Module One
Student Assessment and Placement

Continued from Part 2. . . . . this is Part 3

Support Services and Assessment

A challenge to retaining students can be their fear of the assessment process itself. Counselors or assessment personnel should provide strong support to students by reminding them that the standardized assessment is to determine their correct class placement. In other words, there is no way for the student to fail the test.

CASAS testing requires most students to return to complete the testing process. Many sites have difficulty getting students to return on the scheduled day and time. For this reason, printed student testing information for the students is critical. Also, many districts call students to remind them to return for testing at their assigned time.

It might be helpful to provide written appointment cards or slips as student reminders of the importance of testing. One site found a magic formula to ensure greater success. It printed an appointment card that has proven nearly 99% effective in having students return to complete testing (see example below).

Example of appointment card:

Source: Palm Beach Public Schools, 1999

Return to Previous (Part 2) Student Assessment

Continue on to (Part 4) Student Assessment

This web-based training program was developed through an Adult Education State Leadership Grant from the Florida Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Education.

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this web-based training component, it is not an official publication of the Florida Department of Education.