District Assessments

District assessments measure student progress throughout the school year. Assessments follow the state test item specifications. Instructional decisions are made using assessment data at the district, school, and classroom levels.

Comprehensive Standards Mastery Assessment (CSMA) - Grades 2-12
Students enrolled in courses that do not have a state assessment take a CSMA at the end of the course. The data from CSMAs is used to determine student mastery of the standards.

Benchmark Assessment (BA) - Grades 2-10
District Progress Monitoring Assessment (DPMA) - Grades 3-11
BAs and DPMAs assess recently taught benchmarks to guide instruction and remediation throughout the school year.

Grade 3 Alternative Assessments
A Grade 3 student who scores Level 1 on the FAST ELA Reading PM3 assessment may be promoted to grade 4 if the student demonstrates an acceptable level of performance on an approved alternative standardized reading assessment. Marion County Public Schools utilizes the following alternative assessments approved by the Florida Department of Education:
     • i-Ready Reading Diagnostic
     • Star Reading