Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS)

The Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS) is a statewide, primarily performance-based assessment program that measures the academic progress of students in Kentucky schools. Its purposes are to reflect high standards for students and to hold schools accountable for how well their students are performing.

Under KIRIS, Kentucky students are tested in grades 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12. The assessment measures students' knowledge as well as their application of that knowledge. Assessment results place students into one of four performance levels: novice, apprentice, proficient, and distinguished. No student is labeled as a failure; instead, the lowest level merely indicates that a student is a beginner.

The KIRIS assessment consists of several different kinds of tests:

• Open-response questions, such as essay questions.

• Writing prompts, similar to essay questions except that students are given a longer time period--typically 90 minutes--to respond in depth.

• Multiple-choice questions.

• Performance events that focus on reading, math, science, writing, social studies, arts and humanities, and practical living/vocational studies.

• Writing portfolios that present each student's best work from the school year.

Besides asking students to provide correct answers, the KIRIS assessment requires students to explain how they arrived at their answers. This approach allows students to show that they understand the underlying concepts behind facts and how to use that knowledge in the real world.

The KIRIS assessment holds schools accountable for student performance. It requires teachers to make significant changes in the ways they teach. To ensure that schools align their curricula with KIRIS, the Kentucky Department of Education sends core content guidelines to every public school and district in Kentucky.

For more information, refer to the following sources:

• Kentucky Department of Education home page

• Designing an Effective Performance Task for the Classroom (Kentucky Department of Education, 1997a)

• Open-Response Questions in the Classroom (Kentucky Department of Education, 1997b)

References