2020-2021 Assessment
State
Testing
v Tennessee
Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP)
TCAP is the state’s testing program and it includes TNReady state
assessments (math and English/language arts), social studies and science. Annual assessments play a key role in the
teaching and learning process, and they are critical to ensure that all
students are meeting higher standards and are making progress on their path to
postsecondary and the workforce. The TCAP assessments are designed to provide
Tennessee students, teachers, and families with better information about what
students know and understand. Visit the state’s Assessment Website for more information.
v TNReady
English/Language Arts
TNReady is TCAP’s assessment for grades 3-8 in
English/language arts and measures student performance against specific state
standards. This assessment is administered as four subparts, all administered
in the spring semester. TNReady is grade-specific in grades 3-8 and will
account for 15% of the student’s 2nd semester grade this year.
TNReady is TCAP’s assessment, which is
administered to students enrolled in English I/II. This test is administered in
the fall or spring semester. It will account for 15% of a student’s semester
grade.
Test dates for high school fall semester classes are November 30 –
December 17, 2020.
Tests administration dates for grades 3-8 and high school
spring semester classes are April 12 – May 6, 2021.
Detailed score reports will be available Fall 2021.
v TNReady Mathematics
TNReady is TCAP’s assessment for grades 3-8 in
mathematics and measures student performance against specific state standards.
This assessment is administered as three subparts, all administered in the
spring semester. TNReady is grade-specific in grades 3-8 and will account for
15% of the student’s 2nd semester grade this year.
TNReady is TCAP’s assessment, which is
administered to students enrolled in Algebra I/II and geometry. It is
administered in the fall and/or spring semester and accounts for 15% of a
student’s semester grade.
Test dates for high school fall semester classes are November 30 –
December 17, 2020.
Tests administration dates for grades 3-8 and high school are
April 12 – May 6, 2021.
Detailed score reports will be available Fall 2021.
.
v Science
TCAP’s assessment for grades 3-8 in science measures student
performance against specific state standards. This assessment is administered
as one or two subparts, all administered in the spring semester. TCAP is
grade-specific in grades 3-8 and will count for 15% of the student’s 2nd
semester grade this year.
The TCAP Science test will be administered to all high school
students enrolled in Biology. It is administered in the fall and/or spring
semester and accounts for 15% of a student’s semester grade.
Test dates for high school fall semester classes are November 30 –
December 17, 2020.
Tests administration dates for grades 3-8 and high school are
April 12 – May 6, 2021.
Detailed score reports will be available Fall 2021.
v Social Studies
TNReady is TCAP’s assessment for grades 6-8 in
social studies and measures student performance against specific state
standards. This assessment is administered as one or two subparts, all
administered in the spring semester. TNReady is grade-specific in grades 6-8 and
will account for 15% of the student’s 2nd semester grade this year.
For high school, it is administered to all
students enrolled in US History and Geography and accounts for 15% of the student’s
2nd semester grade.
Test dates for high school fall semester classes are November 30 –
December 17, 2020.
Tests administration dates for grades 6 -8 and high school
are April 12 – May 6, 2021.
Detailed score reports will be available Fall 2021.
v Grades 2 Assessment
Students
in grade 2 will take assessments in English language arts and math. This test is given
to help measure how much a second grade student grows academically over the
course of a school year. Grade 2 tests will not count towards a student’s
semester grade.
Tests administration dates for grades 3-8 and high school are
April 12 – May 6, 2021.
Student
scores will be available Fall 2020. Scores will be sent home with the
student.
v Alternative Assessments
TCAP alternate assessments are for students with the most
significant cognitive disabilities whom participation in the typical state
assessment is inappropriate, even with the use of extensive accommodations.
These assessments measure standards in English/language arts, mathematics,
science and social studies for grades 3-8. Students in high school must
complete one science assessment in their sophomore year and one English and one
mathematics assessment their junior year. These tests will take place over a two-month
window in the spring. These tests will not count towards a student’s semester
grade.
The
tentative administration dates are March 15 – April 30, 2021.
Detailed
score reports are delivered to the schools for distribution.
v ACCESS for ELLs
WIDA’s ACCESS for ELLs assessment is for
English Language Learners (ELLs) in grades K-12. This assessment measures
English language proficiency levels with respect to the WIDA ELP Standards and
is used as one criterion to determine when ELLs have attained the language
proficiency needed to participate meaningfully in content area. ACCESS is
administered February 17 – April 3, 2021. Scores and other information are
delivered to the schools for distribution in August. Results are not used for
grades.
v Civics Test
State law requires students to participate in a
civics test as a graduation requirement. While this test must be based on items
from the US Citizenship Test, how and when it is administered is a district
decision. DCS chooses to administer its version of the civics test during US
Government and Civics class. The date to administer the test is determined by
the instructor.
v ACT
TCAP includes a school day state administration
of the ACT in the spring for all 11th graders as well as an optional national
administration in the fall for any 12th graders. ACT is an achievement test
that assesses students’ academic readiness for college. The ACT measures what
students have learned throughout high school and is a graduation requirement.
The test also assesses post-secondary academic preparedness, and colleges and
universities use results to make acceptance and placement decisions.
Administration Dates
(Given during school day)
ACT Senior
Retake: September 22, 2020
Junior ACT:
March 2 or March 30, 2021 {exact date will be set at a later date}
Junior ACT
make-up dates: Date to be determined
ACT provides student level reports to students
approximately three to eight weeks after the administration of the assessment.
National ACT testing dates (Saturday testing)
Test Date |
Deadline |
Late Deadline |
Score Release* |
Sept. 12, 2020 |
Aug. 7, 2020 |
Aug 21, 2020 |
Sept. 22; Oct. 16 2019 |
Oct. 24, 2020 |
Sept. 20. 2020 |
Oct. 4, 2020 |
Nov. 3; Nov. 17, 2020 |
Dec. 12, 2020 |
Nov. 6, 2020 |
Nov. 20, 2020 |
Dec. 22; Jan. 5, 2021 |
Feb. 6, 2021 |
Jan. 8, 2021 |
Jan. 15, 2021 |
Feb. 16; Mar. 1, 2021 |
Apr. 17, 2021 |
Mar 5, 2021 |
Mar. 19, 2021 |
Apr. 20; May 4, 2021 |
June 12, 2021 |
May 7, 2021 |
May 21, 2021 |
June 22; July 6, 2021 |
July 17, 2021 |
June 11, 2021 |
June 25, 2021 |
July 27; Aug. 10, 2021 |
*The first date is when multiple-choice scores come out, and the second date is when complete scores become available
v National
Assessment of Educational Progress
NAEP is a national assessment of what America’s
students know and can do in various subject areas, and its results serve as a
common metric for all states and selected urban districts. Assessments are
conducted periodically through sampling in mathematics, reading, science,
writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, US history, and technology and
engineering literacy.
District
Testing
District
assessments are not part of TCAP and are administered at the discretion of DCS.
In some cases, the state mandates students are to be tested for a particular
purpose but the district has flexibility in how to test those students. Other
district assessments are required by local policy or administrative directive.
v Universal Screening/STAR
The state requires districts to universally
screen students as part of its Response to Instruction and Intervention system,
and DCS uses STAR assessments to meet that requirement. The purpose of STAR is
to provide a data snapshot of a student’s current performance at three points
during the school year and, in some cases, progress throughout the school year,
in a variety of academic areas using national norms as comparison points
without a large sacrifice of instructional time.
These
tests include:
STAR Early Literacy (grades PreK-2)
STAR Reading (grades 3-11)
STAR Math (grades 3-8)
STAR Benchmark dates are as follows:
Grades 3-8
Fall Benchmark Aug.8 thru Aug. 28, 2020
Winter Benchmark Nov. 30 thru Dec. 18,
2020
Spring Benchmark May 3 thru May 14,
2021
Grades 9-12 To Be Determined
·
Common Assessments (grades 9 -12)
Common
assessments at Dyer County High School will be given in math and English. Common
assessments are used to gather evidence for the purpose of improving learning,
and to provide evidence of student achievement for the purpose of a judgment
about student competence and/or program effectiveness. Results are typically
available with 2 days of testing. Student scores count as 50% of the student’s
grade.
These
assessments will be administered on the following dates:
Common
Assessment (Year-long Courses)
To Be Determined
Common Assessment (Semester-Long Courses)
To Be
Determined
v Semester Exams
Semester exams are given at the end of each
semester for high school courses. Semester exams are constructed by teacher
teams at the school level and are administered according to the school’s
specific semester exam schedule.
v CASE Benchmark Assessments
TE21’s CASE Benchmark Assessments are designed
to gauge the academic progress of students and to provide timely feedback that
can be used by teachers to guide instruction. CASE assessments are
administrated to students in grades 3-12 in Mathematics, English/Language Arts
and Science.
Grades 2-8
Fall Benchmark Sept. 21
thru Oct. 2, 2020
Winter Benchmark Nov. 30 thru Dec. 17, 2020
Spring Benchmark Mar. 1 thru Mar. 12, 2021
Grades 9-12 To Be Determined
Start
of Year (SOY) Benchmark
SOY
Checkpoint is an assessment used to check students’ progress and receive
actionable data for the coming school year.
Grades
3-8 Sept. 8
thru Sept. 11, 2020
Grades
9-10 To Be Determined
College
Readiness Tests
v ACT
While
the state’s TCAP system includes its own administration of the ACT, there are
seven other national testing dates for ACT throughout the year. Students often
choose to participate on one of these dates to include the writing portion of
the ACT (which is not available during the TCAP administration). Students can
also use these dates to retake the ACT for a higher score, increasing
post-secondary opportunities.
Registration
for ACT’s national testing dates is done through the vendor’s website.
v Advanced Placement (AP)
Students
enrolled in college-level AP courses in high school may choose to take the
corresponding AP subject exams in the spring to assess their mastery of the
content. Success on these AP exams leads to opportunities for earning college
credit or advanced standing at most post-secondary institutions.
Registration
for AP exams is conducted at the school level. Contact Dyer County High School
AP Coordinator for information about scheduling and fees. More information is
available at The College Board’s website.