List of state achievement tests in the United States

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State achievement tests in the United States are standardized tests required in American public schools in order for the schools to receive federal funding, according to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, in US Public Law 107-110, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Contents

Tests by state

The following standardized tests are designed and/or administered by state education agencies and/or local school districts in order to measure academic achievement across multiple grade levels in elementary, middle and senior high school, as well as for high school graduation examinations to measure proficiency for high school graduation. Nebraska is the only state that does not have a standardized test.

StateAdministrating agencyTests nameAlso called...SourceAvailable in languages other than English
Alabama Alabama State Department of Education Alabama High School Graduation Exam
Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test
AHSGE
ARMT
[1] No
Alaska Alaska Department of Education and Early Development High School Graduation Qualifying Examination
Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP)
HSGQE
SBA

[2]
No
However "LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students may be allowed to use a word translation finder style dictionary or word-to-word dictionary from first language to English language. Dictionaries that include pictures or word definitions are not allowed."
Arizona Arizona Department of Education Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards
Arizona's English Language Learner Assessment
National Assessment of Educational Progress
AIMS
AZELLA
NAEP AZMERIT
[3] No
Arkansas Arkansas Department of Education Augmented Benchmark Examinations [4]
California California Department of Education CAASPP
California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress
SBAC (previous tests were STAR and CAHSEE) [5]
[6]
Yes
Colorado Colorado Department of Education Colorado Measures of Academic SuccessCMAS [7] Yes
Connecticut Connecticut Department of Education Connecticut Academic Performance Test
Connecticut Mastery Test
CAPT
CMT
Delaware Delaware Department of Education Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System DCAS
District of Columbia District of Columbia Public Schools Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and CareerPARCC [8]
Florida Florida Department of Education Florida Standards Assessments
Florida Standards Alternate Assessment
Florida Assessment of Standards Test
FSA
FSAA
FAST
[9]
[10]
No, but Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students are allowed to use a translation dictionary from their first language to the English language approved by the Florida Department of Education. The dictionary may include synonyms and an index, but must not include definition of words. Test administrators or proctors are also not allowed to read aloud to the student any of the questions, passages, prompts, or answer choices in the English language or their first language during the test.
Georgia Georgia Department of Education Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (retired)

Georgia Milestones:

  • End of Course Test(grades 9-12)
  • End of Grade Test(grades 3-8)


Georgia High School Graduation Test (retired)
Georgia Alternate Assessment
Georgia Writings Assessments (retired)

CRCT
EOCT
GHSGT
GAA
GMAS
[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

Hawaii Hawaii Department of Education Hawaii State Assessment
Hawaii State Alternative Assessment
HSA/HSAA
Idaho Idaho State Department of Education Idaho Standards Achievement Test I-SAT [16]
Illinois Illinois State Board of Education Illinois Standards Achievement Test [17]
Prairie State Achievement Examination
ISAT
PSAE
[18]
Indiana Indiana Department of Education Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus I-STEP+ New Test as of 2019 - ILearn
Iowa Iowa Department of Education Iowa Test of Basic Skills
Iowa Tests of Educational Development
ITBS
ITED
Kansas Kansas Department of Education Kansas Mathematics Assessment
Kansas Reading Assessment
Kansas Writing Assessment
Kansas Science Assessment
Kansas History, Government, Economics and Geography Assessment
[19]
Kentucky Kentucky Department of Education Commonwealth Accountability Testing System CATS
Louisiana Louisiana Department of Education Louisiana Educational Assessment Program
Integrated LEAP
Graduate Exit Examination
LEAP
iLEAP
GEE
Maine Maine Department of Education Maine Educational Assessment
Maine High School Assessment
MEA
MHSA
[20]
[21]
Maryland Maryland Department of Education Maryland School Assessment
High School Assessment
MSA
HSA
Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Education Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS [22]
Michigan Michigan Department of Education Michigan Educational Assessment Program (retired)
Michigan Merit Exam
Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress [23]
MEAP
MME
M-STEP
Minnesota Minnesota Department of Education Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments—Series II MCA-II
Mississippi Mississippi Department of Education Mississippi Functional Literacy Exam
Mississippi Curriculum Test
MFLE
MCT
[24]
Missouri Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Missouri Assessment Program MAP
Montana Montana Office of Public Instruction Montana Comprehensive Assessment System MontCAS [25]
Nebraska Nebraska Department of Education
Nevada Nevada Department of Education Nevada Proficiency Examination Program NPEP [26]
New Hampshire New Hampshire Department of Education New England Common Assessment Program NECAP [27]
New Jersey New Jersey Department of Education The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers NJSLA
NJGPA
New Mexico New Mexico Public Education Department New Mexico Standards-based assessment
New Mexico Alternate Performance Assessment
NMSBA
NMAPA
[28]
New York New York State Department of Education Regents Examinations

New York State Examination

Regents
NYSE
[29] Yes, translation is available for all Regents exams except for language exams. For English exams, a glossary is available, while foreign language exams have none. [30]
North Carolina North Carolina Department of Public Instruction North Carolina End of Grade Tests (Grades 3-8)
End of Course Tests (Grades 9-12)
EOGs
EOCs
North Dakota North Dakota Department of Public Instruction North Dakota State Assessment North Dakota CAT [31]
Ohio Ohio State Board of Education Ohio’s State Tests OST

(Many districts incorrectly refer to as the "AIR Test")

[32]
Oklahoma Oklahoma State Department of Education Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests OCCT [33]
Oregon Oregon Department of Education Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills OAKS [34]
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania System of School Assessment
Pennsylvania Alternate School Assessment
Keystone Exam
PSSA
PASA
Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System RICAS [35] RIDE publishes a list of bilingual dictionaries and glossaries that current and former English Learner students may use on RICAS assessments. There are Spanish versions of the Mathematics tests.
South Carolina South Carolina Department of Education Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (Grades 3-8)
High School Assessment Program (Grades 9-12)
PASS
HSAP
South Dakota South Dakota Department of Education South Dakota State Test of Educational Progress DSTEP
Tennessee Tennessee State Department of Education Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program TN Ready
Texas Texas Education Agency State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness STAAR
Utah Utah State Office of Education Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence SAGE [36]
Vermont Vermont Department of Education Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium SBAC
Virginia Virginia Department of Education Standards of Learning SOL
Washington Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Washington Assessment of Student Learning WASL
West Virginia West Virginia Department of Education West Virginia General Summative Assessment WVGSA (Previously WESTEST) [37]
Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination WKCE
Wyoming Wyoming Department of Education Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students PAWS [38]

Additional tests

In addition to the following list some states administer other required examinations. They include Nevada, which administers several tests as part of the Nevada Proficiency Examination Program. They include the High School Proficiency Examination for Reading and Mathematics; the Iowa Test of Basic Skills; Iowa Tests of Educational Development; Criterion-referenced tests in Reading, Mathematics, and Science; Language Proficiency Assessment; Nevada Alternate Scales of Academic Achievement; and National Assessment of Educational Progress. The Prairie State Achievement Exam is used in Illinois, along with the [17] Illinois State Achievement Test. Alabama requires the Stanford Achievement Test Series; and in Texas, the Texas Higher Education Assessment. That state has discontinued its usage of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Since the 2007–08 school year, Kentucky has required that all students at public high schools take the ACT in their junior year. Some school districts in Florida also require this.

See also

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