Family Communication and Resource Guidance from the Office of Assessment and Accountability

All South Dakota public schools are required to perform annual state testing in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. It’s no secret that state testing can be a stressful time for students, teachers, and families. The Office of Assessment and Accountability equips students, teachers, and families with helpful resources and support for successful test preparation, test taking, and performance evaluation.

Through communication with schools and families, this office provides year-round guidance to teachers, parents, and districts. The Assessment and Accountability Team is dedicated to streamlining the assessment process through increasing family engagement tools and resources.

Student Assessment Reports – Encourage Families to Review
This summer, families that have students in Grades 3-8 and 11 will receive a summary of their child’s assessment results for ELA, math, and science from their school district. These annual assessments provide schools and families a helpful “check-in” to see how their students are progressing in the skills necessary for college, career, and life readiness.

The reports will show the following information:
    • Students in Grades 5 and 8 will receive three reports - one for ELA, one for math, and one for science.
     (Students who are not in Grades 5 and 8 will receive two reports - one for ELA and one for math.)
          ⁃ ELA reports will include additional information on writing, such as organization, evidence, and conventions.
    • A scale score for the individual student, alongside the school and district averages, will be included.
    • Highlight the strengths and areas for improvement, a breakdown of performance by key skill areas will be included.
    • Students in Grade 11 will complete the SD-ACT, which is aligned to South Dakota’s ELA, math, and science content standards. Initial scores are released within a few weeks of testing.
          ⁃ Encourage families to discuss post-high school goals and how ACT results can help guide future planning.

Be sure to remind parents that these scores are one piece of the bigger picture. They work alongside classroom work, daily learning, and teacher observations to guide student support.

Letters and Guides
A helpful tool the Office of Assessment and Accountability provides both schools and families are letters and guides that can be used to further explain the purpose, tips, and reminders for state assessments. Parent communication and resources can be found at the bottom of the Assessment page on the DOE website. ACT-specific resources are provided on the SD-ACT page on the DOE website.

Assessment Gateway
The Assessment Gateway website includes helpful resources for students and families, educators, and technology coordinators.