Wyoming's Assessment System

Wyoming’s assessment system measures students’ progress toward the Wyoming Content Standards. It is used to enhance teaching and learning, support school improvement, and to provide data for accountability to help ensure the effectiveness of schools, programs, and staff. When used in conjunction with a school district’s annual assessment program, statewide assessments provide the information needed to develop and implement strategies for improvement of student performance.

Wyoming Dept of Education logo
    State Assessment System

    New Assessment System for 2017-2022

    Wyoming released two Request for Proposals (RFPs) for our new statewide assessment system. The first was for the Comprehensive Statewide Assessment System Grades 1-10, and the second was for the College Entrance and Career/Work Readiness Assessments. The State Board reviewed the recommendations of the RFP Review Committee and voted to approve the new statewide assessment system

    There are a lot of questions around the new assessment system including what it will look like and when it will be administered. The WDE is in contract negotiations with American Institutes for Research (AIR) for the Gr. 1-10 assessments and with ACT for the CCR assessments. Once those contracts are in place, further information will be provided to school districts. The RFPs were based on the Recommendations of the Assessment Task Force, much of which was also added into Wyoming Statute during the 2016 Session and are effective July 1, 2017. W.S. 21-2-204 and W.S. 21-2-304

    Modular and Interim assessments will also be available to districts free of charge and will include item types similar to the summative assessment.

    2017-2022 Summative Assessments
    • Reading and mathematics will be assessed each year in grades 3-11
    • Science will be assessed in grades 4, 8, and 10(once per grade span) – because we have new science standards, a new science assessment will be operational for the 2020 assessment; we will continue with our current assessment on the new testing platform for the next two years<
    • Writing will be assessed at a minimum once per grade span
    • Online with multiple item types (e.g., enhanced multiple choice, constructed response, technology enhanced, performance task)
    • Later spring testing window (April 16 – May 11)
    • Testing time is limited to 1% of the school year (e.g., 9 hours for elementary, 10 for middle school, and 11 for high school); this is for “actual testing time” and does not include test prep, breaks, or time reading the instructions
    • Comparability across states – students’ scores are to be comparable to students’ scores from other states
    • Reporting deadline of August 1st to facilitate school improvement activities
    • Readiness check and training will be conducted to ensure schools have a smooth online test administration

    Further information including timeline of availability (interim), testing dates, and technology specifications will be sent to the districts once contracts are in place.

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    State Assessment System Composition (As of 2018)

    WY-TOPP Assessments (grades 1-10)
    • The Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WY-TOPP) is a system of interim, modular on-demand, and summative assessments in reading, mathematics, and science. The WY-TOPP interim assessments in reading and mathematics are administered in fall for grades 3-10, in winter for grades K-10, and in spring for grades K-2. The WY-TOPP science assessment is administered in grades 4, 8, and 10. The WY-TOPP summative assessments are administered late-spring in grades 3-10.
    • The WY-Alternate (WY-ALT) is given once per year to students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-11 in ELA and mathematics and in grades 4 and 8 in science.
    ACT Assessments (grades 11-12)
    • ACT is the capstone of the ACT college and career readiness system. It measures students’ general learning outcomes in English, math, reading, writing, and science. This assessment is given once a year to all students in the 11th grade.
      • WorkKeys is an optional assessment for students in grades 11 and 12 and is used to assess a student’s job skills.
    WY-ALT (grades 3-11)
    • WY-ALT is given once per year to students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-11 in ELA, Mathematics, and Science.
    English Proficiency Assessments
    • The ACCESS for ELLs® is required once per year with all students who are English language learners. It assesses students’ progress in attaining English proficiency. An alternate ACCESS is also available for English language learners who also have significant cognitive disabilities.
    NAEP
    • In addition to the statewide assessment system, Wyoming schools and students also participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, every other year. The next administration of the NAEP is in 2019.

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    Parent Opt Outs from Statewide Assessment

    In the Spring of 2014, the WDE requested an opinion from the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office regarding parent opt outs from state-mandated testing (e.g. PAWS, ASPIRE, ACT, Wy-ALT). The following is part of the AG’s response:

    “In summary, the State Board of Education is authorized to establish the statewide accountability system pursuant to state law, including the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act. It has promulgated rules that require districts to administer the relevant assessments to all students in the appropriate grade levels. These requirements are within the authority granted to the board by the legislature. Consequently, districts may not allow students or their parents to opt them out of the assessments provided by law.”

    The full opinion can be found here:

    2025-2026 Assessment Calendar
    • mCLASS (Fall) September 2 – 19, 2025
      • Reading: Grades K-5
    • mCLASS (Winter) January 5 – 23, 2026
      • Reading: Grades K-5
    • mCLASS (Spring) April 27 – May 15, 2026
      • Reading: Grades K-5
    • Essential Standards Performance Assessment #1 November 10 – November 21, 2025
      • Mathematics and Reading: Grades 1-5
    • Essential Standards Performance Assessment #2 February 17 – February 27, 2025
      • Mathematics and Reading: Grades 1- 5
    • Star (Fall) September 2 – 16, 2025
      • Mathematics: Grades 1-12
      • Reading: Grades 6-12
    • Star (Quarter 1) October 20 – October 31, 2025
      • Mathematics: Grades 6-12
      • Reading: Grades 6-12
    • Star (Winter/Quarter 2) January 5 – 23, 2026
      • Mathematics: Grades 1-12
      • Reading: Grades 6-12
    • Star (Quarter 3) March 9 – 20, 2026
      • Mathematics: Grades 6-12
      • Reading: Grades 6-12
    • Star (Spring) April 27 – May 15, 2026
      • Mathematics: Grades 1-12
      • Reading: Grades 6-12
    • WY-TOPP Interim (Fall): September 9 – October 3, 2025
      • ELA & Mathematics: Grades 3-10
      • Science: Grades 4, 8, and 10
      • Writing: Grades 5, 7, and 9
    • WY-TOPP Interim (Winter): January 13 – February 6, 2026
      • ELA & Mathematics: Grades 3-10
      • Science: Grades 4, 8, and 10
      • Writing: Grades 5, 7, and 9
    • WY-TOPP Summative: April 14 – May 8, 2026
      • ELA & Mathematics: Grades 3-10
      • Science: Grades 4, 8, and 10
      • Writing: Grades 5, 7, and 9
    • WY-ALT: March 3 – April 10, 2026
      • ELA & Mathematics: Grades 3-10
      • Science: Grades 4, 8, and 10
    • ACT – (Fall Senior Retake) Paper Test Date: October 14, 2025
      • Online Standard & Accommodated Test Dates: October 14-17 & 20-24, 2025
    • ACT – (Test Window 1) Paper Test Date: March 24, 2026
      • Online Standard & Accommodated Test Dates: March 24–27, March 30–31, and April 1–3, 2026
    • WorkKeys: (optional):
      • Fall Test Date: September 23-December 13, 2024
      • Spring Test Dates: April 8-May 09, 2025
    • ACCESS for ELLs and Alternate ACCESS Testing Dates: January 20-February 27, 2026
    mCLASS (K-5)

    Early literacy assessment & intervention, grounded in the Science of Reading

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    mCLASS is an all-in-one system for Science of Reading-based universal screening, dyslexia screening, and progress monitoring. Powered by DIBELS® 8th Edition, mCLASS helps you measure and strengthen the foundational skills that all students need to become confident readers.

    What is mCLASS?

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    mCLASS, the only digital provider of DIBELS 8th edition assessments, provides universal screening, dyslexia screening and progress monitoring to assess your students on their reading trajectory and what skills they need to develop.

    Teachers will observe students as they form sounds or read words and text. Then, mCLASS instantly scores and analyzes student response patterns to provide teachers with diagnostic data and instructional focus for each student and group.

    With mCLASS, teachers will have everything they need to support every type of learner in their classroom, including advanced learners, multilingual learners, and students at risk for dyslexia.

    Gold-standard DIBELS 8th Edition assessments

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    Developed in partnership with the University of Oregon, mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition is founded on the strongest-ever research base for predicting reading proficiency, including identifying those at risk for dyslexia.

    For more than 30 years, the University of Oregon has led the research behind DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). mCLASS is the only licensed digital provider of the evidence-based DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. See more of our research.

    Our approach

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    mCLASS provides rich data to help you match Science of Reading-based instruction with your students’ precise needs. Teachers will be able to monitor the effectiveness of instruction and make timely decisions when students or classrooms need extra support.

    Grounded in the Science of Reading

    From phonics to fluency and comprehension, mCLASS assesses the skills that are most critical for students to become successful readers. Once students are assessed, teachers will have the data they need to drive instructional decisions at the classroom, school, and district level.

    • Data they can trust, with teacher-administered assessments
    • Skill-level data aligned with the Science of Reading
    • Data-driven instructional recommendations to support intervention, remediation, and enrichment

    Precise, trustworthy data through direct observation

    mCLASS's approach to assessment is focused on providing teachers with immediate insights they can trust. Through direct observation of students and detailed reports, including assessment transcripts and diagnostic error patterns, they’ll have total transparency into each student’s performance.

    Instant analysis and next steps

    With mCLASS, teachers can interpret and act on data in real time with instant instructional guidance based on benchmark and progress-monitoring results. In one click, they can access differentiated skill-based groups and targeted resources to develop students’ foundational literacy skills.

    What's included

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    The mCLASS program includes quick assessments of critical reading skills, real-time reporting, and data-driven instructional recommendations.

    Efficient one-minute measures

    DIBELS 8th Edition’s predictive one-minute assessments of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension are proven to identify risk as early as possible.

    • Phonological awareness
    • Alphabetic principles/phonics
    • Reading fluency
    • Reading accuracy
    • Reading comprehension

    Early detection of dyslexia risk

    With mCLASS, teachers can efficiently screen students and assess the full range of skills associated with dyslexia risk at the same time. mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition is validated as dyslexia screener, with additional Vocabulary, Spelling, RAN, and Language Comprehension measures available at no additional cost.

    Progress monitoring and goal setting

    To help teachers target the right skills and areas of instruction, mCLASS recommends progress-monitoring measures and automatically sets meaningful, attainable goals for each student. Our Zones of Growth goal setting framework examines their students’ DIBELS scores to predict the rate of growth they need to reach end-of-year goals.

    • Automatic progress monitoring recommendations
    • Customizable goals
    • Semester and full-year growth reports

    Differentiated instruction for all students

    Our library of more than 500 evidence-based activities makes it easy to plan lessons that reinforce core instruction. The embedded professional development supports consider the diverse language backgrounds of all students and provide cross-linguistic transfer and language variety guidance to inform phonological awareness instruction.

    Educator and caregiver reports

    Easy-to-use reports, ranging from classroom-level to school- and district-wide, help teachers evaluate each student’s reading skills over time and pinpoint exactly when a change in instruction is needed.

    To reinforce learning at home, the Home Connect feature provides letters to caregivers about their child’s reading development in English and Spanish, and includes activities for reinforcement at home or on the go.

    Instructional alignment across all tiers

    Amplify’s early literacy system ensures that teachers have all the core, intervention, and personalized instruction you need to support each stage of a student’s literacy journey. mCLASS data drives placement into mCLASS Intervention and Boost Reading personalized learning. It also recommends core instruction resources within Amplify CKLA core curriculum based on the skills in which students need additional practice.

    Renaissance Star Assessments

    Star Reading: Evidence-based K-12 Reading Assessments

    Perfect for in-person, remote, and hybrid instruction, this comprehensive reading assessment gives teachers the information they need to ensure their students reach high levels of literacy. For universal screening, progress monitoring, goal setting, and more. For more information visit Star Reading by RenaissanceStar Math: Evidence-based K-12 Math Assessments Increase math mastery with actionable insight into each student’s skills and subskills—whether teachers are teaching in-person, remotely, or hybrid. For universal screening, progress monitoring, goal setting, and more. For more information visit Star Math by Renaissance

    WY-TOPP Home Page

    Assessment Portal

    This will take you to the WY-TOPP Assessment Portal page where students and teachers can access the WY-TOPP Assessment system.

    Blueprints, Rubrics, and Exemplars

    Current WY-TOPP blueprints for both Interim and Summative WY-TOPP Assessments. Writing rubrics and exemplars are also available for review.

    Practice tests

    Practice tests for teachers and students to use to get familiar with how WY-TOPP works.

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