Participation Required in Oregon’s State Assessment System

To: Superintendents and District Test Coordinators
From: Colt Gill, Director, Oregon Department of Education
Date: May 11, 2022
Re: Participation Required in Oregon’s State Assessment System

Dear Superintendents and District Test Coordinators,

This is a follow-up to a communication sent on Feb. 18, 2022 titled, Oregon’s State Assessment System Update - 2022, noting that participation in state assessment is required for all public schools in Oregon for spring 2022 under both state and federal law.

This follow-up comes after ODE has reviewed current participation rates for our state summative assessments in English language arts, mathematics, and science.  Current participation rates are well below average historical levels at this point in the school year. At this time, approximately half of Oregon’s school districts have participation rates below 20%. Superintendents, please check with your District Test Coordinator to review your current participation rates.

Public Schools Must Have A Plan In Place To Administer Required State Assessments

We are reaching out to remind education leaders that participation in  state assessment remains required for all public schools in Oregon for spring 2022 under both federal and state law. All Oregon districts are expected to provide both the general and alternate assessments in the required Grades (3-8 & 11) in the content areas of English language arts and math, as well as science in Grades 5, 8, & 11. ODE has made remote general summative testing available to support students engaged in online instruction to support online charter schools and district online schools in meeting participation requirements. 

In order to comply with federal testing requirements, districts must ensure that they have a plan in place to administer required state assessments to eligible students during the spring 2022 statewide testing window. 

Risks From Not Administering State Assessments

In addition to potential consequences related to federal non-compliance with ESSA (see the U.S. Department of Education’s 2/3/2015 Letter to Alaska), failure to administer required state assessments constitutes non-compliance with three related Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) Division 22 requirements: 

• OAR 581-022-2100 Administration of State Assessments 
• OAR 581-022-2110 Exception of Students with Disabilities from State Assessments, and 
• OAR 581-022-2270 Individual Student Assessment, Recordkeeping and Reporting. 
• Being out-of-compliance with OAR Chapter 581, Division 22 standards can lead to withholding of some or all state school funds. Some school districts were out of compliance last school year, making it more likely that state school funds would be withheld for not taking corrective action. 

Districts that do not administer state assessments in spring 2022 risk reductions in both ESEA federal Title I programs and state school funds. 

ODE has provided interim assessments and formative assessment resources statewide since the fall of 2020, so that Oregon’s summative assessments no longer encompass the state's entire assessment system. Also the length of the summative ELA and mathematics assessments have been significantly reduced over the past five years. That said, summative assessments play a critical school, district, and state systems-level role within a balanced approach to assessment, as they can provide comparable information about how well our education system is serving all of Oregon’s students, particularly those who continue to be underserved. ODE also remains committed to working with the U.S. Department of Education to seek creative and flexible solutions to further reduce student time spent on summative assessments. 

Please contact ODE’s Assessment Team with any questions regarding federal and state assessment requirements.

Thank you.