The Wyoming Comprehensive Assessment System (WyCAS) evaluates reading, writing, and mathematics. The standardized portion of the assessment system is composed of the TerraNova test.

Assessment Information

1. Purpose. Wyoming’s Statewide Assessment System is comprised of multiple sources of information that, when taken together, provide reliable measures of school, district, and state performance with regard to individual student achievement.

2. Uses and Consequences. Wyoming’s statewide assessment system provides data that will be used: as a measure of AYP and broader accountability; to enhance teaching and learning; and, along with other measures and information, to inform decisions about individual student progress.

3. Coverage. The summative statewide assessment measures student performance and progress against (and is aligned with) state content and performance standards in grades 3-8, and at least once in grades 10-12, in the subjects of language arts and math, effective in the 2005-06 school year (and at least once in grades 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12 in the subject of science, effective in the 2007-08 school year).

4. Format. The statewide assessment system includes multiple measures and item types\, including age-appropriate multiple choice and open-ended questions (such as constructed-response, extended-response, and performance-based tasks).

Merit’s language arts and math software programs correlate to the Wyoming Measurement Constructs and can help students prepare for State assessments. The content and format of Merit’s programs can help students develop and strengthen their test-taking skills as well as their reading, writing and math skills.

Merit reading software has been proven -- through rigorous, scientifically based research -- to increase both student reading comprehension and standardized test scores. Merit research study findings reveal that education software is an effective tool to improve test scores and academic performance.

Published: March 2005