The Wyoming Statewide Assessment System consists of six assessments including ACCESS for ELLs, WIDA Alternate ACCESS, ACT, WorkKeys, WY-ALT, and WY-TOPP.
The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reinforces the authority of states to decide which statewide assessments are the most appropriate for its students. Wyoming’s state assessment, the Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WY-TOPP), assesses students on the Wyoming Content and Performance Standards. It is administered online and is a computer-adaptive assessment. This state summative assessment is an end-of-year test that measures how much students have learned during the school year in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science.
Wyoming’s Alternate Assessment (WY-ALT), for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, is aligned to the Wyoming Extended Standards for English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. Approximately 1% of students participate in the WY-ALT.
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.
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.
The public is invited to experience a training test at wyoassessment.org, in the Students and Families section. The ELA and Math training tests contain assessment item types for grades 3–10. The ELA tests for grades 3, 6, and 9 also include sample listening questions. The Science training tests contain assessment items in each grade band (elementary, middle school, and high school). These training tests are designed to allow students to practice with the assessment platform and digital tools before the summative test.
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.
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
1% Threshold Information
The 1.0% Threshold relates to the federal accountability requirement that all students be included in state assessments. In the past (the 2003 Elementary and Secondary Education Act), the 1% was a “cap” on the number of children participating in alternate assessments who could be included in proficiency scores for accountability of all students assessed. Presently (since the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act), the 1% represents a threshold for participation in AA-AAAS at 1% of the total tested student population. It is not meant that IEP teams should not provide students with alternate assessments when appropriate because they are concerned about going over the 1% threshold. Student needs always come first. The federal establishment of the 1% threshold is consistent with research showing that some students assigned to the alternate assessment more appropriately should have been assessed with the general assessment in which all other students participated. States monitor the 1% participation rate and districts may exceed the 1% threshold should they have more students designated as SMSCD taking the alternate assessment. If that happens, states must submit a waiver for going over the 1% in any of the assessed subject areas.
Each year the WDE reviews districts’ participation in the WY-ALT and requests justifications from each LEA that anticipates being over the 1% threshold. Click here for a list of districts that were over the participation threshold on the Spring 2023 alternate assessment administration.
District justifications for exceeding the 1.0 percent participation threshold are publicly available by submitting a public information request to Linda Finnerty at linda.finnerty@wyo.gov or mailing the request to 122 W. 25th St, Ste E200, Cheyenne, WY 82002.
