Statewide Mandated Testing Program
All YKSD schools are required to participate in the Statewide Mandated Testing program which includes the Standards Based Assessments (SBA), Science Standards Based Assessments, High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE) and Terra Nova exams. This year selected sites will be required to participate in the NAEP testing.
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. Science SBA tests are administered to grades 4,8, and 10.
Standards Based Assessments (SBA) will be given in grades 3rd thru 10th. The Science SBA test will be administered to grades 4, 8, and 10. 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. This norm referenced test is mandated by the Alaska Department of Education.
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: October 14, 15 & 16, 2008
English Language Proficiency (ELP) Assessment
Specific teachers and number of students to be determined at a later date
Window: March 1 to April 30, 2009
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Testing window: January 26-March 6, 2009 (grade 4 & 8)
HSGQE Spring Administration
April 7, 8 & 9, 2009
Standards Based Assessment (Grades 3-10)
April 7, 8 & 9, 2009
Make-up: April 13-20, 2009
Science Standards Based Assessment (Grades 4, 8, and 10)
April 10-20, 2009
TerraNova (Grades 5 and 7)
Testing Window from February 2-20, 2009
AimsWeb
Fall: October 6 - 17, 2008
Winter:January 19 - 31, 2009
Spring: May 4-15, 2009
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 day of the test, 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 3:30 p.m. on each test date. (Patty, you cannot put an end time on the tests. According to the directions, students have as long they want, but most are finished by 5:00 p.m.)
All the SBA, HSGQE and TerraNova materials shall be inventoried before being sent by certified mail to: Yukon Koyukuk School District, Director of Instruction, 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 may help proctor the 3-10 SBA tests but not 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 the District Testing Coordinator.
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 norm referenced tests at grades 5 and 7, SBA and the HSGQE for students in the tenth through twelfth grades. Regular assessments also include criterion 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 District Testing Coordinator no later than one day after the completion of the exam.
Return the SBA, HSGQE and TerraNova completed and uncompleted tests to the District Testing Coordinator 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 Director of Instruction.
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. AIMS Web
This is a Formative Assessment that teachers use in collecting data for their students. Aimsweb tests for reading fluency and math computation up to 8th grade.
16. ACFA
ACFA stands for Alaska Computerized Formative Assessment for grades 3-10. It is to be used in conjunction with instruction as teachers teach the GLE’s, they can test their students with ACFA formative tests to see if students have mastered the GLE’s, to be used at the beginning and end of unit instruction. Another option for formative testing is the Anchorage Item Bank which also has questions that test the GLE’s taught by the teacher. These formative tests have links off the EED website under Assessment.
17. 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.)