Kindergarten: Brigance Early Childhood Screening III
The Brigance is a collection of quick and reliable early childhood education assessments and data-gathering tools that are nationally standardized. All students are required to be assessed upon entrance to Kindergarten to identify individual student needs and track progress, specifically regarding a student’s literacy level.
Grades K-3: Measures of Academic Performance (MAP)
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is a computer-adaptive assessment utilized to monitor student growth to inform and personalize instruction.
MAP was officially adopted by the State Board of Education to assess Nevada students as a part of the Read by Grade Three (RBG3) program. SB 391, Nevada's Read by Grade 3 Act, became effective on July 1, 2015. This statute was designed to dramatically improve student achievement by ensuring that all students will be able to read proficiently by the end of the 3rd grade. With the implementation of MAP in school year 2017-18, Nevada will, for the first time, have aligned standards, professional development, assessments, and expectations in Kindergarten through 3rd grade.
MAP was officially adopted by the State Board of Education to assess Nevada students as a part of the Read by Grade Three (RBG3) program. SB 391, Nevada's Read by Grade 3 Act, became effective on July 1, 2015. This statute was designed to dramatically improve student achievement by ensuring that all students will be able to read proficiently by the end of the 3rd grade. With the implementation of MAP in school year 2017-18, Nevada will, for the first time, have aligned standards, professional development, assessments, and expectations in Kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Grades 3-8: Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC)
The Smarter Balanced assessments (SBAC) are a key part of measuring student progress in grades 3-8 towards success in college and career. The computer-adaptive format and online administration of the assessments provide meaningful feedback that teachers and parents can use to help students succeed. The assessments are aligned with the Nevada Academic Content Standards in ELA and mathematics. Results from SBAC are included on the Nevada Report Card. The tests include various types of answer choice response along with a performance task including short –answer and essay-type responses.
Grades K-12: English Language Proficiency Assessment (WIDA)
The ESSA of 2015 requires that students identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP) are annually assessed for English proficiency in the four domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing on English Language Proficiency Assessment. The WIDA Consortium provides Nevada’s English Proficiency Examination. This language assessment does not replace the State English Language Arts Tests (SBAC or EOC) required by state law.
Grades 4 and 8: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also referred to as the Nations Report Card, is a continuing and nationally representative assessment of student performance in several content areas including, but not limited to reading, mathematics, science, writing, and U.S. history.
NAEP is governed by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and is conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) which is part of the U.S. Department of Education. Results are confidential and results are not reported in terms of individual students. Results are reported for the state or as part of the national results.
NAEP is governed by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and is conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) which is part of the U.S. Department of Education. Results are confidential and results are not reported in terms of individual students. Results are reported for the state or as part of the national results.
Grades 5, 8 and 10: Science
To fulfill federal testing regulations all public school students in 5th, 8th, and 10th grade must participate in the Science assessments. There is also an End of Course examination in science that students will need to pass to fulfill high school graduation requirements (starting with the graduating class of 2020). The Science assessments are a computer-based test administered at schools once a year in the spring. Spring 2017 is the first year that Nevada Science scores will report on student performance based on the newly adopted Nevada Academic Content Standards for Science. The State Board of Education and the Nevada Council on Academic Standards will set achievement level cut scores during summer 2017.
Grades 7-13: End of Course Exam
End of Course (EOC) examinations measure how well a student understands the subject they are enrolled in. Currently, students take the EOC exam at the conclusion of the aligned course as an end of course final. The EOC exams are administered and scored at the school or district level with the Writing section of the test being hand-scored by the state’s assessment vendor. The EOC exams are aligned to the NVACS in ELA, mathematics, and science. EOCs are administered in the following subjects:
- Math I Emphasis on Algebra I
- Math II Emphasis on Geometry
- Integrated Mathematics 1
- Integrated Mathematics 2
- English Language Arts I, Focus on Reading Comprehension
- English Language Arts II, Focus on Writing
Grades 3 -13: Nevada Alternative Assessment
The NAA is the state assessment of alternate achievement standards. The assessment is administered to less than 1% of all students in Nevada who meet the strict criteria required in order to be assessed with the NAA. The NAA assesses student academic performance on Nevada Content Standards through direct observation of specific tasks. Each task is an indication of a specific academic skill that has been linked to grade level content. These observations are recorded as digital video-clips that are scored by the classroom teacher. Later, during a validation score session, a second scorer will view the digital video-clips and validate that the score provided by the classroom teacher is accurate.
Grades 9-13: Career and Technical Education (CTE)
There are two types of CTE Assessments. The Workplace Readiness Skills Assessment measures student proficiency in the Employability Skills for Career Readiness state standards. The End-of-Program Technical Assessments are program specific and measure the skill attainment of students who have completed a program course sequence. These assessments are aligned to the state standards and are required by the Nevada Administrative
Grade 11: College and Career Readiness Assessments (ACT)
To be eligible for graduation, all students, free of charge, must participate in Nevada’s College and Career Readiness (CCR) assessment during their junior year of high school on the day selected for testing. The State Board of Education chose the ACT as Nevada’s CCR assessment. A student’s ACT score will not be used to determine graduation eligibility, but can be submitted with college applications. The ACT is a nationally recognized college admissions exam that is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the United States