The Department of Assessment Implementation is responsible for maintaining assessment information, communicating assessment and accountability information for the district, supporting the testing coordinators, and developing regulations, program advisories, and other documents necessary to support state-required assessment and accountability.

Today’s students must be prepared to enter an increasingly competitive world. For this reason, Mississippi is strengthening student assessment, school accreditation, and accountability standards in an effort to raise student achievement. We are moving to a more comprehensive testing system that will measure what students are actually learning in Mississippi classrooms. The strength of this new system is the emphasis on criterion-referenced tests designed to directly measure what is being taught. Norm-referenced tests will continue to be administered, providing data to compare the performance of students in Mississippi with that of other states, ensuring that students are competitive at a national level. The individual elements of the new assessment system fit together to provide a comprehensive picture of students’ strengths and weaknesses.

Assessment Department Personnel

Dr. Jillian Vallo – Director

Dr. Jenny Webber – Testing Coordinator

Joanna Waltman – Assistant Testing Coordinator

Testing

Mississippi Department of Education 
Office of Student Assessment 

• 2023-2024 Testing Calendar
• Technology - Testing Readiness Procedure

• MKAS2 - KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT ( PRE-TEST)
  • AUGUST - SEPTEMBER
• MS CAREER PLANNING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM, THIRD EDITION
  • NOVEMBER
• MS CAREER PLANNING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM. THIRD EDITON (MAKE-UP)
  • NOVEMBER 
• MS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR BIOLOGY I AND U.S HISTORY 
  • NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 
• MS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR ELA & MATH 
  • NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
• NAEP ASSESSMENT (SELECTED SCHOOLS) 
  • JANUARY - MARCH 
• AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST - PAPER 
  • FEBRUARY
• AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST - ONLINE 
  • FEBRUARY
• LAS LINKS-ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST 
  • MARCH-APRIL 
• MS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM- ALTERNATE FOR ELA & MATH 
  • MARCH-MAY 
• MS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM - ALTERNATE FOR SCIENCE 
  • MARCH- MAY 
• AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST - PAPER ONLY ( MAKE-UP) 
  • MARCH
• PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT 
  • APRIL 
• NATIONAL CERTIFICATIONS TESTING 
  • APRIL-MAY
• MS CAREER PLANNING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM SECOND EDITION 
  • TBD
• K-READINESS ASSESSMENT (POST-TEST)
  • APRIL-MAY
• 3RD GRADE MAAP ELS-LBPA
  • APRIL 
• MS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR ELA & MATH 
  • APRIL-MAY
• AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST(MAKE-UP) 
  • MAY 
• MS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR SCIENCE, GRADE 5 AND GRADE 8 
  • APRIL- MAY 
• MS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR BIOLOGY I AND U.S HISTORY 
  • APRIL-MAY 
• GRADE 3 READING SUMMATIVE - ALTERNATE 
  • MAY
• GRADE 3 READING - ALTERNATE
  • JUNE-AUGUST

School Responsibilities: Check machines for any issues that may affect testing

• Verify hardware is functioning as expected. (PC, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, etc.)
• Check testing versions on the machines: Testing software is upgraded automatically. However, there may be a few where an upgrade could possibly fail. The software will inform you if it is out of date when launched.
• Any outdated testing software or device functionality issue will require a work order to be repaired. (please identify the malfunctioning machine by Service tag or asset tag)

Technology Responsibilities

• Respond to any work orders indicating a malfunctioning machine and repair the issue.
• Keep testing software up to date (this is an automated process).
• Respond to any work orders indicating a machine failed an automatic upgrade and install updated software.