The Effect of Diagnostic Assessments on Student Achievement

• In Event: School Improvement, Achievement, and Equity

Abstract

Diagnostic assessments are increasingly common in U.S. schools. We use high quality data from two large-scale school-level cluster randomized experiments to examine the impact of two well-known commercial diagnostic assessment programs on mathematics and reading achievement in Indiana. Results indicate that the treatment effects are positive in grades k-8. However, the effects are not consistently significant. The treatment effects are close to zero or negative in lower grades (i.e., kindergarten to second grade), and larger and positive in upper grades (i.e., third to eighth grade). Significant treatment effects are detected in grades 3 to 8 in mathematics.

Authors

• Spyros Konstantopoulos, Michigan State University

• Wei Li, University of Alabama

• Bing Tong, Michigan State University

• Shazia R. Miller, American Institutes for Research

• Arie J. van der Ploeg