Progress-monitoring assessments in math and reading are used primarily to do what?

• A. Measure a student’s general intelligence
• B. Monitor progress toward IEP goals and guide instruction
• C. Determine eligibility for services
• D. Assess attendance and behavior

Answer: (B)

Progress-monitoring assessments are designed to gather ongoing data about a student’s progress toward specific learning goals so you can adjust instruction as needed. By checking small, frequent increments—often aligned to IEP goals—you can see whether current strategies are helping and decide if you need to change the approach, increase practice, or modify targets. This is different from broad intelligence testing, which isn’t used to track progress toward goals, or from evaluations used to determine eligibility for services. They also don’t diagnose attendance or behavior; those areas are handled through separate procedures. For example, if a student is working on reading fluency, regular short probes show whether fluency is improving and whether instructional changes are making a difference.