NatGeo Assessments

Placement Test and Gains Tests

Placement Test

• Used to determined Nat Geo curriculum placement
• Administered to:
• 6th graders
• Students new to the district
• Students without a curriculum placement recommendation
• Can be administered via paper (pdf can be found in Program Resources in the NGLSync portal)
• Student Placement Test
• Placement Test Teacher’s Guide
• Placement Sheet (from the Teacher’s Guide)
• All students take Part 1
• Part 1 scores determines whether they take Part 2
• Student Answer Sheet
• Can be administered via the NGLSync portal
• Students must be enrolled in a course in order to assign
• Launch course → Hamburger menu → Assignments → Placement Test Part 1 / 2

English Language/Reading Gains Tests

• Given periodically throughout the year as a benchmark assessment to track student progress
• Use the Landing Page to see when to administer each test
• Middle School
• High School
• Recommended for SLO
• Must be administered in the NGLSync portal
• English Language Gains Test - Teacher’s Manual
• Given to students in Fundamentals 1 and 2
• Writing portion must be manually scored
• Reading Gains Test - Teacher’s Manual
• Given to students in Levels A, B, and C
• Students are assigned 2 consecutive sections based on their previous Lexile measure.

Which sections should I administer?

Assigning Tests

Sign in to the NGL Sync application through ClassLink.

Launch the course for the class period to which you want to assign a test. *Students must already be added to a class to assign a test.

Assigning Tests

Click the hamburger menu in the upper left corner.

Choose “Assignments” from the drop down menu.

Change the “Type” to “Assessment.”

Assigning Tests

Scroll to the bottom until you see the test you want to assign.

Assigning Tests

Check the box for the Test you want to assign. Then click “Assign 1 Selected.”

Assigning Tests

FIRST, choose “Select/Deselect All” to select all the students in the class.

Assigning Tests

Choose the dates for the test. The category is “Test.” Students should have 1 attempt.

Clicking “Submit” will assign the test to students.

Student View

When students log in, they will see the assigned test on their home screen.

Student View

Students will start the test once they click the link and “Start.”

Students can check that they have answered all the questions using the “Review” button.

Scoring student responses

For the English Language Gains Test, teachers must score the student writing responses.

From the NGLSync page for the class you need to score, click the hamburger menu in the upper left corner.

Then, select “Gradebook” from the drop down menu.

Scoring Student Responses

From the Gradebook page, you will see a pencil under the English Language Gains Test. Click the pencil to score the student response.

Once you have scored the response, a grade will show.

This will appear as a pencil if you still need to score a response.

Using student data

The NGLSync will not calculate student gains. It will only show a score in the column for each English Language Gains Test or Reading Gains Test that students take.

One way to track growth is to use the Student Profile sheets found in each of the Teacher’s Manuals. Print out a copy for each student and record their score for each test. Use the conversion chart to determine their Lexile Measure.

English Language Gains Test Student/Class Profile

Reading Gains Test Student/Class Profile

Alternately, teachers can create a Google Sheets file for each class period and enter student scores over time. Using the “Formula” tool, teachers can set up their sheet to calculate student gains.

English Language Gains Class Profile Google Sheets Template - Middle School

English Language Gains Class Profile Google Sheets Template - High School

Reading Gains Class Profile Google Sheets Template