Assessment & Accountability

The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) is a comprehensive statewide program designed to provide information about what students know in core academic areas and whether they can apply what they know. The WSAS includes:

• PreACT Secure at grades 9 & 10 in English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science
• The ACT with Writing at grade 11 for Reading, English, Mathematics, Science, and Writing.

Wisconsin high school students in grade 11 will take the ACT with writing®  which includes Reading, Math, English, Science, Writing. The ACT is an in-person assessment that districts may administer on paper or online. Accommodations and EL supports are available in both testing formats. Scores from the administration of the ACT with writing (if taken with ACT Standard Time or ACT-approved accommodations) can be used by students for a variety of purposes including college admission, scholarships, course placement, and NCAA eligibility. 

For additional information, please see the DPI ACT site or this 2024-25 ACT Family Brochure.

2024 PreACT Secure Family Results Letter

2024 ACT Results Cover Letter

Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs®) is designed to measure English language proficiency. It is a large-scale test that addresses the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium’s English Language Proficiency Standards that form the core of Wisconsin’s approach to instructing and testing English language learners.

WIDA Consortium's English Language Proficiency Standards and English Language Proficiency Levels

The WIDA Consortium's English Language Proficiency Standards for ELLs in Kindergarten through Grade 12 encompass five English language proficiency (ELP) standards and accompanying model performance indicators (PIs).

The grade level clusters include K, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. There are five content areas of the standards. The first is social and instructional language (SI), which incorporates proficiencies needed to deal with the general language of the classroom and the school. The others are English language arts (LA), mathematics (MA), science (SC), and social studies (SS).

For each grade cluster, the standards specify one or more performance indicators for each content area within each of the four language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. The language development proficiency levels are:

These levels describe the spectrum of a learner’s progression from knowing little to no English to acquiring the English skills necessary to be successful in an English-only classroom without extra support. Level 6 is designated Reaching and is for ELLs who are fully English proficient. Level 7 is used for students who are native English speakers or who have never been designated as ELL. Within each combination of grade level, content area, and language domain there is a PI at each of the five points on the proficiency scale, and the sequence of these five PIs together describe a logical progression and accumulation of skills on the path to full proficiency.

For additional information regarding ACCESS for ELLs testing, please visit the DPI website page here.

Spring 2024 Family Letter

As part of our efforts to assess and improve literacy skills, we use aimswebPlus, a research-based screening tool. aimswebPlus helps educators identify students' strengths and areas for growth in foundational reading skills. The tool provides valuable data that allows teachers to tailor instruction to meet each student's needs.

Wisconsin Act 20 requires schools to administer an early literacy screener to all students in 4K through third grade to identify potential reading challenges early. aimswebPlus fulfills this requirement by providing a quick and effective assessment of key literacy skills. If a student is identified as needing additional support, families will be notified, and a personalized plan will be developed to help the student thrive.

aimswebPlus Family Letter

Wisconsin state law (Wis.Stats. 118.33(1m)(a)1) requires all school districts to give a 100 question civics exam to all students beginning with the Graduating Class of 2017. The questions are very specific: they are the exact 100 questions that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) utilizes for the US citizenship test. Students must answer 60 questions correctly in order to meet the graduation requirement. The Civics exam is a 100 question, multiple choice assessment (as administered in Elmbrook), that are the exact 100 questions from the US Naturalization Test.
General Information:

Below are links to provide you with more information about the new State Mandated Civics exam. This is a requirement for receiving a diploma beginning with the graduating class in 2016-17.

Brief Description of Assessment:
High School Civics exam overview

Civics Test 100 Questions and Answers:
The 100 questions on the test, with answers.
Source: US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Civics Exam Study Resources:
100 Questions and Answers
100 Questions and Answers (Large Print)
100 Questions and Answers (Audio)
Study Booklet
Study Flash Cards

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is an online, group administered, norm-referenced universal screener of student learned reasoning and problem solving skills. It is taken by all 2nd-graders and 6th-graders new to the District.

The CogAT is a measure of students potential to succeed in school-related tasks. It is not a measure of general intelligence. The profile of CogAT abilities helps teachers better understand how different students learn best. Data from this assessment will be included as one aspect of the multiple measures which help staff make decisions regarding instructional needs. Elmbrook also will use the CogAT test results as one measure to help identify gifted/advanced learners.

The CogAT test assesses learned reasoning abilities in the three areas most linked to academic success in school: Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal.

• The Verbal Battery measures the ability to remember and transform sequences of English words, to understand them, and to make inferences and judgments about them.
• The Quantitative Battery assesses the understanding of basic quantitative concepts and relationships that are essential for learning mathematics. Tasks measure the understanding of relational concepts and the ability to discover relationships and to figure out a rule or principle that explains them.
• The Nonverbal Battery measures reasoning using pictures and geometric shapes, which reduces the impact of language on scores. The Nonverbal Battery also appraises the ability to use cognitive resources in new situations.

Fastbridge features both reading and math assessments that educators can use to universally screen students and then monitor their progress in both reading and math. Computer Adaptive Tests are utilized as universal screeners to help identify areas where additional instruction may be needed at the individual, class, grade, or district level. Fastbridge also uses Curriculum-Based Measures (CBMs) for progress monitoring focused on specific skills within reading and math that are sensitive to small amounts of growth. Because of this, Fastbridge enables a unique opportunity to provide staff with research-based universal screening tools and effective progress monitoring tools within the same program.

Elmbrook students in Kindergarten and 1st grade complete the earlyReading assessment. Students in grades 3rd-5th engage in the math automaticity assessment (Auto L3)  Both of these assessments are administered in the fall, winter and spring and are used to monitor student achievement and growth as well as to inform instructional next steps. 

Family Fastbridge Early Reading Assessment