bulk upload files for the Fall/Winter testing cycle has passed, but files containing information on students who will test during the Spring cycle can be submitted between November 15, 2011 and February 15, 2012.

Are there documents or resources I should be aware of?
Yes, teachers should visit the PLTW Extranet and click on link for the Materials section to view or download:

  • Part A and C Concept Maps for all courses
  • EoC Guidelines
  • IEP Accommodation Form
  • Item Review Form (for CIM, BE, DE, IED and PBS, Part C only)
  • Online Technical Specifications

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End of Course Assessments

Which PLTW courses have end of course assessments?
All Pathway To Engineering courses have End of Course Assessments with the exception of the capstone course Engineering Design and Development (EDD). All students will take Part A, which consists of 40 multiple choice questions, online through the PLTW Assessment System.

All Biomedical Sciences courses have End of course Assessments with the exception of the capstone course Biomedical Innovation (BI). All students will take Part A, which will consist of 40 multiple choice questions, online through the PLTW Assessment System.

Will there be Part C exams this year?
The following courses have a paper/pencil administered Part C assessment: BE, CIM, DE, IED and PBS. These assessments need to be scored by the teacher utilizing the provided rubric and the scores need to be manually entered into the online Assessment System.

The following courses now have an online Part C assessment: AE, CEA and POE . These assessments are computer-scored and the scores are automatically saved in the system.

Do all students take the exact same assessment, or are there different versions?
All students in a particular course will take the same assessment; however, the questions are presented in randomized order.

How are the PLTW End of Course assessment questions created?
End of Course assessment items are developed by a team of teachers, affiliate professors, and the PLTW curriculum developers. Individual specifications are developed that explicitly tie the item to concepts within the course curriculum. Trained item writers then use the specifications to write items, which are reviewed for content and clarity by both NWEA, PLTW, and a small group of PLTW teachers.

Why can't I review the questions before administering the assessments to my students?
In order to present a fair testing environment to all students, no one is authorized to access the online assessment items prior to student test administration. Since PLTW reuses high-quality items, items are not released after testing.

Can I use old assessments as practice tests?
PLTW assessments are copyrighted, so items from old operational forms cannot be presented to students for practice purposes. At no time should copyrighted materials be placed on an unsecured website.

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How to Navigate the PLTW Assessment System

How do I change my login name and password?

  • Login using the site code, user name and password originally sent to you.
  • Click on the User Info icon near the upper right hand corner of your screen.
  • Enter your desired user name and password.
  • Click Save in the lower right hand corner.


What are the password requirements in terms of number of characters, case of letters, or special characters?

  • The system will accept most passwords that you select.
  • Use a minimum of six characters and refrain from special characters.


How do I create a new class?

  • Click in the box next to Manage enrollment.
  • Click GO in the lower right hand corner.
  • Click New Class in the lower right corner.
  • Complete all the class information fields (be sure to select the correct course title from the drop down Course ID field)
  • Click the + (plus sign) to add the student to the class (You can use the “Select all” option or highlight multiple students to be added at the same time).
  • Click Save in the lower right hand corner.

 

How do I add a new student to the system?

  • Click in the box next to Manage enrollment.
  • Click GO in the lower right hand corner.
  • Click the New Student in the lower right corner.
  • Complete all the student information fields.
  • Select a class where you would like to add the student.
  • Click the + (plus sign) to add the student to the class.
  • Click Save in the lower right corner.

 

 



What information is required for each student?
When adding a student, the teacher will need to know the student's first and last name, school ID number (min. five characters), birth date, gender, grade level and class name and provide a username and password.

What is the student ID number required when registering students?

  • Teachers should use a student's locally or state issued student ID number.
  • The system requires a minimum of five digits.
  • If the student ID is less than five digits, enter a leading zero.

If a student is enrolled in multiple PLTW courses, should we register him/her for each course?
Since a student's account can be shared across classes, once a student is created he/she can be added to multiple classes by using the + (plus sign) in the New Class or Edit Class windows.

How do I verify that a student has already been registered?
There are two ways to verify if a student already exists in the program:

  • A list of all the registered students in your school will appear when you either create a new class or edit an existing class.
  • Enter the student's name into the global search field located in the top right corner of the home page.

How do I print my student logins?

  • Click on the box next to the Report Results.
  • Click GO in the lower right hand corner.
  • Click on Group Reports.
  • Select the Roster or Test Ticket report.
  • Click Next in the lower right hand corner.
  • Click Create.

 

How do I edit a class or a student?

  • Click in the box next to Manage enrollment.
  • Click GO in the lower right hand corner.
  • Access the edit page by clicking on the pencil icon to the left of an existing class name or student name.
  • Modify the desired fields.
  • Click the Save in the lower right hand corner.

How do I assign a test to be taken for my class?

  • Click the box next to Manage assignments.
  • Click GO in the lower right hand corner.
  • Click on Assign an Assessment in the lower right corner.
  • Complete the Assign an Assessment page.
  • Click Save Assignment in the lower right corner to make the assignment available to students.

How do students log into the PLTW Assessment System to take assessments?

  • Have the student logins handy.
  • Direct the students to open a Web browser and go to https://student.assessment.pltw.org.
  • Direct the students to enter their sitecode, username and password.
  • Click Go.

Are assessments timed? What if a student needs more time?

  • End-of-course assessments are timed. Students have 60 minutes to complete Part A and an additional 60 minutes to complete Part C. The online tests are designed to turn off after 60 minutes. Teachers are responsible for making sure students are only allotted the prescribed 60 minutes to take the paper/pencil Part C test. Pausing a test to resume at a later time is not allowed.
  • Please see the PLTW EoC Assessment Guidelines for students that require extended time.

Can a student change their username or password?

  • Students cannot change any of their information.
  • Teachers will be required to edit student information if a change is required.

Can a student re-take an end of course assessment?
PLTW has a long-standing policy that students are only permitted to take the assessments once.

Are online assessments scored immediately?
Once the student has completed the assessment, teachers will have immediate access to the results.

How do I create a report?

  • Click on the box next to the Report Results.
  • Click GO in the lower right hand corner.
  • Click on the type of report that you desire – Teacher Data Mining, Group Reports, Student Reports.
  • Select the report that you want to create.
  • Click Next in the lower right hand corner.
  • Click the Edit buttons (they look like pencils) and make selections for the report criteria (be sure to click Save after each of your report criteria are selected).
  • The selection of the Proficiency Scale is required Use the arrow to view the tests available in the lower section of the screen.
  • Check the box next to the test name you wish to view.
  • Select reporting standards if necessary for this report.
  • Click the Create button near the lower right hand corner.

 

 

 

How do I save a report in PDF format?

  • There is a check box next to the report name to generate the report in PDF format.
  • Your request will be queued and can be downloaded from the My Reports page located in the top right corner of the hope page.
  • Your parameters have also been saved and you can run the same report again by selecting Regenerate.

How do I print a graphical report?

  • Create the report that you desire.
  • Click on View All Printable just above the report pages.
  • Click on File > Page Setup and adjust all margin settings to .5 inches for best printed results.
  • Click the Print button.
  • Select the printer and the pages desired.
  • Click Print.

Why are my reports missing?

  • Reports are only stored for 7 days.
  • You must recreate the report that you desire.

What does the Re Order button do?
It reverses the order of the report – for instance, if a report shows the least proficient standards at the top of the report, the Re Order button reverses the order of the data shown on the report showing the most proficient standards at the top.

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How to Contact the Assessment Support Team