Annual Assessments

Details: Last Updated: 17 September 2021 17 September 2021

The current Sioux Falls School District assessment program includes both district-developed and state-mandated achievement testing. The South Dakota General Education Assessments and the SD Alternate Assessments are state-mandated tests that take place in grades 3-8 and 11 for Math and English Language Arts. The South Dakota Science and Science Alternate Assessment are state-mandated tests that take place in grades 5, 8, and 11 for Science. The WIDA ACCESS for ELLs test is administered to all qualifying ELL students at Grades K-12. MAP Growth Assessments are administered in grades K-8 in Math, Reading, and Language Usage. Semester tests are developed at the district level for selected courses in English, Mathematics, Personal Finance, Science, Social Studies, and World Language. Assessment data is reported to parents/guardians and is available online for district staff.

High School students MAY ELECT to take college entrance tests such as the American College Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) is available to students who wish to be considered for a National Merit Scholarship. Students (and/or parents) should reach out to the high school regarding information about testing dates, locations, and how to get registered online.

Date	Assessment	Grade Levels	Purpose	Contact
May 27 – Aug. 25	Course Equivalency Exams (at Central Services)	9 through 12	Option for high school students to receive credit for DOE approved courses prior to attending the class (Estimated test time = 90 minutes)	Assessment and Evaluation
Aug. 26 – May 24	Course Equivalency Exams (in Buildings)	9 through 12		*Individual results are shared with parents/guardians within 15 days	CE proctor in building
Aug. 25 – May 6	SD Interim Assessments (IAB’s & FIAB’s)	3 through 12	Formative assessments available within the Smarter Balanced system (Estimated test time = 20 minutes)	Curriculum Services
Aug. 30 - Sept. 17	MAP Growth Assessment and Alt.	K through 2 (math only)	Formative assessment to guide instruction and measure student growth in reading, language usage, and math (Estimated test time = 60 min per test)	Assessment and Evaluation
Aug. 30 - Sept. 17	MAP Growth Assessment and Alt.			Assessment and Evaluation	3 through 8	*Individual results are shared with parents/guardians at conferences
Aug. 30 - Sept. 17	MAP Reading Fluency and Alt.	K through 2	Formative assessment to guide instruction and measure student growth in early reading skills (phonological awareness, phonics & word recognition, vocabulary, listening comprehension, decoding, and literal comprehension) (Estimated test time = 25 to 40 min per test)	Assessment and Evaluation
Aug. 30 - Sept. 17	MAP Reading Fluency and Alt.	K through 2		Assessment and Evaluation			*Individual results are shared with parents/guardians at conferences
Sept. 13 - 24	Reading Inventory (RI) and Phonics Inventory (PI)	6 through 8	Determine reading intervention needs (Estimated test time = 15 to 30 minutes)	Special Services
Oct. 21	National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)	12	The ACT® NCRC is a national credential designed to offer an accurate prediction about the success of people in the workplace	Assessment and Evaluation
Fall 2021	Youth Risk Behavior Survey	9 through 12 (Schools selected by SD Dept. of Health)	Federally funded research with support from SD School Administrators	SD Dept. of Health
Oct. 1 – Nov. 1	NNAT3 Gifted Screener	2	District-wide screener for Gifted Ed identification (Estimated test time = 30 to 90 minutes)	Assessment and Evaluation
Nov. 26 – Dec. 21	Olweus Servey	3 through 8	Data used to support the efforts of Olweus at the Elementary and Middle School levels	Student Support Services
Dec. 1 - 22 (Winter window cannot start until Dec 1)	MAP Growth Assessment and Alt.	K through 2 (math only)	Formative assessment to guide instruction and measure student growth in reading, language usage, and math (Estimated test time = 60 min per test)	Assessment and Evaluation
Dec. 1 - 22 (Winter window cannot start until Dec 1)	MAP Growth Assessment and Alt.			Assessment and Evaluation	3 through 8	*Individual results are shared with parents/guardians at conferences
Dec. 1 - 22 (Winter window cannot start until Dec 1)	MAP Reading Fluency and Alt	K through 2	Formative assessment to guide instruction and measure student growth in early reading skills (phonological awareness, phonics & word recognition, vocabulary, listening comprehension, decoding, and literal comprehension) (Estimated test time = 25 to 40 min per test)	Assessment and Evaluation
Dec. 1 - 22 (Winter window cannot start until Dec 1)	MAP Reading Fluency and Alt	K through 2		Assessment and Evaluation			*Individual results are shared with parents/guardians at conferences
Dec. 6 - 16	Reading Inventory (RI) and Phonics Inventory (PI)	6 through 8	Determine reading intervention needs (Estimated test time = 15 to 30 minutes)	Special Services
Jan. 11 – 13 (MS)	District HS Semester One Tests	7 through 12	Summative assessments for selected high school courses offered across the district (Estimated test time = 90 minutes)	Assessment and Evaluation
Jan. 12 – 13 (HS)	District HS Semester One Tests	7 through 12		Assessment and Evaluation
Jan. 24 – Feb. 25	ACCESS for ELLs® and ACCESS for ELLs Alternate Assessment	All EL Students (K through 12)	State required assessment to measure English language proficiency for students identified as EL (Estimated test time = 3 hours)	Assessment and Evaluation
Jan. 24 – Feb. 25	ACCESS for ELLs® and ACCESS for ELLs Alternate Assessment	All EL Students (K through 12)		Assessment and Evaluation			*Individual results are shared with parents/guardians at the end of the year
Winter 2022	National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)	4 and 8	The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subjects. Its two major goals are to measure student achievement and to report change in student performance over time (Estimated test time = 90 to 120 minutes)	SD DOE
TBD	Tobacco Survey	6 through 8	Research partnership with SDSDU and support from SD School Administrators	SD Dept. of Health
March 7 – May 6	SD English Language Arts Assessment and SD Math Assessment	3 through 8, 11	State required summative assessment measuring ELA and math achievement (Estimated test time = 2 to 4 hours per test)	Assessment and Evaluation
March 7 – May 6	SD English Language Arts Assessment and SD Math Assessment	3 through 8, 11		Assessment and Evaluation			*Individual results are sent home during the summer
March 7 - May 6	SD Science and Science Alternate	5, 8, 11	State required summative assessment measuring science achievement (Estimated test time = 2 hours)	Assessment and Evaluation
March 7 - May 6	SD Science and Science Alternate	5, 8, 11		Assessment and Evaluation			*Individual results for the SD Science Assessment are sent home in the summer; SD Science Alternate individual results are shared the following fall.
March 14 –April 29	SD ELA and Math Alternate Assessment	3 through 8, 11	State required alternate, summative assessment measuring ELA and math achievement for identified SPED students (Estimated test time = 2.5 hours)	Special Services
March 14 –April 29	SD ELA and Math Alternate Assessment	3 through 8, 11		Special Services	State-Mandated Assessments	State-Mandated Assessments	*Individual results are shared with parents/guardians the following fall.	State-Mandated Assessments
April 4 - 15	Reading Inventory (RI) and Phonics Inventory (PI)	6 through 8	Determine reading intervention needs (Estimated test time = 15 to 30 minutes)	Special Services
April 25 - May 13	MAP Growth Assessment and Alt.	K through 2 (math only)	Formative assessment to guide instruction and measure student growth in reading, language usage, and math (Estimated test time = 60 min per test)	Assessment and Evaluation
April 25 - May 13	MAP Growth Assessment and Alt.			Assessment and Evaluation	3 through 8	*Individual results are sent home at the end of the school year
April 25 - May 13	MAP Reading Fluency and Alt	K through 2	Formative assessment to guide instruction and measure student growth in early reading skills (phonological awareness, phonics & word recognition, vocabulary, listening comprehension, decoding, and literal comprehension) (Estimated test time = 25 to 40 min per test)	Assessment and Evaluation
April 25 - May 13	MAP Reading Fluency and Alt	K through 2		Assessment and Evaluation			*Individual results are sent home at the end of the school year
May 2 – 13State-Mandated Assessments	AP – Advanced Placement ExamsState-Mandated Assessments	9 through 12State-Mandated Assessments	Optional tests for students in AP courses; colleges use score to determine if students receive credit.State-Mandated Assessments	Curriculum ServicesState-Mandated Assessments
April 25 - May 27	STAMP Spanish Immersion Testing	5, 8, HS	Summative assessment to measure Spanish language proficiency (Estimated test time = 1.5 to 3 hours)	Curriculum Services
May 19 - 23 (MS)	District HS Semester Two Tests	7 through 12	Summative assessments for selected high school courses offered across the district (Estimated test time = 90 minutes)	Assessment and Evaluation
May 23 - 24 (HS)	District HS Semester Two Tests	7 through 12		Assessment and Evaluation

Green = Surveys

Yellow = State-Mandated Assessments

Please read the following in regards to state-mandated assessments. If you have any further questions, please contact your building principal.

SDCL 13-3-55. Academic achievement tests. Every public school district shall annually administer the same assessment to all students in grades three to eight, inclusive, and in grade eleven. The assessment shall measure the academic progress of each student. Every public school district shall annually administer to all students in at least two grade levels an achievement test to assess writing skills. The assessment instruments shall be provided by the Department of Education, and the department shall determine the two grade levels to be tested. The tests shall be administered within timelines established by the Department of Education by rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26 starting in the spring of the 2002-2003 school year. Each state-designed test shall be correlated with the state's content standards. The South Dakota Board of Education Standards may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 to provide for administration of all assessments.

ARSD 24:55:07:02. At least 95 percent assessed. A school shall administer the state academic assessment to at least 95 percent of the students and 95 percent of students within a student group who are enrolled in the tested grades for the state academic assessment on May first. If a school fails to administer the state assessments to 95 percent of students or of the members of a student group, those students necessary to be counted to reach 95 percent shall receive a value of zero in calculating the student achievement key indicator.

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Assessment and Evaluation

Annual Assessments