Pepin Area Schools Assessment Information

Below is information about state assessments that apply to all students in Wisconsin. Selecting the heading for each will link you to additional information on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website.

Assessment Calendars
Pepin Area Schools Assessment Plan

Wisconsin Forward Exam

• The assessment is administered in English language arts and mathematics in grades 3 through 8, in science in grades 4 and 8, and in social studies in grades 4, 8, and 10.
• 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.
• Students take the Forward Exam in the spring.

ACT High School Assessments

ACT Aspire™ Early High School 

• 9th and 10th grade students will take the ACT Aspire™ Early High School assessment in the spring
• A summative assessment that measures what students have learned in the areas of: English, Reading, Math, Science, and Writing.
• An online assessment. 
• Scores predict how a student will perform on both the ACT and ACT WorkKeys when they reach 11th grade. Students who need academic interventions or challenges can be identified earlier in their high school careers.

ACT® Plus Writing

• 11th grade students will take the ACT in the spring
• Tests include: Reading, Math, English, Science, Writing.
• The ACT is a paper and pencil test.
• 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.

 ACT® WorkKeys® 

• 11th grade students will take the ACT WorkKeys in the spring
• Included in the state administration are: Applied Math, Graphic Literacy (formerly Locating Information), and Workplace Documents (formerly Reading for Information).
• The ACT WorkKeys is a paper and pencil assessment.
• Used to help students understand how they can improve their career readiness skills and helps employers determine whether individuals are qualified for positions.  
• Students can earn National Career Readiness Certificates (NCRC) which are recognized by business and industry nationwide. Through obtaining a National Career Readiness Certificate, students have a clear way to demonstrate their abilities to future employers. 

Assessment of Reading Readiness

Wis. Stats 118.016(1) requires an early literacy screener to be administered to all 4 year old kindergarten through 2nd grade students enrolled in public school districts and charter schools. This assessment provides administrators, teachers, and parents with valuable information necessary to improve the reading skills of students. Results are used to identify reading problems early on and to inform instruction. The data from the screener is not part of the statewide accountability system.

To meet this state requirement, the Pepin Area School District uses

In addition the district uses STAR Assessments as our Universal Screener.

• Students in grades 4K – 8 take the STAR assessment 3 times during the school year.
• STAR assessments include Early Literacy, Math and Reading.
• Star tests are computer adaptive which means they adjust to each answer your child provides.
• The data is used to inform instruction and to guide intervention options.

Parent Opt Out

Wisconsin Statute 118.30(2)(b)3 states that a parent may excuse their child from participating in the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) at grades 4, 8, and 10. This request may come at any time during the testing window and must be honored. All students excused from testing by parent opt-out are counted as a “not tested” student for determining school and district accountability.  A parent must submit a written request for student opt out to the principal.