Changes to Statewide Assessments
For the 2016-2017 school year, there will be changes occurring in the state of Nebraska when it comes to statewide assessments. One of the first changes that will occur is that all juniors (third-year cohort) in the state of Nebraska will be required to take the ACT assessment in the spring. In years past, juniors (third-year cohort) took the NeSA-Reading, Math, Science, and Writing assessment. The ACT assessment is a rigorous norm-referenced college entrance exam.
The second change that will occur is that the NeSA-Reading assessment went away and all 3rd-8th grade students will take the new college and career ready NeSA-English Language Arts assessment in the spring. On the new NeSA-English Language Arts assessment, it will include the following item types: multiple choice (MC), multiple select (MS), evidence-based selected response (EBSR), auto-scored constructed response (ASCR), and a text-dependent analysis (TDA) essay in grades 5th-8th.
When the rigor goes up on new statewide assessments it is very typical to see test scores go down (It is also very typical to see the overall district scores go down as well). Do not feel alarmed if your son or daughter’s test score goes down on either the ACT assessment or the new college and career ready NeSA-English Language Arts assessment.
If you have any questions or concerns about the changes to statewide assessments in the state of Nebraska, please feel free to contact me. We look forward to partnering with you throughout the school year.
Christopher Prososki, Ed.D.
PK-12 Principal