Grades Tested: JK-SK

Subjects Tested: Reading readiness

Testing Dates: Fall, Winter, Spring

Description: PALS is a research based screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring tool. Wisconsin teachers use PALS to identify students at risk of developing reading difficulties, diagnose students' knowledge of literacy fundamentals, monitor progress, and plan instruction that targets students' needs.

Approximate Test Duration: 25-60 minutes

Type: State Assessment 

Grades Tested: 3-8, 10

Subjects Tested: ELA & math (grades 3-8), social studies (grade 4, 8, & 10 only), science (grades 4 & 8 only)

Testing Dates: Spring 

Description: The Forward Exam is designed to gauge how well students are doing in relation to the Wisconsin Academic Standards.  These standards outline what students should know and be able to do in order to be college and career ready. The Forward Exam is administered online in the spring of each school year at: grades 3-8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics, grades 4 and 8 in Science and, grades 4, 8, and 10 in Social Studies. Accommodations and supports for students with disabilities and/or English language learners are built into the system so that the progress of students can be accurately measured. The Forward Exam is a high quality, research-based, and affordable online assessment that meets Wisconsin’s expectations. It is a customized assessment with innovative item types that includes test items reviewed and approved by Wisconsin educators.

Approximate Test Duration: 4-7 hours, depending on number of subjects taken

Type: State Assessment 

Additional Information: DPI Website

Grades Tested: 9, 10

Subjects Tested: English, Reading, Math, Science, and Writing

Testing Dates: Spring

Description: PreACT Secure is an online summative assessment, aligned to the ACT test and the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards, that measures what students have learned in the areas of English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science. Educators will find that PreACT Secure closely mirrors the ACT test in many ways, including implementation, test delivery, scoring, and reporting. PreACT Secure scores predict how students will perform on the ACT when they reach 11th grade and their readiness for college-level coursework.

Approximate Test Duration: State Assessment

More Information: DPI website

Grades Tested: 11

Subjects Tested: Reading, Math, English, Science, Writing

Testing Dates: Spring

Description: The ACT is a curriculum- and standards-based tool that assesses students’ academic readiness for college. The ACT Plus Writing helps students understand what they need to learn next so they can build rigorous high school course plans and identify career areas that align with their interests. The ACT science assessment is the new state accountability measure for high school (this replaces past accountability in grade 10).

Approximate Test Duration: 4 hours

Type: State Assessment

More Information: DPI website 

Grades Tested: 9-12

Subjects Tested: Citizenship

Testing Dates: Any time during high school

Description: Students, starting with the class of 2017, must correctly answer at least 65 of 100 questions identical to the INS citizenship test in order to graduate from a WI public high school.

Type: State Assessment

Additional Information: DPI website 

Grades Tested: 3-11

Subjects Tested: ELA, Math, science, social studies

Testing Dates: Spring

Description: DLM assesses the academic progress of students with significant cognitive disabilities. It is administered online in grades 3-11 for English language arts and mathematics and also in grades 4 and 8-11 for science.

Type: State Assessment

Grades Tested: SK-12

Subjects Tested: English language proficiency

Testing Dates: Fall

Description: ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is an online assessment system that measures the English language proficiency (ELP) of English learners (ELs) in Grades K- 12. This assessment allows educators, students, and families to monitor students’ progress in acquiring academic English in the domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing.