The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has secured approval from Mississippi’s assessment vendors to extend the end of the assessment windows for the spring administration of the statewide assessments. These extensions, along with the early opening of the assessment period, are intended to help you safely administer statewide assessments to all eligible students.
As we have previously informed you, the U.S. Department of Education requires statewide assessments to be administered to all eligible students during the 2020-21 school year. These assessments will provide critical information about the progress of the students in your district and the impact of COVID-19 disruptions on student learning statewide.
The extended assessment windows are as follows:
- English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT)
March 1, 2021 to April 23, 2021 - Mississippi Academic Assessment Program – Alternate (MAAP-A)
March 1, 2021 to May 21, 2021 - Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA)
March 8, 2021 to May 14, 2021 - Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP)
March 29, 2021 to May 28, 2021MAAP includes:- Grades 3 through 8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics
- Grades 5 and 8 Science
- End-of-Course (EOC) subject area assessments in Algebra I, Biology, English II, and U.S. History
- Grade 3 ELA assessment
March 29, 2021 to May 28, 2021
If a district would like to receive a Grade 3 report for reading, the students must complete Session One between March 29, 2021 and April 30, 2021. Session One will be scored early, and the district will receive a report of the reading results by May 17, 2021. This report will enable districts/schools to make plans for summer reading intervention(s), if necessary. If the student does not complete Session One by April 30, 2021, the district will receive Grade 3 scores in the final score reports for both Sessions One and Two in July 2021.
The MDE encourages all districts/schools to make prudent decisions when scheduling students for the spring assessments and test students early in the assessment windows.
The updated assessment calendar for the 2020-21 school year is posted on the Office of Student Assessment webpage: www.mdek12.org/OSA (> Links > Testing Calendar).
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Paula Vanderford, pavanderford@mdek12.org, or Dr. Jackie Sampsell, jsampsell@mdek12.org.