A statewide assessment shall be administered in all school districts in the state once in an elementary school grade, once in a middle school grade, and one grade in high school. For those years in grades 3 through 8 in which the school district does not administer the statewide assessment, the school district, in consultation with the department and as part of the statewide education improvement and assessment program, shall develop and administer its own assessment or shall administer a standardized assessment that identifies a pupil’s range of learning and yields objective data to use in improving instruction and learning. All public school students in the designated grades shall participate in the assessment, unless such student is exempted from taking the test by his or her parent or legal guardian, or provided that the commissioner of the department of education may, through an agreement with another state when such state and New Hampshire are parties to an interstate agreement, allow pupils to participate in that state’s assessment program as an alternative to the assessment required under this chapter. Home educated students may contact their local school districts if they wish to participate in the statewide assessment. Private schools may contact the department of education to participate in the statewide assessment. The department may use the College Board SAT or ACT college readiness assessment to satisfy the high school assessment requirements of this chapter. The statewide assessment results of a student or the student’s school district shall not be included as part of the student’s transcript unless the student, if 18 years of age or older, or the student’s parent or legal guardian if the student is under 18 years of age, consents. A school district shall not penalize any exempted student nor shall the department of education or the state board of education penalize any school district for a lower participation rate. A school district shall develop a form to be signed by the parent or legal guardian of any student exempted from the assessment. The school district shall provide an appropriate alternative educational activity for the time period during which the assessment is administered. The alternative activity shall be agreed upon by the school district and the parent or legal guardian of the student. The name of the parent or legal guardian and any specific reasons disclosed to school officials for the objection to the assessment shall not be public information and shall be excluded from access under RSA 91-A.