The Office of Student Assessment is responsible for the coordination, development, and implementation of the state testing program. Our goal is to improve academic achievement for all Alabama students. This goal is accomplished by providing administrators, educators, parents, and the community the tools and information about student performance in the context of college and career readiness.
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ACT with Writing
The ACT is the capstone of ACT College and Career Readiness Solutions, and it is aligned to Alabama’s College and Career Readiness Standards. The ACT with Writing is administered to all Grade 11 students enrolled in Alabama public high schools. The ACT
- Is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the United States;
- Has been approved for use in No Child Left Behind and Annual Yearly Progress accountability;
- Will enable school and district leaders to track student performance with aggregate and standards-based reporting past high school classes;
- Will be used as an instructional improvement program statewide to improve the college and career readiness of Alabama students;
- Will raise college awareness and exposure among all students, rather than just self-selected, college-bound students now that it is administered statewide;
- Will provide user-friendly information about how ACT tests align with state standards.
The ACT Individual High School Reports are excellent tools that can be used by counselors and teachers as they assist students in preparing for their futures. Educators will know the students’ educational strengths and weaknesses, areas of need, college plans, and career interests. Teachers and administrators will use the ACT Profile Report in intervention, curriculum review, course planning, collaboration, and professional development.
Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the ACT with Writing became the accountability measure for high school assessments (math, English, and science). In school year 2020-2021, ACT with Writing Alabama Accountability Benchmarks shifted to reflect ELA, math and science as accountability measures.
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ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs
ACCESS is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment anchored in the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and administered to students in Grades K-12 who have been identified as English language learners (ELs). It is given annually in Alabama and is used to monitor EL students’ progress in acquiring academic English within the school context, as well as language associated with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies across four domains of Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing.
Primary Purposes:
- Generates results that serve as a criterion to aid in determining when ELs have attained the language proficiency needed to participate meaningfully in content area classrooms without program support and on state academic content tests without accommodations.
- Provides information that can be used to enhance instruction and learning for ELs.
- Provides districts with information that will aid in evaluating the effectiveness of their English as a Second Language (ESL)/bilingual programs.
- Used as a criteria for determining when an EL student will exit from the ESL program. Exit criteria is a 4.8 composite score. Once this score is achieved, students will no longer receive ESL services and will be placed on monitoring status for two academic years.
- Provides data to study changes in performance over time.
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs is a performance-based assessment developed specifically for English learners (ELs) in Grades 1-12 with significant cognitive disabilities.
Participation Criteria:
- Student must be classified as an EL.
- Student must be identified as eligible for special education services as a student with a significant cognitive disability.
- Student must be participating in an alternate curriculum and in the ACAP Alternate.
Title
Description
ACCESS for ELLs – Kindergarten
ACCESS for ELLs – Online Accommodation Selection Checklist
ACCESS for ELLs – ALSDE Approval Required
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Accommodation Selection Checklists
WIDA Screener Online Accommodation Checklist
Parent Resources
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National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do. NAEP is congressionally mandated, and was first administered in 1969 to measure student achievement nationally. NAEP is referred to as the Nation’s Report Card because it tells us how students across the country, not just in one particular school or state, are performing.
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NAEP Parent Resources
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Special Populations
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Description
Accessibility Supports and Accommodations Policy for State Assessments
This information is for potential EL students who enroll in an Alabama school during a closure.
One Percent CAP – Documents
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Description
District Justification for Exceeding the One Percent Cap 2023-2024
2023-2024 District Assurances
2023-2024 District Assurances
Alabama Sample Email to Superintendents Over the One Percent Cap Requirement Redacted
Alabama Timeline of Activities for the One Percent Cap Requirement 21-22
Alabama Justification for Exceeding One Percent Form 2021-2022
2020-2021 District Assurances
USDOE Letter to Approve the 1 Percent Cap Waiver 2021-2022
This document is intended to help guide IEP Teams to determine whether an alternate assessment program based on alternate academic achievement standards, is the most appropriate assessment for a student with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
2018-2019 LEA Alternative Participation Assurances
Alabama Alternative Assessment 2017-2018 State Participation Rate
Alabama Alternative Assessment 2016-2017 State Participation Rate
District IQ and IDEA Worksheet
1% Threshold District Student Information Worksheet
1% Threshold School Student Information Worksheet
Exceeding the 1% Threshold Justification Form 2018-2019
School IQ and IDEA Worksheet