The Nebraska Department of Education is in the process of making changes to
our Nebraska Statewide Assessment System to take effect during the 2025-2026
school year. NDE has contracted with NWEA to continue to be the vendor of
our NSCAS, state assessment. In addition to the 3rd-8th Grade NSCAS test,
NWEA will now be developing our 5th and 8th grade science assessment and
alternate assessment for qualifying students. The only required assessment that is not part of the NWEA contract is the ACT for
high school juniors.
Amy Walters and I are in charge of assessment in the Teaching and Learning Department. We
have been attending in person and virtual meetings throughout the fall to ensure that we have
the most up-to-date information on statewide assessment to share with our school districts.
Every Friday, the NDE Assessment Office holds virtual update sessions over the lunch hour.
These sessions provide the latest news on assessment and provides an opportunity for questions
and answers.
Our Nebraska Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow
(AQuESTT) system is also being reviewed and updated this year. The Nebraska statewide
advisory committee has been meeting to discuss the measures used for school classifications and
designations. The updated system will be introduced during the 2025-2026 school year and will
take effect during the 2026-2027 school year. By the end of November 2024, the Nebraska
Department of Education will publicly release the 2024-2025 school district and individual
building AQuESTT Classifications.
For more information visit: Accountability in Nebraska: Classification & Designation
For additional resources visit: https://aquestt.com/resources
In order to assist our school districts with these assessment and accountability changes, ESU 10
will be hosting a For the Love of Data: Strengthening the Continuous Improvement
and MTSS Processes Conference on February 5, 2025. Dr.
Trudy Clark, NDE Director of Statewide Assessment will
provide our keynote address detailing the changes to
Nebraska assessment. Participants will spend the
remainder of the day in breakout sessions of their choice.
Dr. Derek Ippensen, NDE Assistant Administrator &
Director of Accountability, will be sharing the latest
information on updates to AQuESTT. Additionally, we
have a presentation on interpreting English Language
Proficiency assessment data (ELPA21) and ACT data
analysis. ESU 10 staff will round out the days’ agenda
facilitating sessions on the Continuous
Improvement/MTSS process.