DATE:
Thursday, February 6, 2025
TO:
All Elementary and Middle School Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
RISE ELA and Math Cluster Questions
Principals are encouraged to share the following information with their RISE-tested ELA and math teachers.
Beginning with the 2025 summative assessments, RISE ELA and math question items will be presented to students in a cluster format, similar to the RISE Science assessment. Cluster questions will appear in summative assessments for all grade levels in both content areas. Beginning, February 18th, cluster questions will also be available on the RISE Benchmarks for both ELA and math.
For RISE ELA, students will be presented with reading passages and will be required to answer several sections or clusters of questions that are both related to the passages and to each other. For example, a student will be asked to identify a main idea from the story in one question. Then another question will ask students to select sentences from the passage that support their answer to the first question. In addition, students will be presented with a variety of question types, including multiple choice, multi-selection, sentence selections, drop-down menus, tables, timelines, etc.
Similarly for RISE math, students will be presented with a math task accompanied by several sections or clusters of questions. Question items may be multiple choice, multi-select, drop-down menus, inputting numbers or equations, drag and drop, graphing/plotting, etc.
For a sample of how question items will work, please refer to the Training Tests on the RISE Portal. Please see these step-by-step instructions for accessing the Training Tests.
Recommended next steps to prepare teachers and students for these format changes:
- Communicate these changes to your teachers as soon as possible. Additional communications will be sent via JEM and directly to RISE-tested teachers.
- Encourage teachers to view sample items on the Training Tests in the RISE Portal.
- Encourage teachers to administer the Training Test to students before summative testing day.
- Encourage teachers to further prepare students for RISE summative testing by administering RISE Benchmarks (see this video for how to administer a RISE benchmark). The benchmarks are aligned to the same standards and presented at the same rigor level as the summative assessments but are shorter. Teachers may preview benchmarks from the RISE Benchmark Previewing Module on the RISE Portal and use the RISE reporting suite to view student responses and aggregate results. The RISE Benchmarks are a great way to assess both student learning and help them learn how to adequately answer questions presented in a cluster format.
For questions about the RISE assessment, please contact Ben Jameson or Kassidy Towery in Assessment, Research & Accountability.
