Achievement Levels

Achievement levels are performance standards describing what students who achieve a given level on a scale typically know and can do. They refer to academic achievement providing a context for interpreting students’ scores on different assessments. Each achievement level description reveals a picture across a broad range of performance levels with corresponding details related to the framework. They are cumulative, students performing at one of the superior levels also displaying the competencies associated with the lower levels.

For example, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) utilizes scale anchoring procedure to summarize and describe achievement at four points on the mathematics and science scales – Advanced International Benchmark (625), High International Benchmark (550), Intermediate International Benchmark (475), and Low International Benchmark (400). The first step was to identify those students scoring at each cut point followed by determining which...