Assessment - Hamilton School District

Report card guides

Annual Notice of Student Assessment Information

This notice is intended to inform parents and guardians of students attending school in the Hamilton School District and the general public of the state, federal, and District-required assessments that are being administered to students in the District.

Students with disabilities and English Learners participate in the required assessments, with appropriate modifications where necessary, or in alternative assessments as deemed necessary or appropriate consistent with legal requirements.

I. Testing as Part of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires all states to test all students in English language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8 and once in high school, and to test all students in science at least once in grades 3-5, once in grades 6-9, and once in grades 10-12.

Wisconsin state statutes also require certain testing in grades 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, and 11, including periodic testing in social studies. The tests that address these state and federal requirements comprise the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS). The District administers the following WSAS assessments to students:

The Wisconsin Forward Exam is administered to students in grades 3-8 in English language arts and mathematics, in grades 4 and 8 in science, and in grades 4, 8, and 10 in social studies.

The Forward Exam is a computer-administered, summative assessment which provides information about what students know and what students can do in relation to the Wisconsin State Standards. The assessment includes a variety of different question/item types.

Forward Exam results provide valuable information about student performance for individual students, District educators, and other stakeholders.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 130 minutes for ELA; 90–115 minutes for mathematics; 105 minutes for science; 70 minutes for social studies.

TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: March 18-April 26, 2024

DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS: Assessment results are shared with families once the state mails reports to the district each June. They are provided to families at summer registration (TMS and HHS) or during Fall Great Start Conferences (elementary and SSI).

PreACT Secure™ is an online, summative assessment given to 9th and 10th grade students to measure what students have learned in the areas of English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science.

PreACT Secure closely mirrors the ACT in many ways, including implementation, test delivery, scoring, and reporting. PreACT Secure scores predict how students will perform on the ACT when they reach 11th grade and their readiness for college-level coursework.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 155 minutes

TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: March 18-April 26, 2024

DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
Assessment results are provided to families at summer registration.

The ACT® with Writing assessment is administered to students in grade 11. The ACT is an in-person assessment that districts may administer on paper or online. The ACT tests students’ skills and knowledge in reading, mathematics, English, science and writing. Accommodations and English Learner supports are available.

The scores from the administration of the ACT with Writing (if taken with ACT Standard Time or ACT-approved accommodations) can be used by students for a variety of purposes including college admission, scholarships, course placement, and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 220 minutes

TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: March 12-22, 2024

DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
Students receive an email from ACT indicating when their results will be available, typically within 5-9 of completing the assessment.

All students are administered the above-mentioned assessments, with or without accommodations, except students with significant cognitive disabilities who are administered an alternative assessment – the Dynamic Learning Maps™ (DLM™).

The DLM is administered to students with significant cognitive disabilities in the subject areas of English language arts and mathematics in grades 3-11, science in grades 4 and 8–11, and social studies in grades 4, 8, and 10. This online assessment is delivered via the computer; however, some students may need their teacher to present the items to them and enter the student’s response into the online platform.

The DLM system is designed to map a student’s learning throughout the year and uses items and tasks that are embedded in day-to-day instruction. The assessment results give teachers the opportunity to see what students know during the year when teachers still have time to change instruction to better support student learning.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 150 minutes

TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: March 18-April 26, 2024

School level summary reports of the results of the WSAS academic assessments are available to the public on the Department of Public Instruction’s website at the WISEdash Public Portal.

II. Other Student Assessments Required by State & Federal Laws

Reading Readiness Assessment

As required by state law, the District administers a reading readiness assessment to students in 4-year-old kindergarten through grade 2. The District uses MyIGDIS Early Literacy Screener at K4 and FASTbridge aReading at grades K-2.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: Both assessments take approximately 20-45 minutes to complete.
TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: Fall and Spring
DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS: Results are sent home with students in October and May/June of each school year.

English Learner Assessments

As required by state and federal laws, the District administers the following assessments to English Learners:

The WIDA Screener is an assessment administered to students newly enrolled in the District in grades 1-12 who have been identified through the enrollment process, and in accordance with District procedures, as possible English Learners.

The WIDA Screener is administered primarily in an online format, with limited exceptions for certain writing components and for individualized accommodations. For such newly-enrolled students who are in kindergarten, the District uses the [insert the name(s) of the kindergarten assessment(s) used in the school district–e.g., “WIDA Screener for Kindergarten” or “WIDA MODEL for Kindergarten”] assessment(s). The assessment for kindergarten students is in a paper-and-pencil format.

These English language proficiency assessments address the language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing and help the District to determine whether or not a child is in need of English language instructional services, and if so, at what level.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 15 minutes for Reading; 15 minutes for Listening; 25 minutes for Speaking; 25 minutes for Writing.

TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: as needed

DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
Families will be notified with results within 2–4 weeks of assessment completion.

The ACCESS for ELLs® assessment is administered, with or without accommodations, to students in grades K-12 who have been identified as English Learners, including those who receive special education services.

This online assessment is administered annually to English Learners to measure English language proficiency and to ensure that they are progressing in achieving full English proficiency.

ACCESS for ELLs® assessment results: (1) help students and families understand students’ current level of English language proficiency along the developmental continuum; (2) serve as one of multiple measures used to determine whether students are prepared to exit English language support programs; (3) generate information that assists in determining whether English Learners have attained the language proficiency needed to participate meaningfully in content area classrooms without program support; (4) provide teachers with information they can subsequently use to enhance instruction and learning in programs for their English Learners; and, (5) provide the District with information that can be used in evaluating the effectiveness of the District’s English Learner/bilingual programs.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 60 minutes for Reading; 65 minutes for Listening; 50 minutes for Speaking; 90 minutes for Writing.

TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: December 4-February 2

DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
Results are either mailed home or sent home with students in late April/early May of each school year after the state mails the results to the district.

The Alternate ACCESS for ELLs™ assessment is administered to students in grades 1-12 who are identified as English Learners and have significant cognitive disabilities that prevent their meaningful participation in the ACCESS for ELLs® assessment.

The assessment results are used to monitor student progress on an annual basis, establish when English Learners have attained English language proficiency according to state criteria, inform classroom instruction and assessment, and aid in program decision making.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 30 minutes for Reading; 30 minutes for Listening; 30 minutes for Speaking; 30 minutes for Writing.

TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: December 4-February 2

DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
Results are either mailed home or sent home with students in late April/early May of each school year after the state mails the results to the district.

High School Civics Test

As required by state law, the District administers a civics test to high school students. The civics test is comprised of 100 questions that are identical to the 100 questions that may be asked of an individual during the process of applying for U.S. citizenship by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Successful completion of this civics test is a requirement for high school graduation in the District. A student may retake the civics test until the student obtains the passing score. For students with disabilities who have an individualized education program (IEP), this requirement shall be modified or waived to the extent provided by the student’s IEP and/or by applicable law.

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 30-45 minutes
TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: When a student takes the Civics and Economics course at Hamilton High School.
DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS: Students receive their scores via Infinite Campus within 1 week of completing the assessment.

National Assessment of Educational Progress

Because the District receives funding under a federal program referred to as “Title I,” one or more District schools may periodically be selected through a national sampling procedure to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

NAEP is described as a survey assessment that generally produces results for populations and defined groups of students. It is not designed to report results for individual students, by school, or by school district. NAEP testing, if applicable, typically involves students in grade 4, grade 8, and/or grade 12. However, students sometimes participate by age rather than by grade level. There are different types of NAEP assessments; and, although much of the testing focuses on reading and math, NAEP testing can cover additional subjects.

More information about NAEP testing is available from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction at https://dpi.wi.gov/assessment/naep. [Insert if accurate: “If a District school will be participating in NAEP assessments in any school year, the District will provide additional information to affected students and their parents/guardians.”]

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENTS SPEND COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT: 90-120 minutes.
TIME PERIOD ADMINISTERED: Assessment windows can be found on the NAEP website.
DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS: The timeline for results to be released can be found on the NAEP website.

III.Student Participation in Assessments and “Opt-Out” Information

Parents and guardians of students attending school in the District may request information regarding student participation in any of the federal, state, or District-required assessments, including any parental rights they may have to opt their child out of taking a required assessment, from the Student Services department or principal of their child’s school. Student Services or the principal shall provide the requested information, to the extent available, in a timely manner.