Emails

__**October 29, 2008**__ What follows is a summary of some of the new or particularly important things for 2008-2009. I hope it is helpful to you. __KIDS Issues__ · An early TEST submission is advisable so that a student may participate in Fall OTL testing. It is also needed before you can access OTL reports and be able to select alternate assessment indicators. · When you have a home schooler who is home schooled in all assessed areas, code “0002” in the AYP school field in KIDS. · When you have a home schooler who is public schooled in all assessed areas, enter your building number in the AYP school field in KIDS. · When you have a home schooler who is public schooled in one or more assessed areas, enter your building number in the AYP school field in KIDS and use SC 16 for those subject areas not assessed. __Exemptions__ · Students are exempt if they enter a new school after January 5 for alternate, after February 13 for reading and math, after March 13 for science or history-government, and __after the end of the local testing window in writing.__ __Recent Arrivals__ · If a student is a Recent Arrival (new federal terminology for Newcomer), he can be exempted only from the Reading and Writing tests if he takes the KELPA. He cannot be exempted in science or mathematics; in these assessments he is counted for participation only. · Dates for coding students as recent arrivals are February 18, 2008 for reading and math, March 18, 2008 for science and history-government, and one calendar year before the local writing assessment window for writing. __Opportunity to Learn (OTL)__ · If this year’s freshmen go through high school at the normal speed, they will be in both the Grade 11 cohort for writing and the Grade 12 cohort for history-government. This year’s sophomores will not be in either the writing or the history-government cohorts. __Accommodations and SC Codes__ · If you need to request an unlisted or unusual accommodation in writing, please contact Matt Copeland at mcopeland@ksde.org or at 785.296.5060. · Two new accommodations must be coded by KSDE this year: SC 30 (no effort on the part of the student) and SC33 (student refuses to test). As always, KSDE needs to code SC 08 (catastrophic illness), SC 29 (emotional trauma), and SC 39 (other). · The student data editor on the CETE website will close approximately one week after the end of the testing window this year. __SC codes and accommodations codes must be entered by the following dates:__ o January 30 for Fall OTL testing o May 8 for reading, math, writing, and KELPA o May 25 for science, history-government, and alternate · A Spanish version of the science assessment is being produced and can be used as an accommodation for Spring, 2009. __Inappropriate Testing Practices__ ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> If you find out that a prohibited practice is used during the assessment (such as reading the reading passage, using journals or calculators on a non-calculator section), call me at 785.296.3996 to see if another form of the test can be used. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> Review sessions may not be conducted on the day of the assessment or in between testing sessions. When the assessment begins, the reviews need to stop until testing is over. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> Schools may not require students to use any particular strategy. Students may not be required to use scratch paper. They may not be required to show their work. If the student chooses to use the scratch paper that you provide as an option, the teacher must not grade the scratch paper. It must not be collected, and it must be destroyed along with the testing booklets. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> Please remember---it is a violation of appropriate testing practice to use actual or cloned state assessment items in the classroom. __Read-Aloud and KCA Voice__ ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> Read-aloud may be delivered by either scripts or KCA voice this year. A school may use entirely scripts, entirely KCA voice, or a combination of both. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> Please see the document mentioned above (Read-Aloud and KCA Voice for 2009) for all the details about scripts and KCA voice. You should contact me with questions about the policy and about scripts. Contact CETE at 785.864.3537 with questions about KCA voice. __Incomplete Papers__ ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> It is important to call me if you have a student who moved and has a test that he did not complete. A test is scored if only one section is taken; that test would automatically get an Academic Warning. Please call me for an SC code. __Data Quality Certification Program__ ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> You may want to check into the Data Quality Certification program that KSDE’s IT Department is offering. The program is full for this year, but there is a waiting list for next year. This program is for staff who act as data stewards for assessment and accountability data.

Please call me at 785.296.3996 (cell phone is 785.633.4752) or Dave Bowman at 785.296.4349 if you have any questions. Cherie

__**October 7, 2008**__ The statement below, from Friday’s October 3rd email was incorrect. I had it confused with the KIDS submission history that the building/district would have access to, not the testing history. Once a “new” student has been claimed (Assignment Record submitted) or a TEST record submitted districts can use the “Individual Assessment Report” to view testing history. Located as a menu item on the AYP/QPA report menu. Access to past individual student test history remains problematic. Please continue to request assessment records from the sending school; for OTL purposes see OTL Reports…when posted. *David Bowman

Test Coordinators: KSDE email crashed along with it’s back up systems last Friday morning. The third floor has been without email until yesterday and a few people (including Cherie and Scott) are, as of Thursday afternoon still having issues. It appears some email sent between Friday and Wednesday to KSDE may have been lost. Those of us up and running have quite a backlog and are working to catch up. Standard of Excellence for reading and math will be posted on the draft report card by Monday. The process will be the same as last year, reviewing the report card for the “yellow” stars indicating grade level and building level standard of excellence. If your district’s total enrollment is over 5000, test coordinators may email me requesting a district list. Betty Phillips and I will attempt to fill those requests in a timely fashion. The draft report card is on the https://online.ksde.org/authentication/login.aspx. If you do not see the application go to “Manage My Account” and request it. Science and H-G will follow; I will send an announcement prior to their availability. The AYP/QPA Summary report (Sceince and H-G) is now available on the AYP/QPA accountability menu. All reports on the AYP/QPA menus have been populated with Science and H-G data. Once a “new” student has been claimed (Assignment Record submitted) or a TEST record submitted districts can use the “Individual Assessment Report” to view Testing history. Located as a menu item on the AYP/QPA report menu. When OTL reports are posted on the [|https://online].... Site, I will send an announcement as to their location. TEST submissions for large districts to populate OTL Reports: Though not a KIDS data submission best practice – the alternative method for submitting TEST records may be used again this year (i.e. submitting students in grades 9, 10, and 11 with the KCA General as the test type may create fewer corrections and submissions for your district. The process will not require you to use the “C” (clear subject indicator) if these students are not assessed. Please call Scott or me if you have specific questions. HS-OTL only: If you are planning to do any “read-alouds” this Fall semester use the 2008 Read-Aloud procedures listed on the [|www.ksde.org] >Educators > Assessement Page. There will be modified procedures and directions for Spring Read-Alouds.  Reminder: KSDE Fall Conference, October 20 and 21. Registration is open until Oct. 6, see Fall Conference on the left hand menus on the [|www.ksde.org] main page. David Bowman KSDE Assessment Consultant V-785-296-4349
 * __October 3, 2008__**