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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.

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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 2^nd 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)

*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.