| 1/12/2012 10:10:00 AM | ||||||||||||||||||
| Assessment and Accountability Update - January 12, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
The Assessment & Accountability Update for January 12, 2012 is now available. You can access this and past issues of the Assessment & Accountability Update on the ODE website. In This Issue:
OAKS Online Test OpportunitiesOn Wednesday, January 11, ODE introduced additional test items into the OAKS Online assessments. For those districts with policies allowing for students to take multiple test opportunities, this means that students may now retest. ODE supports up to three test opportunities per student for OAKS Math, Reading, and Science and up to two test opportunities for OAKS Social Sciences.In addition, as of January 11, students will see approximately 5 additional test items per test compared to tests administered in the fall. These additional test items are field test items and will not impact student scores. Once testing for the 2011-12 school year is complete, ODE staff will analyze student responses to these field test items and determine whether to include these items operationally in future years. For more information about the role of field testing in Oregon’s test development process, please refer to ODE’s Technical Manual Volume 2: Test Development. For subject-specific information, please refer to the Test Specifications and Blueprints. 2011-12 Winter Writing Test Window is OpenThe Winter Writing test window opens for Grade 11 students only on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. The online writing test window lasts from January 11 - March 16. The paper-based writing test window lasts from January 11 - February 23. Districts administering the winter paper-based writing test received their shipment of secure materials between January 2 - January 4. This shipment included both English and Spanish tests. Districts that ordered Braille Writing tests will receive a separate shipment including the Braille version of the test. Districts must ensure that all secure test materials are stored in a secure area in accordance with Part IV – Test Security of the 2012-12 Test Administration Manual . Remember to keep all boxes in which your shipment arrives for use in returning completed Writing tests for scoring.
Districts will receive a return kit in a separate shipment by Thursday, February 9, 2012. This return kit will include return mailing labels, a return checklist, and an overage certification form. Districts submitting non-precoded “overage” booklets for scoring must sign this form and include it with their shipment certifying that overage booklets were only used to test eligible Grade 11 students who had not previously taken and passed the High School Writing test. Winter Writing is the first of two test windows for eligible Grade 11 students to take the state writing assessment. The Spring Writing test window opens Wednesday, April 11, 2012. Please note that students may only take the test once and must choose to take the assessment either in the paper or online format during ONE of the two windows. For additional information about administering the Writing assessment, please refer to Appendix G of the 2011-12 Test Administration Manual .
2011-12 ELPA Test Window is OpenThe English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) window opened on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. This state assessment is required each year for all students eligible to receive NCLB Title III services. For 2011-12, students must take the ELPA if they are exited from ELD services after September 15 of the current year or if they have received ELD services in the current year (e.g., districts must not administer the ELPA to students who were exited from ELD services prior to September 15 of the current school year and have not received ELD services in the current year). For additional information about the ELPA, please refer to Appendix H of the 2011-12 Test Administration Manual and at www.ode.state.or.us/go/elpa.
Print Function for ELPA Reading for 2011-12In 2011-12, reading passages on the first segment of the ELPA will have the same print functionality as other OAKS content areas. This allows students the option to print a secure ELPA reading passage. As with all printing of secure items, the TA must approve the student request, and any secure materials must be disposed of in manner compliant with the Test Administrator Manual. Here is the applicable language from the Test Administrator Manual: “Before the TA approves the student’s request to print a test item, the TA must ensure that the test item is set to print on a printer that is monitored by staff who have received test security training and signed an Assurance of Test Security form for the current school year. Printed test items must be collected and inventoried at the end of each testing event and securely shredded immediately. DO NOT keep printed test items for future testing events.” For additional information, please review the 2011-12 Test Administrator Manual.
Feedback Opportunity: ELA/Literacy Content Specifications ClaimsOregon and colleague states governing the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium will vote on the Content Specifications claims for ELA/literacy next week. ODE is interested in your feedback. ODE’s vote is due on January 18.As you may know, the SBAC Content Specifications for ELA/literacy have been through two rounds of review and extensive revisions/editing based on the feedback from states and organizations. At the heart of the Content Specifications are the claims which describe what students should know and can do within English language arts and literacy. These claims will serve as the basis for assessment development decisions, such as test design and reporting categories. Given the important role these claims will have in future assessment development work, Governing States must vote on whether to approve the claims as written. To support your review, the following two documents (http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=3298) are available on the web:
Please send feedback to Carla.martinez@state.or.us  by Tuesday, January 17. Thank you very much.
Extended Assessment Braille and Large Print Ordering Deadline: January 20, 2012The window to order Oregon’s Alternate Assessment (Extended Assessment) in Braille and/or Large Print opens November 10, 2011. To order please complete, sign, and submit the attached order form via email or fax to Bob Disher at Oregon's Textbook and Media Center (OTMC) by January 20, 2012. Incomplete or unsigned order forms will not be processed. You will receive an email confirmation once OTMC has received your Braille or Large Print test request.
If you have additional questions, please contact Brad Lenhardt at Brad.Lenhardt@state.or.us .
Grade 11 Restriction for Writing Assessment to Continue through 2012-13Due to budgetary restrictions, during the 2011 Legislative session, the Oregon State Legislature determined that the Writing Performance Assessment will only be available for students enrolled in Grade 11 who have not already met or exceeded the state achievement standard on the Writing assessment. As described in ODE Numbered Memorandum # 001-2011-12 (http://www.ode.state.or.us/news/announcements/announcement.aspx?ID=7543&TypeID=4), this restriction went into effect starting in 2011-12. Absent additional action by the Legislature, this restriction will remain in effect through 2012-13. Given that the Writing Essential Skills graduation requirement first goes into effect for the 2009-10 9th grade cohort, many of whom are anticipated to graduate in 2012-13, districts should begin planning to provide additional assessment options for those students who do not pass the Writing assessment this year as 11th graders. A full list of approved Writing Essential Skills assessment options is included in Appendix K of the 2011-12 Test Administration Manual.
Scientific Inquiry Student Feedback Forms AvailableODE has developed and posted new model Scientific Inquiry Student Feedback Forms for educators to use in order to document student scores, and to give allowable feedback for possible revision(s). The student feedback forms are similar to the math student feedback forms that were developed to assist in the scoring of problem solving local performance tasks. The forms are not required, but some districts use this type of documentation in order to keep track of student scores. Student feedback forms have been developed for the following levels: 3rd Grade, 4th/5th Grade, Middle School (6th-8th Grade), and High School (9th-12th Grade).The student feedback forms can be found at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=2667. Development of the Common Assessment for 2014-15Each week, we will address recent activities of the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) of which Oregon is a governing state. Beginning in 2014-2015, SBAC will facilitate delivery of the common assessments in Mathematics and English Language Arts.
Answering Open Questions Each week SBAC addresses a question or two on the minds of Consortium members. Send your questions to sbac@wested.org .
As currently written, the ELA/literacy content specifications do not address the foundational reading standards for K-5. Will the formative assessments include assessments for these standards for K-5? The summative, end-of-year assessments used for accountability purposes will not include items or tasks aligned to the K-5 “foundational” reading standards (i.e., print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, and fluency). The interim assessments also will not assess these foundational skills because, as described in our proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, the interim assessments are designed to be aligned to and on the same scale as the summative assessments. The foundational skills are so distinctly different from the ELA standards in reading, writing, listening and speaking, and language that it is hard to imagine that interim items and tasks could be aligned with and drawn onto the summative scale. Formative processes and practices is a place where we might be able to provide support for the assessment of foundational reading skills. The Formative Assessment Practices and Professional Learning Work Group will coordinate with member states to identify the need for tools and other supports that cover the entire range of the Common Core State Standards, including K-5 foundational reading skills. Even though we may be able to provide support for foundational reading standards through formative assessment activities, it’s important to keep in mind that our formative resources are not intended to be Consortium-developed “tests.” The experts with whom we have been working all remind us that “formative assessment” should not be viewed as a catalog of tests, but should instead be seen as a resource that teachers and instructional leaders can use to develop high-quality assessments for use in day-to-day instruction. Revising an OAKS Writing assessment for use as an Essential Skills local performance assessment (work sample)ODE has recently received several questions from the field regarding the potential for high school students who did not meet the standard on an OAKS Writing assessment to revise their test for use as one of the three required writing work samples to demonstrate proficiency in the Essential Skill of Writing. ODE has determined that allowing students to revise their non-meeting OAKS Writing assessment as a work sample is permissible so long as the following conditions are met:
Questions should be directed to Derek Brown (derek.brown@state.or.us ) at 503-947-5841.
Reminder: Class Size 2011-12 Opens January 19, 2012The 2011-12 Class Size Collection will open January 19, 2012. It will close on March 2, 2012. The 2011-12 Manual has been updated and posted to the Schedule of Due Dates page.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your Regional Collections Support Partner .
Report Cards Must Be Distributed by January 15 (which is a Sunday this year)During the last legislative session the Oregon legislature amended ORS 329.105 relating to school and district report cards. These amendments included a revision in the school and district report card distribution requirements. In response, the State Board of Education adopted at its December meeting a change to OAR 581-022-1060 that provides more options for school and district report card distribution. The new distribution rules are as follows.By January 15 of each year, school districts shall make a copy of the state provided school and school district performance report available to the parent(s) or guardian(s) of each child enrolled in a public school in the school district by doing one or more of the following: (a) Mailing a copy; (b) Electronically sending a copy; or (c) Providing a link to a state or district web site containing the reports and also making copies available in local schools, libraries, parents centers, community centers, or other public locations easily accessible to parents and others. Fall Membership Previews and Final Report
Note that all changes must be made in first period Cumulative ADM before January 30 in order to be reflected in the Final Preview and Final Fall Membership Report. If you have questions or need assistance with your student data, please contact your Regional Collections Support Partner .
Second Period Cumulative ADMThe second period Cumulative ADM data collection is currently open and will close January 13. The audit review period will be January 23 through February 1. The collection period is from July 1, 2011 through December 30, 2011.If you have questions or need assistance with your student data, please contact your Regional Collections Support Partner .
OAKS Online Reporting Will Provide Access to Out of District Scores Starting January 17On Tuesday, January 17 AIR will launch a new feature in the online reporting system. On the home page of the online reporting system there will be two new buttons:
If users choose “scores for students who were mine during the selected administration,” they will see exactly what they currently see in the online reporting system. If users choose “scores for my current students” and then choose an administration year from the drop-down box that is different from the current administration year (years 07-08 through 11-12 can be chosen in the drop-down box) they will see scores for their current students from the year selected, even if a current student was in a different school or district in the selected year. This will allow users to access previous year’s test score data for students who transferred into their school or district prior to the current academic year. The “Search Students” feature has also been enhanced. If a user chooses “scores for my current students” and the current year (11-12) and enters a student SSID, the user will see all current and previous scores for that student, including any scores that student earned in a different school or district. The User Guide will be updated on Tuesday, January 17 when this new feature is released to provide more details on how to use this new feature. In order to load the new feature, the online reporting system will be down for approximately an hour starting 6:30 PM Friday, January 13. The test delivery system, training site, and TIDE will remain available during this time. If you have questions or need assistance with OAKS Online reporting, please contact your Regional Assessment Support Partner .
OAKS Online Tests Administered To DateAs of January 9, 2012 the following number of tests have been started and reported by subject:
| ||||||||||||||||||
| - end - |
Contact(s) for this Announcement
|
|
Related Topic(s): |
|
Oregon Department of Education
255 Capitol Street NE Salem, OR 97310-0203 |
| Copyright © 1998-2013 Oregon Department of Education |
