The Pennsylvania Classroom Diagnostic Tools (CDT) is a set of online assessments, divided by content area, designed to provide diagnostic information in order to guide instruction and remediation. The CDT reporting system is fully integrated in the Standards Aligned System (SAS). It assists educators in identifying student academic strengths, and areas in need of improvement, by providing links to classroom resources. The diagnostic reports feature easy-to-follow links to targeted curricular resources and materials, including units and lesson plans found within the SAS system. The CDT is available to districts at no cost.

The purpose of the CDT is to provide information that will help guide instruction by providing support to students and teachers. The CDT reports are designed to provide a picture or snapshot of how students are performing in relation to the Pennsylvania Assessment Anchors & Eligible Content and Keystone Assessment Anchors & Eligible Content. The CDT goes beyond focusing only on What students should know and be able to do at a particular grade and/or course. It also provides a snapshot of How and Why students may still be struggling or extending beyond the grade and/or course Eligible Content. This valuable information is typically not identified through other types of assessments. Teachers, through the use of CDT reports, may access additional information through the Learning Progression Map. The Learning Progression Map allows teachers to pinpoint where students are struggling along or extending beyond the learning continuum. The CDT helps identify, and provides suggestions, for “next steps” in student academic development.

Benefits for STUDENTS include the following:

• Moves students along path toward career and college readiness
• Promotes teachers partnering with students to set learning goals

• Provides descriptive and timely feedback to students while in the process of learning and creating
• Builds efficacy bringing students into the process of their own learning
• Promotes goal-setting
• Supports ownership

Benefits for TEACHERS include the following:

• Access to immediate, detailed diagnostic reports
• Understand the strengths and needs of each student

• Provides tools needed to group students for different mini-lessons throughout the school year depending on their needs and goals set for learning
• Gain insight into students’ strengths and needs during the school year, as well as focus their teaching for classes and grade level
• Provides immediate access to available SAS resources at students’ instructional level

Resources

Student Packet should contain

• Student Individual CDT Report
• Student Meta-cognition Template
• Brainstormed list of topics related to the Diagnostic Category or a CDT Skills Pamphlet