Dear Superintendents,
ACT scores for the class of 2017 were published this week. Here is a link to the media release from WDE:
Media Release: Class of 2017 ACT Results
A few key takeaways for Wyoming:
- Wyoming saw incremental growth across the board–partial point gains are important on this measure.
- Wyoming scored in the top half of states that administer the ACT to all students with less than a point separating us from #2 Colorado.
- 49% of students reported they were interested in a STEM career or STEM major. Wyoming workforce and labor data indicate that high demand occupations include semiconductor processors, wind turbine technicians, OT/PT aides, and nurse practitioners.
- Students taking the test two or more times had an average composite score of 22.4.
WY-TOPP Test the System Day
On Tuesday, September 5, about 25% of the districts participated in a “test the system” day. The purpose of the day was to test the state infrastructure for WY-TOPP with actual student traffic and to give schools an opportunity to interact with the new assessment. WDE staff visited 17 schools during the “test the test” day and debriefed afterward. Here are a few takeaways:
- The state infrastructure handled the statewide traffic and almost all were able to access the WY-TOPP platform without assistance.
- Kinks occurred at the local level and most were easily addressed, i.e. secure browsers, firewalls, etc.
- Students used computers, laptops, and tablets in mobile labs and in hard-wired labs. We were pleased to see the variety and how the state infrastructure handled it.
- WDE will continue to work with schools and districts.
- All schools should set up a local “test the system” date and use the training test that will remain live at wyoassessment.org
Memo to be released on September 11:
- 2017-098: Wyoming Next Step Assessment Clinic
- 2017-098 Attachment A: Application
Jillian
