common questions what tests are students asked to take? what are students learning? how’s my...

Common Questions• What tests are students asked to take?

• What are students learning?

• How’s my school doing?

• Who makes decisions about Wyoming Education?

Wyoming EDUCATION TODAY

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Common QuestionsWhat tests are students asked to take?

Students in grades 3 through 8 take the statewide Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students (PAWS) in reading and math. Students in grades 4 and 8 also take the science portion of the PAWS test.

Students in grades 3, 5, and 7 take the Student Assessment of Writing Skills (SAWS), which is used to measure a student’s writing skills.

Students in grades 9, 10, and 11 take EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT, respectively. These standardized tests are indicators of college readiness and used for college admissions in the United States. Students in grade 11 also participate in the ACT Writing test.

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Wyoming Student Assessment


Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students (PAWS)

PAWS is the state test used to measure student performance for both the state and national accountability systems.

Once a year, Wyoming students in grades 3 through 8 take the PAWS.

PAWS tests student proficiency in both reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and in science in grades 4 and 8.

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Student Assessment of Writing Skills (SAWS)

Students in grades 3, 5, and 7 also take a test called SAWS, which is used to measure a student’s writing skills.

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Wyoming Student AssessmentEXPLORE, Plan, and the ACT – ACT Suite

EXPLORE, PLAN and the ACT are all part of the ACT College Readiness Assessment Suite, which is produced by ACT, Inc.

Students in grades 9, 10, and 11 take EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT, respectively. These standardized tests are indicators of college readiness and student achievement.

The state’s school accountability system uses data from all three tests in the ACT suite, while the federal accountability system (AYP) uses only data from the ACT at grade 11. The ACT is also used to help determine Hathaway scholarship awards.

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What tests do students take?

Wyoming Alternate Assessment (Wy-ALT)

Students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-11 who cannot meaningfully participate in the other assessments above, even with accommodations, take the alternate assessment. In 2013-14 and earlier, this test was called the PAWS-ALT (or SAWS-ALT for the writing test in grades 3, 5 and 7). Beginning in 2014-15, this test is called Wy-ALT.

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District and Classroom testing

Local districts, schools, and teachers administer their own tests and use their own assessment methods to gauge student performance for their own needs.

• [Insert your local/district tests and other assessment methods here]

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Common QuestionsWhat are students learning?

Standards describe what students need to know and be able to do by the end of each grade level. They explain the knowledge, concepts, and skills that each student should acquire at each grade level so that Wyoming students are both career and college ready by the time they graduate high school.


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Wyoming State StandardsWhat are students learning?

Standards do not define all that can or should be taught; they simply outline end-of-year expectations for all students to help create equal opportunities to learn regardless of where the student lives.

Wyoming has adopted standards in the following content areas: English/language arts, math, science, social studies, fine and performing arts, foreign language, health education, physical education, and career/vocation training.

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Wyoming Content and Performance Standards

What are literacy standards?

Literacy standards help students strengthen their reading, writing, research, listening, and speaking skills. To do so, students must comprehend and evaluate complex text, write a variety of expressive and expository pieces, and use listening and speaking skills for a variety of audiences at each grade level.

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Wyoming Content and Performance Standards

What are math standards?

Math standards are designed to build a strong mathematical base of understanding for further study in college and career training. A working understanding of concepts such as numbers and quantity, algebraic functions, geometry, mathematical modeling, and statistics are built upon each other as the student advances towards graduation.

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Wyoming Content and Performance StandardsThe state board sets the standards and the districts decide how they’re implemented

Curriculum Development [Insert district approach to curriculum here.]

How [your district] is implementing the new math standards.

[Text]

How [your district] is implementing the new literacy standards.

[Text]

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Wyoming Content and Performance StandardsThe state board sets the standards and the districts decide how they’re implemented

Common QuestionsWhat is accountability?

A simple definition of accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.

In education, accountability means reviewing how well teachers, principals, and superintendents help students grow.

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Accountability in EducationState and Federal Systems

Wyoming has two accountability systems: state and federal. The federal system measures accountability using Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculations. AYP is an annual measurement of school quality required under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that allows the United States Department of Education to determine how schools are performing academically in each state.

Wyoming accountability is defined in the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act (WAEA). This law is different from NCLB in many respects and takes into account measures specifically related to educational goals in Wyoming.

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Accountability in EducationThe Federal system, NCLB

Under NCLB, schools are measured each year by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculations.

NCLB and AYP looks at many different indicators including participation, proficiency, and graduation. Schools are rated by a pass/fail type system, where schools are rated as “in need of improvement” when they fail to meet the year’s requirements.

Under NCLB, if a school is rated as "in need of improvement" it must designate additional funds for professional development, and offer its students tutoring services and another school to attend. Each school will be offered a multi-tiered system of supports, interventions, and consequences depending on the rating the school receives and for how many consecutive years that rating has been received.

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Accountability in EducationThe federal system NCLB

Elementary SchoolsELA: 30.4Math: 23.8

2002 2014

Middle SchoolsELA: 34.5Math: 25.3

High SchoolsELA: 48.4Math: 35.8

2005 2008 2011* 2012 2013**

High SchoolsReading: 75.4Math: 69.5





100 for All

*in 2011, ELA changed to only include reading, and the expected scores were adjusted.**in 2013, a waiver was received allowing Wyoming schools to use the AYP from the previous year as their target.





Elementary SchoolsReading: 65.2Math: 61.9

Middle SchoolsReading: 67.25Math: 62.65

Elementary SchoolsReading : 85.4Math: 83.3

Middle SchoolsReading : 79.7Math: 75.2

Elementary SchoolsReading : 85.4Math: 83.3

Middle SchoolsReading : 79.7Math: 75.2

Annual Measurable Objectives

Accountability in EducationThe state system, WAEA

WAEA uses the School Performance Reports (SPRs) to measure school performance on several indicators including: student academic achievement, student growth from year to year, student college and career readiness, and equity which is the extent to which lower performing students improve over time. These indicators are summarized into a single rating for a school’s performance.

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Accountability in EducationThe state system WAEA

•How much students have improved on the state test in reading and math.

Growth (Grades 3-8)

•The overall performance on the state test that indicates if students are college or career ready.

Readiness (Grades 9-12)

•The percent of students who are proficient or above in the subjects measured by state tests. Achievement

•The change from year to year in students who move from testing below proficient to testing at or above proficient. Equity•The percent of students that participated in the state test. Participation

Depending on the grade level, certain indicators measured by the state wide tests are used to evaluated a school’s performance.

Accountability in EducationThe state system, WAEA

WAEA looks at student growth, readiness, achievement, equity, and participation. Based on these indicators schools are rated using a traditional grade scale in that there are varying levels of performance that can be achieved: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations, or Not Meeting Expectations.

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Accountability in EducationThe state system WAEA

Those indicators are then used to calculate the school’s overall performance level.

Exceeding Expectations

Meeting Expectations

Partially Meeting

Expectaions

Not Meeting Expectations

Common QuestionsWho makes decisions about Wyoming Education?

We value local control in Wyoming, so many important decisions are made by teachers, parents, local school boards, and district superintendents.

Decisions regarding state policy are made by state lawmakers, the State Board of Education, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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Who makes the decisions impacting Wyoming Education?

Wyoming Education LEADERSHIP

simply. understand. education.

Thank You

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common questions what tests are students asked to take? what are students learning? how’s my...

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