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Mid-Mission and End-of-Mission assessments are formative assessments administered roughly half way through the Mission and at the conclusion of the Mission respectively. For first grade and above, these paper assessments consist of open response items that require students to show their work or explain their thinking in a variety of ways, including drawing models and writing explanations. Zearn Math provides teachers with resources to assist them in analyzing student work, including an Assessments Answer Key with exemplar student responses, rubric, and scoring guidance. These resources are designed to provide teachers with actionable data about where their students are on the progression to understanding. 

In Kindergarten, each paper-based assessment is designed to be administered interview style where teachers record their observations of the student’s work and thinking. The assessment items vary in their focus, ranging from items that highlight a student’s understanding of a big mathematical idea to items that are more focused on students’ procedural fluency. 

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Mission-level assessments, available through a paid Zearn Math School Account, reflect three key design principles intended to help teachers evaluate and support student understanding:

  • Focus: All questions evaluate student understanding of content from the specific Mission. Problem-solving contexts are also all related to the math ideas of the specific Mission. This ensures teachers are able to determine each student’s level of mastery within the focus content of the mission.
  • Timing: Each assessment is designed to take about 30 minutes and is intended to be delivered on a Flex Day. The consistent timing allows for rich feedback on student learning for teachers while also reducing time spent assessing and time spent analyzing the assessment.
  • Problem Structure: Assessments are built around open response items that require students to show their work or explain their thinking in a variety of ways, including drawing models and writing explanations. Each part of any multi-step problem has a clear objective, is aligned to standards, and allows teachers to identify whether students are struggling with the foundational math concept or the multi-step aspect of the problem.

To locate Mission-level assessments, head to your Zearn account and click on the Curriculum tab. Then, select a Grade and Mission from the respective drop-down menus. From there, you will be able to download all Mission-level assessments along with their answer keys.

Previews of Mission-Level Assessments and Answer Keys that contain the exemplar student response for each item and specific standards alignment information, can be found here: