Academic Testing

2017-18 Opal School At-a-Glance Profile.pdf

Academic Testing at Opal School

  • Who: Students in grades 3-8 and 11th grade (3-5 at Opal) take the OSAS (Oregon State Assessment System) tests in math and English language arts (reading, writing) to assess their abilities in relation to Common Core State Standards. Fifth grade students also take the test in science.
  • What: OSAS tests are given using computers, rather than paper-and-pencil. The tests provide audio clips and illustrations for students to apply their knowledge and critical thinking skills to real-world situations. The testing format includes a computer adaptive machine-scored tasks (CAT) and a longer performance task (PT) for each subject area.
  • When: Beginning mid-April and continuing until the end of May, during extended Wednesdays (noon-2:45pm). We will begin with English language arts, followed by math and science. We hope to minimize the disruption of the rich classroom work.
  • How: At Opal, we start students together in one classroom. During the first sessions, we will discuss test-taking strategies with students and provide opportunities to practice testing on computers. During testing sessions, we provide encouragement and snacks to help students remain focused (lemon wedges, savory crackers, cheese sticks, nuts, apples and cucumbers).
  • Test length: There is wide variation in the amount of time that an individual student needs to complete the tests. Students will take the tests over multiple sessions. We schedule 6 sessions on extended Wednesdays.
  • Participation: Federal law (ESSA) requires that states test students. Oregon House Bill 2655, the Student Assessment Bill of Rights, permits parents to annually opt out of English language Arts and Math tests for any reason. To opt your student out of the science test, you must claim a disability reason or religious belief.

While Oregon Law gives parents the right to exempt their student from testing, participation rates in state tests are one of the criteria used by ODE and PPS to evaluate Opal School’s performance. Beginning in 2018-19, students who do not participate in state testing (as needed to meet 95% participation rate) are included in the category "Does not Meet" on the Oregon At-A-Glance School Profile (see above).

  • Parent Resources: You can view sample questions here, and a practice test here. These resources are provided to parents to help answer your questions about OSAS testing. Opal School staff will introduce your student to the test environment and format. We do not recommend that you share these links with your student.

Support from home

One of the ways that you can support at home is to provide access to keyboarding programs for your student. There are a variety of keyboarding resources available on the web, both for free and for purchase, to support keyboarding proficiency. The links below are (mostly) free resources, which means you may find advertisements on the screen. Please check them out before deciding to introduce your student to these resources.

Exemptions from Testing

ODE Frequently Asked Questions

    • Language Arts and Math: Under House bill 2655, parents may opt-out their student(s) from English language arts and math testing, and are not required to specify a reason. The opt-out form must be submitted each year. The school will provide a student who is exempt from the tests with supervised study time while other students are testing.

You may request a 30-day Notice of State Testing at Fall Conferences or from the Opal School office. If you choose to opt-outyour student from testing, please submit your form no later than March 15.

    • Science: Under OAR 581-022-1910, parents may request an exemption from testing only to accommodate a student's disabilities or religious beliefs.

The student's parent or guardian must submit a written request for the exemption, and must propose an alternative individualized learning activity for the student that meets the same goals that would be accomplished by participation in state testing. The school is not required to provide this alternative individualized learning activity for the student.