The effect of interim assessments on the achievement gap in grades K-8: Evidence from the U.S.

This study investigated interim assessments effects on the achievement gap. The data were collected from a field experiment conducted in 2010-2011 in K-8 public schools in Indiana in the U.S. Two-level models were utilized to determine whether interim assessments interacted with student SES, race, level of prior achievement, gender, school composition and urbanicity. The results are overall mixed. The majority of the interaction effects are close to zero and statistically non-significant. However, the treatment may have helped reduce the gender and race gaps in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8. The treatment may also have helped reduce the achievement gap between middle- and high-achievers in grades 3-8. The interactions between interim assessments and school composition and urbanicity were overall non-significant.