Universal Screener Best Practices

Universal Screener Best Practices

Classworks includes a vertically scaled, valid and reliable assessment in reading and math for grades K-10 for screening all students three times a year.

Classworks Assessments serve four main purposes: 

  1. Students are identified for intervention. 

  2. Students below target need intervention time to catch up. Make sure Principals and RTI/MTSS Coordinators are reviewing the data after each administration to make adjustments. 

  3. They measure student growth over the course of the year.

  4. Generate individualized learning for all students

Identify skill- or strand-specific areas needing attention for a group of students or even the whole class.


Teachers and Proctors

  1. With the Classworks assessments, the proctor must ensure all students are diligently working through and answering the questions. 

  2. All questions should be answered during a single class period. Reminding students of time intervals and actively walking around to make sure students are working through the questions is key. It is easy to see how far along in each test the student is by glancing at their monitor. 

  3. If students are taking it remotely, you can easily see how much time they spent on it. This will indicate if they rushed through the test and you would like them to take it again.


Site Administrators and Teachers

  1. Share the results at parent teacher conferences 

  2. Identify students for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions based on the results. Students one grade level below are typically tier two and two grade levels or more below are tier three. See Screener targets. 

  3. Individualized Learning for all students! The assessments are vertically scaled, so the results generate learning paths for students below-, on- and above-grade-level. 

  4. While learning paths are great for all students, it’s imperative that the students identified for tiers two and three work in Classworks Individualized Learning and participate in Progress Monitoring. 

  5. At the end of the year, review the growth made throughout the year.

  6. Celebrate the progress all students made. Share the data with parents and the teachers who will be working with your class next year. 


Note: There are many districts that use Classworks assessments to generate Individualized Learning Paths, and not as formal assessments. If this is the case, you have more flexibility with how you elect to administer it. Be aware, if used this way the assessment data will not be relevant to the school or district. However, the results will still help create meaningful individual learning experiences for every student. 

When would this happen:

  • If a student misses the NWEA testing window and needs a learning path 

  • If a student is enrolled into the school year late

  • If a student scores too low or too high on a partner assessment but they still need individualized learning. 


Site Administrators

  1. Know your testing windows

  2. Test students three times a year 

  3. Ensure the computer labs and carts are reserved for testing during the testing windows 

  4. Make sure testing is administered as formal testing.  Accommodations students receive for the end of year tests should be applied. 

  5. Set aside 60 minutes per subject for a single administration of the assessment. This is plenty of time for all students to complete the test (unless accommodations are in place).

  6. Do not schedule students to assess both subjects on the same day, allow a day between subjects. 



District Administrators

The Classworks Assessments include both a Universal Screener and Benchmark test. The tests are very similar. Deciding which one is right for you can be answered with one question!


Do we expect 20% or more of our students to test below the beginning of year target for readiness of grade level instruction in Reading and Math? 


If the answer is yes, use the Universal Screener. If no, you can feel comfortable using the Benchmark. 



Both tests:

  •  Are vertically scaled, valid and reliable assessments with multiple parallel forms

  • Measure annual growth for students and create Individual Learning Paths 


  1. Establish your testing windows.

  2. Add Classworks testing to your district assessment. This helps parents and teachers understand the importance of testing. 

  3. If you are using a Classworks partner as your primary screening tool in the district (NWEA MAP Growth, Renaissance Star, Scantron Performance Series, ACT Aspire) use that data to create interventions for students. There is no need to use the Classworks assessment IN ADDITION TO these assessments. 



Classworks Assessments serve four main purposes: 

  1. Students are identified for intervention. 

    1. Students below target need intervention time to catch up. Make sure Principals and RTI/MTSS Coordinators are reviewing the data after each administration to make adjustments. 

  2. They measure student growth over the course of the year.

  3. Generate individualized learning for all students

  4. Identify skill- or strand-specific areas needing attention for a group of students or even the whole class.


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