Missouri State Assessments

The following is a brief description of five assessments:

• Grade-Level Assessments are augmented norm-referenced tests that are delivered annually each spring in communication arts and mathematics for grades 3-8, and science for grades 5 and 8.
• End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments are criterion-referenced tests that are delivered to middle and high school students when the Course-Level Expectations for a particular course have been covered. English II, Algebra I, Biology, and Government are required EOC Assessments for all students to satisfy the requirements of No Child Left Behind and the Missouri State Board of Education. Four other EOC assessments are optional: English I, Algebra II, Geometry, and American History.
• ACCESS for ELLs is developed by the World-Class Instructional Design (WIDA) Consortium. This English language proficiency assessment is for K-12 students who are identified for as English Language Learners (ELL).
• MAP-Alternate (MAP-A) Assessment is designed only for students with significant cognitive disabilities who meet grade level and eligibility criteria. Students who qualify for the MAP-A Assessment will not take any other Grade-Level or End-of-Course Assessments. Instead they take the MAP-A test in communication arts in grades 3-8, and 11; mathematics grades 3-8, and 10; and science grades 5, 8, and 11.
• The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an ongoing representative assessment of nationwide student performance in several content areas. Annually, some Missouri schools may be selected to participate in the NAEP.

You can find more information about Missouri State Assessments at: http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/assess/staff.html

Missouri Grade-Level Assessment

The Missouri Assessment Program assesses students’ progress toward mastery of the Show-Me Standards which are the educational standards in Missouri. The Grade-Level Assessment is a yearly standards-based test that measures specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Missouri. The assessment also includes sections from the TerraNova survey, a national norm-referenced test, which is used to compare how well students are performing compared to their peers across the country.