OVERVIEW
- A replacement test for Level 1
- Field testing needed for the new test.
- Full computer scoring for Level 1 of the 1970 CAT
IN PROGRESS: A Replacement for Level 1
We are developing a replacement for Level 1 of the 1970 CAT: the Academic Progress Test, Level 1•2. The new test will cover the middle of first grade through the end of second grade (thus the 1•2 part of the name). It will have two forms, A and B.
Most of the reading items in the CAT Level 1 are very easy. (The average first grade raw score for Level 1, Form A, Reading Vocabulary is 84 out of a possible 92.) We are making the new test a little more difficult for a better spread of student scores. We will equate the new tests with the existing 1970 CAT, so that you can still compare scores across the old and new tests.
As of July 2025, we have most of the Reading items written, as well as many Math and Language items. Before these are ready to be published, they need to be field tested in real classrooms. Here is where we need your help!
GET A SNEAK PEAK! 2nd Grade Students Needed for Field Testing this Fall
We need to get our carefully written questions off our computer screens and into the hands of your second graders, so that we can determine which test items work well and which ones need to be revised or discarded. We look for several things:
- Difficulty: Some items should be easy enough for the slowest first graders and others should be hard enough to challenge the most advanced second graders. Most items should be in between these extremes.
- Discrimination: This considers the question, “How well does this item reflect the test as a whole? Do students who score well tend to get this item right, and students who score poorly tend to get it wrong?”
- Distractors: Students who miss a multiple choice problem should select a mix of the wrong options. Distractors that are never chosen are worthless, because they make the correct answer much easier to guess.
- Quality: Are the directions and questions clear? What is confusing to the students? What do you like? What is annoying? We provide a form for your suggestions and criticisms. Your feedback is very important!
HOW THE FIELD-TESTING PROCESS WORKS
Your students will get three booklets as they are ready, one each of Reading, Mathematics, and Language. To cover all the test items we have written, each booklet has several versions, so the booklets you get may not be the same as those another school gets.
Administer the tests to your second grade students between the middle of September and the end of November. The booklets are designed to be administered in small sections, requiring no more than 5-10 minutes each.
If necessary, field testing will be restarted in early 2026, using first and second grade. We hope to have field testing complete and a working test available for the 2026-2027 school year.
Interested? Check the box at the bottom of the School Order Form and return it to us by Sep 30.
Note: Field test results are only used to evaluate test items and are not reported to schools.
NEW! COMPUTER SCORING FOR LEVEL 1
Instead of hand scoring Level 1 (1970 CAT) booklets, we now score them by computer with the help of AI vision tools. Our order form has been streamlined to combine the scoring options for Levels 1 & 2. While some prices have gone up to support our ongoing test development costs, Level 1 booklet scoring is cheaper than last year.