Office of Educational Services & Support

Alternate Assessment

The amended Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 04 - P.L. 105-17) and "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 requires that all students, including those with disabilities, participate in state and district wide assessment programs. There are several ways in which students with disabilities can participate in assessments.  These often are divided into three categories: (1) assessments taken in the same way as other students take them, (2) assessments taken with accommodations, and (3) alternate assessments.  A small percentage of students with disabilities may need to participate in an alternate state or district assessment because they are working in grade level extended content.

Currently the alternate assessments available to school and facilities are the Dakota STEP-A (Alternate) assessing reading, math and science in grades 3-8 and 11 (science at 5, 8, and 11),  the Writing Alternate at grades 5, 7, and 10, and Technology Alternate at 8^th grade embedded in the STEP-A. Information about participation and accommodations must be documented in the student's IEP that precedes the actual administration of the assessment.

Dakota STEP – A

The Dakota STEP-A is available for students who have a significant cognitive disability and are working in the Extended Content and Alternate Academic Achievement Descriptors and whose IEP’s indicate alternate assessment for statewide testing. The testing window for the Dakota-Step A will be February 1-March 12, 2010. This administration is prior to the Dakota STEP testing window in order to alleviate the workload for special education staff who administer both assessments. The test contains a rating form, and Supporting Evidence that is used to support the ratings given on the rating form. The rating forms are aligned to the Extended Content and are grade specific, focusing on reading and math. at grades 3-8 & 11, with the addition of Science at grades 5, 8, & 11, Writing at grades 5, 7 and 10, and Technology at grade 8.

• South Dakota’s NCLB Approval letter for reading and math

Dakota STEP-A Support Materials

• Complaint of Improper Test Administration
• Dakota STEP-Alt Data Collection Form
• Sample Observation Forms
  • Sample 1
  • Sample 2
  • Sample 3
  • Example Sample 3
• Performance Descriptions and Prompting Descriptions
• Supporting Evidence Rubric (Optional)
• Lessons Learned
• Dakota STEP-Alt Scorer Resolution Form
• Dakota STEP-Alt Directions for Administration (DFA)
• Extended Content and Alternate Academic Achievement Descriptors
• Instructional Material Examples
  • The Human Body
  • The Necklace
  • Tide Rises
• Significant Cognitive Disability Criteria
• 1% Exception request
• Alternate Listserv for teachers working with alternate content standards and alternate assessment
• Test Security Agreement and Test Security Affidavit  2009
• 2010 Testing Coordinator's Handbook
• Parents’ Guide to the Dakota STEP-A

Dakota STEP-A Training Resources

• STEP-A Training  (If the display is larger than your screen size, from the browser menu use the zoom feature to reduce the size to 75% or to the size that fits your screen)
  • Administration PowerPoint
  • Pearson Program Management PowerPoint
  • Overview - 20 min
  • Starting the Process - 40 min
  • Practice Scoring - 12 min
  • Rater 2 and Resolution Process - 21 min
  • Packing and Shipping/Wrap-up - 22 min
• Rater Two Training Materials
  • Rater 2 STEP-A Training Video 40 minutes
  • Rater 2 STEP-A Training PowerPoint

2009 Dakota STEP-Alt Assessment Information

• Dakota STEP-Alt 2009 Test Blueprints

Writing Alternate

• For the 2009-2010 school year, the alternate assessment for writing will be administered at grades 5, 7 and 10. This assessment is for students whose IEP’s indicate alternate assessment for statewide testing.  The Writing Alternate will be based on the Language Arts Extended Content in Writing approved Nov. 19, 2007.
• Writing Extended Content

The testing window is February 1 - March 12, 2009.   The Writing Alternate will be shipped with the Dakota STEP-A and returned to Pearson with the STEP-A assessment.

Writing Alternate Directions

Historical Perspective