CGLAs are scored locally and used to assess both student progress and for program evaluation. Back to top State Assessments State assessments are mandated by the State Department of Education. Every student in the grade level tested by the state must take the assessment. They are designed to measure students progress in mastery of the state curriculum and standards and for program evaluation. The format for all state assessments except the writing and reading diagnostic are constructed response based.
Students fill out bubble sheets that are electronically scored.
The scoring and desagregating is done at the state level. Reports for individual students and groups of students are generated by the state and distributed to school districts. These assessments do give some information about student's progress, but should be used for program evaluation, not student evaluation. The 1995 amendments to the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act required the State Board of Education to set building-level standards of excellence on all state assessments as well as individual student standards of excellence. In the fall of 1999, the Board acted to expand the previously authorized four categories in the state's old assessment program to five student performance levels for the newly revised Kansas assessments.