Spring 2022 Statewide Assessments

Dear District Administrators,

As all of you are aware, the testing windows for Statewide Assessments are open or open soon.  We strongly recommend that districts begin testing as soon as the test window starts, and finish most of the testing during the earlier part of the window. This allows time to do make-up assessments and ensures completion by the end of the windows for timely reporting.

The spring statewide assessments include the Forward Exam for students in grades 3-8, and 10; DLM assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-11; Aspire assessment for grades 9 and 10; and the 11th grade ACT assessment. Assessment dates can be found in each assessment’s calendar page on the Assessment in Wisconsin website. Resources to support administration including brochures for families, parent letter templates and frequently asked questions for each assessment can also be found on this website.

All of you know that test participation is important.  While we still face many, many challenges caused by the global pandemic, we also face state and federal laws that lack flexibility on assessing our students. All students are required to participate in the statewide assessments by both State (Wis. Stat. § 118.30) and Federal ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) law. Additionally, Wisconsin is required to resume its ESSA accountability system for the 2021-22 school year with new ESSA identifications slated to be released in fall 2022. Achievement scores are lowered for any student group with a test participation rate below 95% in the ESSA Accountability Reports. Because test participation matters for federal accountability and performance data validity, we ask districts to plan for successful test administrations with building leaders.

Please direct assessment related questions to osamail@dpi.wi.gov and accountability questions to oeamail@dpi.wi.gov.

Sincerely,