Assessments & Rubrics

Assessment in Second Grade has one job: to tell you what to do next. It isn't about grades for their own sake. Every check in the program leads to a clear next step: move on, practice a skill a new way, or reteach.

There are five layers, from the smallest to the largest:

The placement check, once, before Week 1. It tells you where to start and which catch-up activities to add.

The daily Remember? boxes, in every Math and ELA lesson. They keep earlier skills fresh and show you, day by day, what has stuck.

The weekly checks, one per subject each week, with What to do next. They catch a shaky skill within a week.

The unit tests, one per subject at the end of each six-week unit, 24 in all, scored on the D/A/P/E scale. They give a fuller picture of each unit.

The records: mastery checklists, the portfolio and the quarterly progress reports. They pull everything together into a record of the year.

You don't need to do anything extra to assess your child. It is built into the week. The Friday checks and the unit tests are the only times your child works without help. The rest of the time, you are teaching, and you learn a great deal just by watching and listening.

This part of the book explains each layer. The pages that follow hold the placement check, the 24 unit tests with their scoring guides, the mastery checklists and the record forms.

The placement check is a 10- to 15-minute look at the first-grade skills that second grade builds on. It is a guide to a good starting point, not a test or a diagnosis. Almost every child should start at Week 1. The results tell you which short catch-up activities to add in the first few weeks.

How to give it. Sit together at a quiet time. Ask each question out loud, and let your child use paper, fingers or objects. Don't help and don't time it. It's fine to stop if your child gets tired and finish another day.

Math: 8 questions. Read each question aloud. Your child can answer out loud or in writing. Give 1 point for each correct answer. The questions cover tens and ones, 10 more and 10 less, facts to 20, adding tens, counting past 100, and a word problem within 20. Each question names the first-grade standard it checks and the week whose catch-up activity helps with it.

Reading: 8 items. Your child reads each item aloud. Give 1 point when they read it correctly without help; a quick self-correction still counts. The items cover short vowels, digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh), consonant blends, silent e, tricky high-frequency words, vowel teams, reading two sentences, and answering a question about them. Vowel teams are taught in Weeks 2 and 3, so it's fine if that item was hard.

What the scores mean (math). 7-8 right: ready for Week 1; keep the daily Remember? boxes going. 4-6 right: start at Week 1, and for each skill your child missed, add the linked catch-up activity for 10 minutes a day during the first 2 or 3 weeks, alongside the regular lessons. 0-3 right: build the foundation first; spend 1 or 2 weeks on the Week 1 and Week 7 catch-up activities ("Tens and Ones First" and "Make a Ten, Then Add Tens") and daily facts practice, then start Week 1, keeping lessons short and hands-on, with blocks or straws.

What the scores mean (reading). 7-8 right: ready for Week 1. 4-6 right: start at Week 1, and spend 5 to 10 extra minutes a day on the patterns your child missed (short vowels, digraphs, blends or silent e) using word cards, and read aloud together every day. 0-3 right: spend 2 or 3 weeks reviewing short vowels, digraphs, blends and silent e (5 word cards a day plus a simple decodable book), and read aloud together daily; then start Week 1, keeping reading practice short and frequent.

If your child found everything easy. Try the Week 6 math check and the Week 6 reading questions. If your child gets nearly all of them right, still start at Week 1, but use the Friday checks to move faster: when a check is all right, skip ahead to the next week.

Record it. Note the date, both scores and the skills missed on the placement record page. Keep it in the portfolio. It is a useful starting point to look back on at the end of the year.

Every Math and ELA lesson opens with a Remember? box: three quick questions from earlier weeks. There are 360 in the year, one for each subject each day. The answers are in the Teacher Guide's Day Spread, and each question says where it comes from, such as "Facts to 20," "Week 11" or "Grammar and spelling."

How to use them. Your child answers out loud or on the page, without looking back. Check each answer right away. If it's right, say so and move on. If it's wrong, give the right answer, show it quickly (with blocks, a drawing, or the word), and have your child say it back. The whole box should take two or three minutes.

Why answers are checked the same day. Recalling something from memory strengthens it, but only if the child ends up with the right answer. For young children, quick correction matters, so the box is short and the answers come right away.

Don't score them. Remember? boxes are practice, not tests. There's no need to record them. But do notice patterns. If the same kind of question keeps coming back wrong, such as subtraction facts, past-tense verbs or 10 less than a number, that skill needs a few minutes of extra practice. Jot it on your weekly notes, and look at it again when you mark the weekly check.

When a box is too hard. Early in the year, or after a break, a child may miss several. That's normal. Do the box together, talking through each answer. If it keeps happening, look at the weekly checks for the weeks the questions come from, and use their What to do next routes.

Each week has four weekly checks, one each for Math, ELA, Science and Social Studies, for 144 in the year. Each check starts with two "I can" goals for the week and has 5 to 7 items. They are in the Student Workbook, and the answers are in the Teacher Guide. Most families give them on Friday.

Giving a check. Your child works alone. You may read directions and questions aloud; the check is about the week's skill, not about reading the directions. Don't hint. If your child is stuck, say "Do your best, and we'll look at it together after."

Marking a check. Mark it together soon after. Count the items right, and decide which of the three results fits: all or almost all right, about half right, or only a few right. Also look at which items were missed. Two missed items on the same skill tell you more than two scattered slips.

Routing. The Teacher Guide's What to do next page gives a route for each result, for each subject, each week:

All or almost all right: move on to next week. Keep the daily Remember? boxes going.

About half right: practice the skill a new way, then redo the missed items. The route gives a specific activity, for example building both numbers with blocks and comparing the hundreds first, then the tens, then the ones.

Only a few right: use the week's catch-up activity (in math) or the specific reteach step (in the other subjects), usually for about 10 minutes a day while the next week begins.

Keep moving. In most cases, the next week starts on time and the reteach runs alongside it. Skills come back in the Remember? boxes and in later units. Several routes say it plainly: don't hold the whole program back.

The math catch-up activities. There are 36, one per week. Each names the standard it supports and the earlier skill it builds on, says why the skill matters, lists simple materials, gives a few hands-on steps, and ends with two try-again problems. If your child gets the try-again problems right, the catch-up has done its job.

In unit-test weeks (Weeks 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36), the routes also send you to the unit test: check it together and reteach any section where your child missed more than half.

Recording. On the Assessment Tracker, note each week's result for each subject with a simple mark, and a word or two on anything missed. File the marked check in the portfolio. Over a quarter, the tracker shows at a glance which skills came easily and which needed a second look.

There are 24 unit tests: six each for Math, ELA, Science and Social Studies, one at the end of each six-week unit. They fall in Weeks 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36. Each test has four sections, and each section tests one part of the unit. The student pages come first, then the scoring guide.

How long they take. Each test shows its own time estimate. Math tests take about 30 to 50 minutes, ELA tests about 40 to 50, science tests about 25 to 35, and social studies tests about 20 to 30. The year-end tests in Week 36 are among the longest.

When to give them. Give each test during the unit-test week, after the week's lessons on the unit's last topics. There's no need to give all four on the same day. Many families give one or two a day across the second half of the week. If your child tires, split a test into two sittings, section by section.

How to give them. Choose a calm time, not straight after a hard lesson. Have pencils, an eraser and any allowed materials ready: a ruler for measurement, for example. Read directions aloud. On the reading sections, don't read the passage for your child, since reading it is part of what is being tested. On other sections, you may read the questions aloud. Don't hint or correct during the test. Praise effort at the end, whatever the result.

The writing and extended-response items. Several sections ask for writing, an explanation, a drawing or a CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) response. Give your child time to plan. It's fine for your child to draw first and then write.

Observation sections. Some sections are about speaking and listening, such as the Speaking and Listening section of the Unit 3 ELA test and the Collaborative Discussion section of the Unit 5 ELA test. Score these by watching and listening during a real conversation, following the scoring guide.

The year-end tests. In Week 36, the tests cover the whole year. In science, the year-end test includes the science fair question and data. Treat these as a celebration of how far your child has come, not a final exam.

Scoring each section. Use the scoring guide to mark each item and add up the points for each section. Write the section scores on the test's cover. Each test lists its sections, items and points; for example, the Unit 2 math test has Computation Fluency (10 items, 20 points), Mental Math (6 items, 12 points), Word Problems (4 items, 12 points) and Strategy Explanation (2 items, 8 points), for 22 items and 52 points in all.

Scoring the open items. Extended responses, writing and CER items are scored with the four rubrics, which use the same four levels as the tests:

Writing, Narrative: story structure, detail and voice, and conventions.

Math, Reasoning: strategy, representation (a model or drawing) and explanation.

Science, Inquiry: observation and pattern reasoning.

Social Studies, Civic Thinking: the idea, and the community connection.

Read each row and choose the cell that best describes your child's work. For example, in Math Reasoning, "Strategy works through both steps" is Proficient, and "Efficient strategy with checks" is Exemplary.

The four levels.

D, Developing: foundational concepts not yet secure; requires intensive support and scaffolded instruction.

A, Approaching: partial understanding; applying skills with errors or limited to simpler problem types.

P, Proficient: meets grade-level expectations; applies skills accurately and independently.

E, Exemplary: exceeds expectations; extends thinking, explains reasoning, and applies to novel contexts.

Choosing a level. Look at the section scores and the rubric results together, and choose the description that best fits the whole test. A few questions help:

Did your child work accurately and independently across the sections? That points to P.

Were some sections secure, but others full of errors, or right only on the simpler items? That points to A.

Were most sections not yet secure, even with the easier items? That points to D.

Was the work accurate, and did the explanations and extended responses go further, with clear reasoning or use of the skill in a new way? That points to E.

The level is your judgment, guided by these descriptions. It's fine to note a level for each section as well as the test as a whole: "P overall; A on telling time."

Proficient is the goal. P means your child is ready for what comes next. E is a bonus. D or A early in the year is common and simply tells you where to focus.

The most useful thing about a unit test is what you do after it.

Find the sections to reteach. Any section where your child missed more than half is a section to reteach. Mark those on the test cover.

Reteach one section a day. While the next unit begins, spend about 10 minutes a day on one section at a time. Teach it a new way, not the same way louder. In math, go back to objects or drawings. In reading, reread the passage together and talk it through. In science and social studies, walk through the unit's journal or vocabulary cards and retell the unit together.

Redo the items. When a section has been retaught, have your child redo the missed items from that section. Note the new result on the test cover. It is a good feeling for a child to see a section go from "not yet" to "got it."

Use the week's routes. The What to do next routes for each unit-test week give a specific reteach step for each subject. Use them.

Keep going. Don't hold the next unit back. Many skills come back in later units and in the Remember? boxes, and your child will get more practice along the way.

When a whole test is D. If most sections are Developing, look back at the weekly checks for the unit to see where things went wrong, and use those weeks' catch-up activities. Consider slowing the pace of the next unit a little, and keep lessons short and hands-on. If you have ongoing concerns about your child's learning, talk with your child's doctor or a qualified specialist.

Recording. Write the level on the Assessment Tracker for that unit and subject, with a short note on anything retaught. File the test in the portfolio.

The mastery checklists list the Grade 2 standards by subject, 112 in all: 26 in math, 40 in ELA, 14 in science and 32 in social studies. Next to each is the week or weeks where it is taught, and three columns: introduced, practiced and mastered. In math, some standards are broken into smaller skills so you can see progress within a big standard. In ELA, the phonics patterns are listed in the order they are taught.

How to fill them in. Tick introduced when the standard is first taught. Tick practiced when your child has worked on it for a week or more. Tick mastered when your child can do it accurately and on their own, as shown by a weekly check, a unit test, or your own observation. Once a quarter is enough for most families; some like to update the math and phonics lists every Friday.

Mastered doesn't mean perfect. A standard is mastered when your child can use it reliably in new situations, not when every answer is right. If a skill slips later, that is normal; a quick review usually brings it back.

Observation-only standards. Some standards are checked by watching and listening rather than on paper. They include the speaking and listening standards (SL.2.1 to SL.2.6), such as following agreed rules for discussion, asking and answering questions about what a speaker says, and telling a story or recounting an experience clearly, and reading aloud with accuracy, appropriate rate and expression (RF.2.4). Many science and social studies practices, such as making careful observations, working through the steps of an engineering design, or explaining a map to someone, also show best in action.

For these, watch during ordinary lessons: the Author's Chair, the Friday presentations, a family discussion, a science investigation. Jot the date and a short note of what you saw ("retold the story in order with details; spoke clearly"), and tick the box when you have seen it more than once. A short recording of your child reading aloud each quarter is a good way to show growth in fluency.

Using the checklists. At the end of each quarter, look for standards that are introduced but not yet practiced, or practiced but not yet mastered. They show where to add review in the coming weeks.

A portfolio is a collection of your child's work that shows what they learned and how they grew. It is the most complete record of the year, and often the one children are proudest of.

What to keep. Aim for a small, well-chosen collection rather than everything. For each subject, each quarter, keep:

Two or three work samples, including at least one early and one later piece of the same kind, so growth is easy to see.

The marked weekly checks, or a selection of them.

The unit test, with its level and any reteach notes.

For ELA, add writing samples across the year: a narrative, an opinion piece and an informational piece, with drafts if your child revised them. For science, add a few journal pages or investigation records. For specials, add art, or photos of projects and performances.

Label everything. Date each piece and write a one-line note on the back or on a sticky note: what it is and what it shows ("first opinion piece, with two reasons"). Add each piece to the Portfolio Index.

Photos count. Take photos of hands-on work, models, maps, posters and science investigations that won't fit in a folder. Print them or keep them in a dated digital folder.

Let your child choose. Once a quarter, ask your child to choose one piece they are proud of and say why. Write their words on it. In the last weeks of the year, several subjects ask your child to choose their best work for a year-end portfolio.

The Reading Log is part of the portfolio too. A list of the books read and heard in a year is a powerful record.

At the end of each quarter (after Weeks 9, 18, 27 and 36), fill in a progress report. Four reports make a clear record of the year.

What goes in it. The report has a section for each subject, matching the curriculum; a section for social and emotional growth; a section for specials; and space for your reflection and goals for next quarter.

How to fill it in. Gather the quarter's Assessment Tracker, unit tests, mastery checklists and portfolio. For each subject:

Give a D/A/P/E level for the quarter, based on the unit tests and weekly checks. Because units and quarters don't line up exactly, a quarter may include one full unit and part of another. Base the level on all the work from the quarter.

Write two or three sentences: what your child can now do, and what you will work on next. Be specific: "Can add and subtract within 1000 using drawings; next, explaining strategies in writing."

Note any standards mastered this quarter.

Social and emotional growth. Note things like persistence, working independently, handling frustration, and getting along with others. A sentence or two is enough.

Specials. A line for each strand your child did: what they made, learned or enjoyed.

Reflection and goals. Write what went well, what you will change, and one or two goals for next quarter. Ask your child too: "What are you proud of? What do you want to get better at?"

Attendance and hours. Copy the quarter's totals from the Attendance and Hours Log onto the report.

Keep each report in the front of the portfolio. If you need to share a record of your child's year with anyone, the four progress reports, with the portfolio behind them, tell the story clearly.