What is the purpose of Liftoff Diagnostics?
Updated
by
Gayle McKee
Diagnostic testing refers to the use of assessments to identify a student's strengths and weaknesses in a specific subject or skill area, typically before or at the beginning of a new learning unit or course. The purpose is to understand the student's existing knowledge and skills to tailor instruction and provide targeted support. This is exactly what our Liftoff Adaptive Diagnostic testing does.
The Liftoff Diagnostics are broken up into strands:
- Math (4)
- Reading (3)
- Science (3)
Students do not have to take all 7 diagnostic tests at once, but they will need to at least take 1 diagnostic to begin working in their My Galaxies.
Each Liftoff diagnostic test is adaptive, so there is not a set number of questions on the diagnostic.
Adaptive diagnostic testing tailors the difficulty of test questions to each individual's performance, creating a personalized assessment experience.
As a student answers questions correctly, the test adapts by presenting more challenging items, and conversely, provides easier questions after incorrect answers.
This dynamic process allows the test to efficiently pinpoint the student's specific skill level.
The total number of questions depends on how the student answers each question. It will begin with on-grade level questions and drop-down in a vertical alignment to determine student proficiency levels for each skill.
Liftoff Diagnostics Example
Once your students have completed their diagnostics, their skill gaps will be indicated in the My Galaxies tab of the Liftoff Platform.
If your campus integrates with NWEA MAP, your students will not complete the Liftoff diagnostics. Your MAP RIT scores will be imported into Liftoff, and students will be able to begin working on any identified skill gaps in "My Galaxies" based upon their MAP scores.
