Assessments are an integral part of education in our state. At their most basic level, assessments are the tools we use to collect the information we need to make decisions in everyday life. Health professionals use instruments like thermometers and x-rays to monitor the health of the patients. Scientists collect and analyze water samples to determine the quality of our streams and lakes. In education, teachers and administrators use state tests, work samples, and other forms of assessments to measure how well students are learning and determine how best to support them moving forward.
Quality assessments provide results that are used to inform a broad range of decisions at the classroom, district, and state levels:

• • Teachers use formative and interim assessments in the classroom to identify gaps in student learning and adjust instruction

  • Students and their parents use formative, interim, and summative assessments to check mastery of key learning targets

  • State and local teachers use summative assessment results to make important policy decisions, like where and how to invest in Oregon schools and how to hold schools accountable for the outcomes of those investments.

• For more information, please visit the Oregon Department of Education’s website or contact the EPSD9 testing coordinator, Brigette Hayes at HayesB@eaglepnt.k12.or.us

• Annual and 30-Day Notice and Opt-Out Forms for 2024-25 State Testing (Includes Student Educational Equity Development Survey (SEED))
  Per ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Annually and “At least 30 days prior to the administration of statewide summative assessments, a school district or public charter school must send to parents and adult students a notice about the statewide summative assessments.” This statute also requires ODE to “establish a form to excuse a student from taking a statewide summative assessment.”

• EPSD9 will provide the 30-Day Notice on January 6, 2025.

• ODE has updated the combined 30-Day Notice and Opt-Out Forms in English, Spanish, and 12 additional languages for the 2024-25 academic year. All forms are published as both fillable and non-fillable PDFs within the “Forms” menu on the Test Administration page. Please contact the ODE Assessment Team with any questions.