2007 Annual Report

Assessments of various kinds can assist educators in evaluating student progress. This section presents the results of three widely used assessments: the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Dakota STEP (State Test of Educational Progress) and ACT.

Also known as the Nation’s Report Card, the NAEP is administered across the nation every two years. South Dakota’s results for 2005 – the most recent year for which scores are available – show that our students scored above the national average. South Dakota students also outperformed their peers on the ACT, a widely accepted college admission exam.

The Dakota STEP is the state’s test for measuring student progress on South Dakota content standards. Student performance during the 2005-06 school year remained high, but growth slowed from previous years.