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Assessments

Parent’s Right-to-Know: State or LEA Policy Student Participation in Assessments

At the beginning of each school year, the LEA must notify parents that may request (and the LEA will provide) information regarding any State or local educational agency policy regarding student participation in any assessments mandated by section 1111(b)(2) and by the State or local educational agency. The information must include a policy, procedure, or parental right to opt the child out of such assessment, where applicable. [ESSA Section 1112 (e)(2)(A)]. Please contact your student’s Building Testing Coordinator or Principal if you have questions about participating in assessments.

Parents’ Right to Know: Information on State and Local Assessments

[ESSA Section 1112(e)(2)(B)(C)]

Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS)- Kindergarten only)

1.Subject Matter Assessed:
a.Whole Child Assessment
i.Social-Emotional
ii.Physical
iii.Cognitive
iv.Language

• v.Literacy
• vi.Mathematics
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.It is a transition process that helps to ensure a successful start to the K-12 experience and connect the key adults in a child’s life. There are three components: family connection, whole-child assessment, and early learning collaboration.
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.WaKIDS is legislatively mandated to be part of state-funded, full-day kindergarten (RCW 28A.150.315 and RCW 28A.655.080)
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.The assessment will be completed by October 31^st and takes place either before school starts (family connection) or during the regular school day.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:

You can find more information about WaKIDS on the OSPI website at: http://www.k12.wa.us/WaKIDS/default.aspx

OSPI-Developed Assessment (formerly CBAs- grades 3-12)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.Educational Technology
• b.Physical Education and Health
• c.Social Studies
• d.The Arts
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.To ensure that students have an opportunity to learn the state learning standards in the identified areas.
• 3.Source of the Requirement: RCW 28A.230.095 and RCW 28A.655.075
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.The length of time for each assessment and schedule depends on the grade level and content area. Please contact your student’s teacher for more information.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.Please contact your student’s teacher for this information.

You can find more information about OSPI-Developed Assessments on the OSPI website at: http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/OSPI-DevelopedAssessments.aspx

Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA- grades 3-8 and 10-11)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.ELA and Math
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a. These computer-based tests will help schools evaluate how well their students performed by comparing them with students from other schools across the nation. The end-of-year assessments also will empower families by providing them with a clear indication of how well their children are progressing toward mastering the academic knowledge and skills necessary for college and career readiness.
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.State and Federal requirement
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.Takes place during the last 12 weeks of school.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.The state provides score reports to districts which are then provided to families at October conferences so that teachers can discuss the information with the parents. If parents do not attend conferences, the score report will be mailed home.

You can find more information about the SBAs on the OSPI website at:http://www.k12.wa.us/smarter/default.aspx

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS- grades 5, 8, and 11)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.Science
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.The WCAS measures the level of proficiency that Washington students have achieved based on the Washington State 2013 K-12 Science Learning Standards, which were adopted in October 2013.
• 3.Source of the Requirement: Federal ESSA Requirement that students will be tested in science once at each level: elementary, middle, and high school.
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments: Testing window is April-June for grades 5 & 8 and May-June for grade 11. Test typically does not take longer than 1 day.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.Late August OSPI typically posts scores to online portal for Districts to review. Score reports should arrive in Districts the middle of October. The District will mail home these score reports.

You can find more information about WCAS on the OSPI website at:

http://www.k12.wa.us/Science/Assessments.aspx

Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.ELA, Math, and Science
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.The Washington Access to Instruction & Measurement (WA-AIM) is an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards aligned to the Common Core State Standards for students with significant cognitive challenges. The WA-AIM is built off of Access Point Frameworks that expand upon the mathematics and English language arts Common Core State Standards and the Washington State science standards to provide students with significant cognitive challenges a continuum of access points to the standards. The WA-AIM will measure student knowledge and skills through the use of twice annual administered performance tasks. The WA-AIM will be used for federal and state accountability in grades 3-8 and 10 for ELA and Math and can be used to meet a student’s CIA requirements. Science will continue to be administered in grade 11.
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.State graduation requirements and Federal accountability requirements
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.Window opens in October and closes in April.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.OSPI provides score reports to the District which we mail home to parents.

You can find more information about WA-AIM on the OSPI website at:

http://www.k12.wa.us/Assessment/WA-AIM/default.aspx

English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21^st Century (ELPA21 and ELPA21 Screener)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.English Language Proficiency
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.The ELPA summative assessment is an online assessment given to all students who qualify for English language development (ELD) services with a placement test. The ELPA21 summative assessment measures students’ English language proficiency, both knowledge and skills, in reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Results from this test determine which students are eligible to continue receiving ELD services.
• b.The ELPA21 Screener is used to determine initial eligibility for ELD services. Like the summative assessment, this is an online assessment that measures proficiency in the four language domains of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.State TBIP Requirements and Federal Title III requirements.
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.Window for testing is the end of January through March.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.OSPI provides score reports to the District which we mail home to parents. We typically receive these reports a few months after testing has been completed.

You can find more information about ELPA21 on the OSPI website at: http://www.k12.wa.us/ELPA21/default.aspx

Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessment (WIDA^TM Alternate ACCESS for ELLs©)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.English Language Proficiency
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.OSPI has adopted with WIDATM Alternate ACCESS for ELL© to assess the language proficiency for English Learners (ELs) with significant cognitive disabilities. This assessment was developed specifically for this population of ELs.
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.State TBIP Requirements and Federal Title III requirements.
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.OSPI provides score reports to the District which we mail home to parents. We typically receive these reports a few months after testing has been completed.

You can find more information about WIDATM on the OSPI website at:

http://www.k12.wa.us/ELPA21/AlternateACCESS.aspx

STAR Reading, STAR Math, STAR Early Literacy (Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.Reading, Math, Early Literacy
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.To provide information to teachers about student growth and achievement in grades 1-12
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.District Assessment
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.STAR tests take between 20-30 minutes to administer. Benchmark test given 3x per year. Progress Monitoring ongoing as needed.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.Results can be printed in a report using the Renaissance learning site, then shared with parents at conference time or as needed.
• DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)
• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.Reading (Letter naming, Phoneme segmentation, First sound fluency, Nonsense word fluency, Oral Reading fluency - words correct and accuracy)
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.The purpose of the DIBELS is to provide educators with standards for gauging the progress of all students. DIBELS subtests measure critical skills and abilities that are necessary for reading success. Teachers can use students' performance to identify students who will most benefit from intensive instruction, strategic instruction, and core instruction alone
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.District Assessment
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.DIBELS takes 5-8 minutes per student to administer. Benchmark assessments are given 3x per year and this takes 1 week to assess all grades. Progress monitoring will be approximately monthly.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:

1. Results are shared with teachers and EAs after each benchmark assessment. These results are used for grouping students and monitoring progress within those groups.

IDEL (Indicadores Dinámicos del Éxito en la Lectura)

• 1.Subject Matter Assessed:
• a.Reading Literacy (Letter naming fluency, Phoneme segmentation, Nonsense word fluency, Oral reading fluency & accuracy.)
• 2.Purpose of the Assessment:
• a.To assess the basic early literacy skills of children learning to read in Spanish. It is used to regularly monitor the development of early Spanish literacy skills. The assessment measures take into account the linguistic structure of the Spanish language including the phonology, orthography, and syntax and are based on the same theoretical and evidence-based principles of how children learn to read in alphabetic languages such as English and Spanish. IDEL is a screening tool that includes instructional recommendations and benchmark goals. It provides teachers with information on student skills in the core components of beginning reading including: phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, accuracy and fluency reading connected text, vocabulary and comprehension.
• 3.Source of the Requirement:
• a.District Assessment
• 4.Length of Time Expected and Schedule for the Assessments:
• a.3 times per year- Fall, Winter, and Spring and ongoing progress monitoring as needed.
• 5.Time and Format for Disseminating Results:
• a.Testing time takes approximately 1 week (4-5 days), depending on availability of test administrators for Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Results are available as soon as testing is completed and input into the DIBELS Management System. Teachers have access to data reports for their classroom from DIBELS and can print reports to share with parents at conferences or as needed.