Wyoming Education Officials Applaud Transition To WY-TOPP Test

Wyoming education officials say the transition to the new statewide assessment test during the 2017-2018 school year went well.

The Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WY-TOPP) test replaced the Proficiency Assessment of Wyoming Students (PAWS) test which had been given to students across the state in recent years to assess academic performance.

“WY-TOPP was a major shift and improvement for our schools,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow at a Wednesday news conference.

“We went from a paper and pencil, multiple-choice-only test that provided limited useful information to teachers, to an adaptable, interactive, online assessment that gives teachers data that can be used to inform instruction. I’m so proud of the teachers, principals, tech directors, and assessment coordinators who helped make this transition as seamless as it could be for students. Now, not only are we spending less money on the statewide assessment, it’s also taking up less time in the classroom while providing a better measure of student performance.”

But because the new test is entirely different, Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) officials say the results cannot be compared to the PAWS results. You can see the WYTOPP results for every district in the state here.

The graphics below show the statewide results: