Overview
During the 2015-16 school year, Wisconsin rolled out a new assessment called the Wisconsin Forward Exam. The Exam is designed to gauge how well students are doing in relation to the Wisconsin Academic Standards. These standards outline what students should know and be able to do in order to be college and career ready. The Forward Exam is administered online in the spring of each school year at:
- grades 3-8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics,
- grades 4 and 8 in Science and,
- grades 4, 8, and 10 in Social Studies.
Accommodations and supports for students with disabilities and/or English language learners are built into the system so that the progress of students can be accurately measured.
The Forward Exam is a high quality, research-based, and affordable online assessment that meets Wisconsin’s expectations. It is a customized assessment with innovative item types that includes test questions reviewed and approved by Wisconsin educators.
What's New
The 2023-24 Accessibility Guide is now available on the Forward Exam Accommodations and Supports webpage. There have been some significant updates to the Accessibility Guide for 2023-24 which include Text-to-Speech (TTS), Stacked Translation (Spanish), Closed Caption, Listening Script, and Magnifier Tool. There have also been some minor updates throughout the guide. Please ensure ALL staff are made aware of and review the updated Accessibility Guide for the 2024 test administration.
Quick Contacts
DRC Help Desk
Forward Exam Program Manager
(608) 266-5182
Jennifer Teasdale
Forward Exam
(608) 266-5193
Phil Cranley
Data, Student Demographics, and Privacy Issues
(608) 266-9798
Duane Dorn
Test Security
(608) 267-1069