''TerraNova'' is a series of

standardized Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

achievement test An achievement test is a test of developed skill or knowledge. The most common type of achievement test is a standardized test developed to measure skills and knowledge learned in a given grade level, usually through planned instruction, such as t ...

s used in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

designed to assess

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world. ...

student achievement in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, vocabulary, spelling, and other areas.TerraNova
testing information The test series is published by

CTB/McGraw-Hill DRC/CTB (CTB) was a publisher of educational assessment for the early learner, K–12, and adult basic education markets. DRC/CTB was a division of Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) until being fully merged into DRC's Educational Services divisi ...

. On June 30, 2015

McGraw-Hill Education McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

announced that Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) had agreed to acquire "key assets" of the

assessment business. ''TerraNova'' was created with an update in 1996 CTB to the California Achievement Tests and the California Tests of Basic Skills. ''TerraNova'' are used by many

Department of Defense Dependents Schools The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) are a network of schools, both primary and secondary, that serve the dependant, dependents of United States military and civilian United States Department of Defense (DoD) personnel in three a ...

. The state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

used the test as part of the ''CAT/6'' or '' California Achievement Tests, 6th edition'' as part of the statewide

STAR A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

testing program, though only in certain grades. The CAT series of tests have been available for quite some time and before many US states began developing their own standards-based tests as part of an overall testing movement in the United States, which began in the early 2000s. The CAT were also widely used outside of California to assess student achievement. ''TerraNova'' are used widely throughout the United States.

Tests

The tests are usually multiple choice and answered with bubble sheets. Many sections take fifteen minutes to a few hours, and the tests sometimes extend to over one day. Fifth grade and above include short answers. The results are nationally norm-referenced, meaning that students' scores reflect their achievement in comparison to all students who took the test nationally. Typically this is expressed as a raw score that is then converted into a percentile ranking. This is different from

criterion-referenced test A criterion-referenced test is a style of test that uses test scores to generate a statement about the behavior that can be expected of a person with that score. Most tests and quizzes that are written by school teachers can be considered criteri ...

s, which measure student performance based on mastery of the material. In 2015, CTB released ''TerraNova 3'' Online. The online administered test includes a full battery of constructed-response and selected-response test items provides detailed diagnostic information on students' basic and applied skills.
''TerraNova 3'' Online

References

External links

DRC , CTB
- ''TerraNova'' publishers
''TerraNova''
- TerraNova Product Page

Page about ''TerraNova'' Standardized tests in the United States Student assessment and evaluation Achievement tests {{US-edu-stub