The Wyoming Statewide Assessment System consists of six assessments, including ACCESS for ELLs, WIDA Alternate ACCESS, ACT, WorkKeys, WY-ALT, and WY-TOPP.
Students in grades 3-10 take the WY-TOPP and WY-ALT assessments for Math and English Language Arts (ELA). Grade 5, 7, and 9 students are also assessed in Writing on WY-TOPP. Students in grades 4, 8, and 10 are assessed in Science on WY-TOPP and WY-ALT.
In 2014, an AG’s Opinion was requested on the topic of Assessment Opt Out, and it was determined that “districts may not allow students or their parents to opt them out of the assessments provided by law.”
WY-TOPP results are used to help evaluate a school’s strengths and weaknesses, and to produce a School Performance Rating. See an overview of the 2022-23 School Performance Ratings results here. Individual student results are provided to parents, but have no direct effect on student grades.
2023-24 ASSESSMENT
Wyoming’s 2023-24 assessment results show slight decreases in overall proficiency rates within ELA and Science and a slight increase in Math. Overall student proficiency rates slightly decreased in English Language Arts (ELA) by 0.20% and in Science by 0.30% compared to 2022-23. Student proficiency rates in Math increased by 0.50%.
The WY-TOPP assessment began in 2017-18. In the spring of 2020, school districts received a waiver allowing them to forgo assessment; therefore, no data was produced. All three content areas remain slightly below pre-pandemic proficiency levels, ranging from 1.30% to 2.30% below the 2018-19 scores.
Understanding Your Results
Assessment results are released each fall. Upon release, school districts will send each student’s Individual Score Report (ISR) to parents/guardians. This report explains the results and identifies next steps for parents/guardians to continue supporting the learning efforts of their child.
For parents that require an individual student report in an alternate language or format, please contact the contact list for this page.
Cut Scores
Cut scores are specific scores that represent the overall knowledge a student showed based upon the answers provided on the test. Each performance level – Basic, Proficient, and Advanced includes a range of test scores that apply. These definitions are based on the Wyoming Content and Performance Standards and Performance Level Descriptors for the WY-TOPP tests and on Wyoming Extended Standards and Achievement Level Descriptors for the WY-ALT tests. Educators and parents can utilize the tables below in conjunction with the scale score shown on a student score report (ISR) to understand how the student performed on the test in relation to the content expected to be taught in their enrolled grade level.
The WY-TOPP cut scores are not vertically scaled, meaning they are not on a common scale from grade to grade. Care should be taken when making comparisons between scores in different grade levels. Performance levels are a more accurate representation when making these between-grade comparisons.
WY-TOPP Proficiency-Level Scores
WY-ALT Proficiency-Level Scores
