Assessment results are most valuable when they do more than show where students stand – they should help educators understand what comes next.
That’s why, this September, we’re enhancing the Mastery College Prep Assessments to make results easier to interpret, act on, and use at scale. Updates to scaling, scoring, and reporting bring the experience in line with the latest research-based practices while creating a stronger foundation for even more powerful reporting capabilities in the future.
As part of these updates, you’ll also see changes to College Prep Assessment Reports. These changes are designed to make results clearer, more actionable, and easier to understand. See the report updates below to learn more about what’s changing and how these enhancements will support educators in understanding student performance and planning next steps.
Here's What's New
1. Faster, Simpler Scoring & Reporting: Results will now generate automatically when your testing window closes—no need to notify our team. Reports will become available in Mastery Connect within five business days after the testing window closes, making it easier to plan and act on results.
2. Statistical Equating for Even More Reliable Results: We've adopted statistical equating as our scaling and scoring methodology, a research-backed approach that exceeds the accuracy and reliability of our previous College Prep Assessment scaling practices. This enhancement provides a more robust and defensible approach to scoring while supporting future improvements to reporting and score interpretation.
3. Achievement Levels Better Aligned to the ACT: College Prep Assessment achievement levels have been refined to more closely align with the ACT achievement level ranges, providing even more granular performance insights with up to 7 scoring categories (previously 4). These achievement level ranges provide even clearer insight into where students are on the path to college readiness, helping educators target instruction and intervention more effectively. The new achievement levels and score ranges aligned with the ACT are as follows:
4. New STEM and ELA Composite Scores: Now, you can get a clearer, more complete picture of student performance with new composite scores for ELA (English Language Arts/reading) and STEM (math and science), available on the student and all subject reports. These updates bring related subject-area results together to help educators and students more easily understand strengths, identify gaps, and make informed instructional decisions about next steps.
5. Redesigned Student Reports: Student Reports have been refreshed with a cleaner, more intuitive design and now incorporate the updated achievement levels aligned to ACT achievement level ranges. The redesigned reports make it easier for educators to quickly interpret results and identify next steps, while giving students and families a clearer understanding of performance, readiness, and areas for continued growth.
These enhancements are all about turning assessment results into clearer, more meaningful action. With more precise scoring, streamlined reporting, and stronger alignment with ACT benchmarks, educators can spend less time managing assessment data and more time using it to guide instruction, support student growth, and help students and families better understand the path toward college readiness.
Questions? Contact your Customer Success Manager or assessment.support@instructure.com. .
