Results on student assessment tests administered during the 2016-17 school year held steady in Wisconsin, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. That includes results for the Forward, ACT Plus Writing, and Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM).
The exams are part of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS), the statewide assessments for more than 453,000 public and private choice students grades three through 8, and grade 11. In Wisconsin, 98.4% of students took the assessments. Choice schools had a participation rate of 93.1%. Participation was by by 5,713 students statewide from the previous school year.
DPI said this was the second year of the online Forward Exam and the third year of the DLM given to students with significant cognitive disabilities. This was the third year of administration of the ACT Plus Writing and DLM for students enrolled in 11th grade. Results for all students taking the test show an ACT composite score that was the same as last year: 20.0.
The Forward Exam is made up of ELA and mathematics exams for grades three through eight, science exams in grades four and eight, and social studies for students in grades four, eight and 10. The ACT Plus Writing is given at grade 11 and is made up of ELA (English, reading and writing), mathematics, and science subtests.
The DLM which is Wisconsin’s alternate assessment is given in grades four, eight and 11. 5,890 public students took this assessment.
On Tuesday, DPI announced that student participation and performance on Advanced Placement exams improved in Wisconsin this year. The state had a 5.7% increase in participation from the prior year, with more than 42,000 public school students taking AP exams last May, an increase of more than 2300 test-takers.
The exams are scored on a scale of one through five, with scores of three or higher generally receiving college credit, advanced standing, or both at many colleges and universities. Wisconsin students had 65.9 % of their exams scored three or higher compared to 65.5 percent in 2016. Disparities in achievement among student groups by race and ethnicity are apparent both in Wisconsin and nationally.