Statewide Mandated Testing Program | Attendance | Achievement Testing Procedures
Statewide Mandated Testing Program
All YKSD schools are required to participate in the Statewide Mandated Testing program which includes the Standards Based Assessments (SBA), High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE) and Terra Nova exams.
Attendance
Due to the No Child Left Behind act, all schools are required to have a 95% attendance rate during the statewide testing for students in the 3rd thru 10th grades. Schools with an enrollment of 40 students or fewer can only have two students miss the mandated tests.
Achievement Testing Procedures
Achievement testing is conducted according to the procedures outlined herein. At YKSD, the adopted achievement tests are the Standards Based Assessments (SBA) and High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE). The TerraNova is administered to all YKSD students, in grades 5 and 7.
Standards Based Assessments (SBA) will be given in grades 3rd thru 9th. The HSGQE will be administered in grades 10, 11 and 12. Once a student passes the Reading, Writing or Math section of the HSGQE, he or she does not need to take that section of the exam again.
1. Test Administration for TerraNova
Duration of testing and conditions for the TerraNova: Testing shall take place according to the manufacturer’s exact instructions (CTB McGraw-Hill) for validity, unless the Assistant Superintendent provides specific instructions.
2. Test Administration – Testing of HSGQE and Other Examinations
The test dates for the Benchmark Examinations and the HSGQE are set by the Alaska Department of Education.
High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE)
Fall Administration*
Specific teachers and number of students to be determined at a later date
Window: September 19 to September 30, 2005
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
No NAEP assessment for FY06.
April 4, 5 and 6, 2006
April 4, 5, 6, 2006
Make-up: April 7-12, 2006
Testing Window from January 31st thru February 20th, 2006.
3. Testing security for Benchmark Examinations and HSGQE
Each school principal and each Alaska certified proctor shall be trained to give the SBA and the HSGQE.
The principal is responsible for all testing material. The principal must inventory all testing material upon receipt.
All SBA, HSGQE and TerraNova testing materials shall be locked in a secure area before testing, after each test date, and after completion of the tests.
Duration of testing and conditions for HSGQE and the SBA examinations shall take place according to the Alaska Department of Education’s exact instructions. Testing shall take place no earlier than 7:30 a.m. and end no later than 12 noon on each test date.
All the SBA, HSGQE and TerraNova materials shall be inventoried before being sent by certified mail to the Yukon Koyukuk School District, Office of the Assistant Superintendent, at 4762 Old Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709.
Only certificated staff can administer the SBA and the HSGQE. Teachers of grades 3 thru 9 can administer the SBA for their classes. Teacher aides shall not help proctor the HSGQE.
Teachers of high school mathematics cannot administer the math portion of the HSGQE. In addition, teachers of high school reading and writing cannot administer the reading and writing portion of the HSGQE.
Failure to keep all testing material secure, and/or administering to the tests according the Alaska Department of Education, DRC and CTB McGraw-Hill’s exact instructions shall be referred to the Professional Teaching Practices Commission. If you are administering or proctoring tests and have questions or concerns, contact the Assistant Superintendent.
4. Who is tested?
All YKSD students in grade 3rd thru 10th and 11th and 12th grade students that have not passed the HSGQE are tested. Due to the No Child Left Behind act, all schools are required to have a 95% attendance rate for 3rd thru 10th grade students during SBA and HSGQE statewide testing. To ensure full accountability, the district must assess all students, including students with disabilities and those who are limited English proficient. To accomplish this, the Alaska Department of Education developed a two-tiered Comprehensive System of Student Assessments.
Regular Assessments: These include criterion-referenced tests at grades 5 and 7, SBA and the HSGQE for students in the tenth through twelfth grades. Regular assessments also include norm-referenced tests given at selected grade levels and test accommodations for some students. Any accommodations that students may need will have to be in the student’s IEP three months prior to SBA and HSGQE. Check with the Director of Special Education, to answer any questions regarding students with special needs.
5. Test on grade level
All YKSD students taking tests will be tested at grade level.
6. TerraNova Test Grade Levels
Grade 5 = Level 15
Grade 7 = Level 17
7. Which tests are to be given?
YKSD will administer only the sections required by the State.
8. When are the tests due and to whom?
Return the Fall HSGQE completed and uncompleted tests to the Assistant Superintendent no later than one week after the completion of the exam.
Return the SBA, HSGQE and TerraNova completed and uncompleted tests to the Assistant Superintendent no later than one week after the completion of the exams.
9. Test Reports and Reporting
YKSD provides a variety of test results to schools, parents, teachers, administration and school board members. These reports are provided by CTB McGraw-Hill, DRC, State, and/or generated by Power School. A copy of student testing results is mailed from the district office directly to parents and village schools.
10. CTB McGraw-Hill Scoring Reports
The following scoring services are utilized by YKSD: The Home Report, The Evaluation Summary, Class Record Summary Sheet, The Class Record Sheet, Student Interpretative Report and AYP Proficiencies.
11. YKSD Generated Reports
A variety of reports are generated and provided to schools by the YKSD Student Tracking System. These include school gain/loss reports, individual student’s longitudinal achievement and school class cohort longitudinal achievement. More reports can be requested from the Assistant Superintendent.
12. Report Distribution
Each fall all schools within the school district will receive both the CTB McGraw-Hill, DRC, State, AYP and YKSD generated reports.
13. Reporting Test Scores to Parents
A copy of the TerraNova, SBA and HSGQE will be sent to each parent/guardian and school within two weeks after receiving them at the district office.
Each fall teachers are to share test scores with parents (and students in grades 3-12) in a face-to-face conference on or before the end of the first quarter. At that time, teachers, parents and students will review test scores and plan goals for the year using the YKSD Individual Learning Plan. The Individual Learning Plan, with goals, must be signed and on file in the principal’s office by November 15th of each year and a copy sent to the Superintendent. These procedures may vary for the parents in the correspondence school. RCS reports will be mailed and conferences with parents will be held face-to-face or telephonically.
14. Test Results Interpretation
The Home Report is for parents. It is condensed so that it is easy to read. The Home Report states when the student took the test and gives the overall performance national percentile scores for Reading, Language, Math and Total Battery. There are also short synopsizes describing what objectives the student has mastered or needs further assistance within the areas of Reading, Language, and Math. (See example on D-5.)
CTB-McGraw-Hill provides more information regarding the testing process and how scores should be read.
National Percentile does not report what percent of the test was correct. A National Percentile score (or rank) of 65 means that the student’s score was higher than the scores of 65% of the students in the norming group for that student’s grade at that time of the year.
The Class Record Sheet gives the test results for all students in grade K-12. The test scores are reported in National Percentile (NP), National Stanine (NS), Grade Equivalent (GE) and Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE).
Be aware of how to interpret grade equivalent. If a student in grade 3, has a GE of 6.6, that does not mean that he/she can do 6th grade work. It means only that this student is scoring well above average for grade 3. In most cases, intervening instruction must take place when he or she reaches grade 6.
The National Stanine is a scale that divides the scores of the norm population into nine groups. Stanines 1, 2, 3, are below average, 4, 5, 6, are average, and 7, 8 & 9 are above average.
Because Stanines are single-digit, they are less likely than percentiles to be confused with the percentage of items answered correctly. Their major disadvantage is their lack of precision. For example, a student with a NS score of 5 could have a NP as low as 41 and as high as 59.
15. S*T*A*R Test
The STAR Diagnostic Test is available for each student three times per academic school year. This report shows us the level of each student’s reading and math ability. We use this report to analyze our Language Arts, Math and summer school programs. The information also assists YKSD in the grant writing process that enables the district to acquire funding to meet student needs. One copy should stay in the student’s file and one should be sent to the Director of Federal Programs.
16. Alaska Kindergarten & First Grade Developmental Profile
Improving student achievement requires that educators know at what level to begin instruction when students first enter school. The Alaska Department of Education (DEED) requires that all Kindergarten and students entering first grade be given a developmental profile or a state approved assessment. A certified teacher will administer an assessment to each kindergarten and first grade student. Any first grade student who has taken an assessment as a kindergarten student is exempt. The results of this assessment will be consolidated on a one-page Developmental Profile Recording Form and sent to DEED.
Upon receiving the kindergarten and first grade developmental profile results, a Developmental Profile Form must be filled out for each kindergarten and first grade student. (See example on D-6.)
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