Welcome to Assessment and Accountability

Program Menu

Overview

Our mission is to serve the public by providing measurable information about Utah students’ core knowledge, skills, and abilities; acquired through high quality valid and reliable assessments. We strive to:

  • positively impact student learning and the public’s understanding through quality assessment
  • provide meaningful assessment that is essential to assess the extent of student progress toward proficiency
  • provide accurate, understandable reporting that is essential so that all stakeholders in Utah education have the data needed for making effective decisions concerning school policies, programs and curricula
  • provide knowledge about use of accountability measures, resources/tools to support best practices in the area of assessment and support broad understandings
  • utilize innovative technologies that support valid and cost-effective indicators of student proficiency
  • accomplish all tasks through positive collaborative partnerships with districts and state agencies

R277-404: Requirements for Assessments of Student Achievement
Utah Office of Administrative Rules

Parental Exclusion

Parental Exclusion from State Assessments Form: 2018-2019 Elementary/Secondary

Formulario de Exclusión Paterna de las Evaluaciones Estatales 2018-2019

For general assessment questions, please call (801) 538-7600.

Assessment and Accountability Policy Advisory Committee (AAPAC)

The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) has recently established the AAPAC. This committee was formally known as the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC). The purpose of this committee is to review current assessment and accountability policies, business rules, pending test administrations decisions and detailed accountability rules and implementation decisions. The committee will also assist the Board’s Assessment and Accountability section to represent and inform the education communities about the Board’s policies, programs, rules, and procedures. We will also be consulting on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Federal Education Law and how it pertains to Utah’s students. The meetings will be held quarterly beginning in September and usually last 2-3 hours. If you would like to be considered for membership on this committee, please complete the following AAPAC Application.

The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) Alignment Study

CRESST at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was contracted to conduct an independent evaluation of the Utah Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence (SAGE) in the domains of reading/writing, mathematics, and science for the 2014-2015 operational year.

In response to the call for proposals, this evaluation was organized into two studies:

  1. The adequacy of the item pool, or test questions, in relation to Utah standards and cognitive complexity, and
  2. The adequacy of the Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) algorithm developed and administered in 2014-2015 by the state’s test vendor, American Institutes for Research (AIR).

Technical Assistance: Independent Evaluation of the Utah SAGE Item Pool Alignment and Computer Adaptive Test Algorithm

The study was peer reviewed and the overall strong findings as well as areas for continued improvement are presented in the study. The study was written for readers familiar with psychometrics and as such, the executive summary, are most comprehensible for non-statistical readers. Utah State Board of Education (USBE) staff looks forward to working with stakeholders to improve Utah’s computer adaptive assessment and questions that firmly measure Utah standards.

Data Gateway

Utah's Accountability Reports 
Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Data Gateway

Testing Ethics

Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy
Approved by the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) on August 2, 2018.

Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy Signature Form

Testing Ethics Policy Presentation