VALLSS

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what the scores are within the three bands?

[Anonymous]

Same question -- I haven't found anything that suggests how to interpret the numerical score.

[Anonymous]

I couldn't find anything either. All of the interpretation material just tells about the low, medium, and high risk classification. There's nothing on the numeric score.

[Anonymous]

Should we try to figure out a range by sharing scores. My 2nd grader got a 689. No clue where that falls within the low risk range.

[Anonymous]

My first grader got a 629 and that put her in the moderate risk category.

[Anonymous]

Found this on the APS website:

High Risk: Indicates your student qualifies for reading intervention. / The school will share intervention plans with you.
Moderate: Your student is not currently identified for intervention but will receive support. / The teacher will monitor and support your child’s progress.
Low Risk: Your student is doing well and will continue in their regular class. / Ongoing support from the teacher will continue.

Sounds like if you're in the moderate category their plan is do just kind of watch the problem but not do anything differently. Happy to be proven wrong.

[Anonymous]

In general, I’ve had luck finding other school districts’ or the state’s explanation of test scores. APS is all about giving tests whenever possible. We’re not big on knowing what the scores actually mean, let alone explaining that to parents.

[Anonymous]

At pt conferences, I got a handout from my teacher with the range bands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In general, I’ve had luck finding other school districts’ or the state’s explanation of test scores. APS is all about giving tests whenever possible. We’re not big on knowing what the scores actually mean, let alone explaining that to parents.

VALLS is required by VDOE and APS doesn't have a choice about giving it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At pt conferences, I got a handout from my teacher with the range bands.

I wonder if they vary by grade

[Anonymous]

What's the point of giving a numerical score at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At pt conferences, I got a handout from my teacher with the range bands.

Could you post the ranges? Our teacher didn’t mention VALLSS beyond quickly noting no concerns.

[Anonymous]

my kindergartener got 635 and low risk

[Anonymous]

My second grader got a 681 on it. The ranges the school gave me for him (in case it’s grade specific) are 593-646 high risk, 647-664, moderate risk, and 665-720 low risk. We also got his individual scores for each section of the test. He struggled the most with encoding (spelling) which makes sense because ACPS doesn’t really teach spelling from what I’ve seen. From what I understand this test is a screener and is only looking for kids that need intervention. So topping out or being low risk just means you don’t need intervention.

FWIW he did very well on MAP which does give percentiles and which covers academic knowledge and skills. ACPS sent a very detailed report on that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My second grader got a 681 on it. The ranges the school gave me for him (in case it’s grade specific) are 593-646 high risk, 647-664, moderate risk, and 665-720 low risk. We also got his individual scores for each section of the test. He struggled the most with encoding (spelling) which makes sense because ACPS doesn’t really teach spelling from what I’ve seen. From what I understand this test is a screener and is only looking for kids that need intervention. So topping out or being low risk just means you don’t need intervention.

FWIW he did very well on MAP which does give percentiles and which covers academic knowledge and skills. ACPS sent a very detailed report on that too.

Where did you find the individual scores for each section?