Tuesday, September 29, 2020

TAR information 9/29/2020

 

Transition Attainment Record (TAR) Training/Quiz Opens 

The online training and quiz for the TAR will be available the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 5. The TAR is administered to students participating in the Kentucky Alternate Assessment in place of the ACT. The links below provide access to the different materials necessary to complete the TAR training and quiz. These materials will all be available beginning on Oct. 5. 

TAR Administration Guide: Alternate K-PREP Resources 

TAR Training:  Alternate K-PREP Trainings  

TAR Document (Only available after a successful completion of the quiz):  

For questions please email Kevin O’Hair or call at (502) 564-4394. 

TAR Administration to Begin Oct. 5 

The TAR is a checklist style assessment required for students in grade 11. The TAR can also be provided to any grade 12 or grade 14 student who did not meet benchmark at grade 11. The TAR is available for administration beginning Oct5 and will remain open until May 28, 2021. The assessment may be completed by the review team at any time during this period. 

 For questions please email Kevin O’Hair or call at (502) 564-4394. 

Data Reporting Timeline 9/29/2020

 

School Report Card – Public release schedule 

The School Report Card (SRC) public release date is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14. Districts will have a final opportunity to preview their data beginning Oct. 9. The information will be released to the media under embargo on Oct. 12.  

Due to the federal assessment and accountability waiver, data is limited for the 2020 data release. In addition to the data currently available for review, data also will include ACCESS, Alternate ACCESS, Transition to Adult Life, and Graduation Rates (4-year, 5-year, and 4- and 5-year average) in the Oct. 9 preview. This data has been previously reviewed in SDRR or through Infinite Campus reporting. 

New trend charts are available in the SRC for 2019-2020 reporting. These can be seen by selecting Preview Dashboard on the approval dashboard. The Overview domain includes:

  • Students>Enrollment> Membership>Trends;
  • Students>Student Groups>Economically Disadvantaged> Trends;
  • Students>Student Groups>English Learners> Trends; and
  • Students>Student Groups>Students with Disabilities (IEP)> Trends. 

Academic Performance (Kindergarten Screen) and Transition to Adult Life (Graduate Rates) also will include trend charts when that data is available for district review Oct. 9. Other new charts that will be available for review at that time include long-term goals for Proficiency, Graduation Rate and English Language Proficiency.  

Thanks to everyone who assisted with School Report Card collection and review. The review period officially closed on Sept. 25; however, districts can continue to access the SRC secure site through at least Oct. 2 if last minute changes are needed to collection items for the School Profile Report or if additional review time is needed.  

BrightBytes continues to respond to flagged items and/or escalate to KDE for review. Flagged items should be resolved prior to district approval. KDE contacts are listed in the QA worksheet and can be contacted directly if additional assistance is needed. Please remember that changes made in Infinite Campus or another system locally must be refreshed by KDE before the data will appear in the School Report Card. Contact the appropriate KDE contact to advise if a refresh is needed.   

In accordance with KRS 158.6453, the School Profile Report should be available in district board offices by Oct. 1. To meet this requirement, the download tab at the school level should be used to verify collection data and review and print the School Profile Report. The same report, without signatures, will be available at the bottom of each school’s SRC landing page when the SRC is released publicly.  

The download option at the district level provides a way to verify school-level approvals and see collection data entered by school. KDE uses a similar report to verify district-level approvals and follow-up as needed.   

Details on the timeline, prior communications and resources are available on the SRC Resource page.  

Link to the Kentucky School Report Card (SRC) Data Approval Tool for SRC review and data entry. 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER 

  • Sept. 25: Deadline for entering data into SRC collection tool 
  • Sept. 25: Deadline for review and approval of Overview and Education Opportunity 
  • Oct. 1: The School Profile Report should be complete and available in the district board office (KRS 158.6453) 
  • Oct. 14: Public release 

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

New Allegation Reporting Process

 Allegation Reporting Process


The Kentucky Department of Education’s new application for reporting testing allegations, KDE/CORE ALLEGATION REPORTING, is now live. KDE worked with Caveon, a test security vendor, to create this user-friendly site. The previous allegation reporting site, Kentucky Testing Allegation Web Application, has been closed.

To access the application and file an allegation, all District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) should set up an account and create a password with Caveon. DACs should follow the directions to How to Set Up a Caveon ID

All documents and information on previously filed allegations are now on the KDE/CORE. Any information entered from this point forward or has already been entered and saved will be assigned a case number. Once Save or Save & Exit is clicked, the allegation is officially filed. The allegation cannot be edited, or additional documents uploaded. However, if Save as Draft is chosen edits or additional information may be added to the allegation.

Resources now available include:

  • New Reporting Application: KDE/CORE ALLEGATION REPORTING Application
  • New Issues Codes: Some of the codes have been combined, thus there now are only seven to choose from instead of ten.
  • New Incident Reporting Form: Same form but different name. This fillable PDF can be used to report incidents that need to be filed and uploaded to KDE/CORE site. It may also be used to document the allegations/ incidents that DACs have determined can and will be handled at the district level. (See page 18 of the Administration Code for more information and examples.) It is important to note that all allegations with the possibility of lowered scores must be reported to KDE.
  • Directions for Filing on KDE/CORE: Provides step-by-step directions for collecting documentation and filing an allegation.

Thanks for patience with this transition to a new application. For questions or assistance, please contact Patsy Kenner or Casandra Rosa-Burgos.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

DAC email 9/8/2020 ACT related information

 

ACT Question of the Week

Q: With the COVID-19 restrictions, are districts/schools required to bring in students to complete the ACT pre-activities prior to the test date?

A: No. Due to the unique circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, ACT will now permit students to complete the non-test portion of their answer document on test day for the 2020 fall administration only.

If students complete the non-test portion on test day, please follow these guidelines: 

  • Examinees complete the non-test portion of their answer document before completing any other activity on test day. When they are finished, please instruct them to place the Taking the ACT booklet under their seat (students will take the booklet home when testing is complete). Then the room supervisor should proceed with testing.
  • Please adhere to all scheduled breaks, as documented in the Test Administration Manual.
  • Please submit an irregularity report.

Please ensure the school’s entire testing population adheres to the same non-test procedure decision. A school should not have half of the students come in prior to test day to complete the non-test activities, while the other half complete the non-test activities on test day.

On testing day, please ensure all current COVID-19 guidance procedures are followed. 

ACT Training for Room Supervisors, Proctors and Accommodations Providers

All ACT testing staff, both new and experienced, must attend a training session conducted by the Test Coordinator before test day.

Near the end of the ACT Test Administration Manuals (standard time and accommodations) is a section titled “Training Session Outline and Topics for Discussion.” Subjects include the Security of Test Materials, Room Preparation, Pretest Activities, Test Day and After the Test.

During a training session, the Test Coordinator is expected to discuss the topics described in each section with the testing staff. The Test Accommodations Coordinator must also attend and share any relevant issues with accommodations staff in a separate training session.

The following resources are available for training:

Appropriate Administration Manuals

In addition to ACT’s training expectations, all testing staff must be trained in the Administration Code for Kentucky’s Educational Assessment Program. For those providing accommodations, Inclusion of Special Populations in the State-Required Assessment and Accountability Programs training must be completed. 

ACT Accommodations Reconsideration Deadline

ACT will reconsider requests for ACT-authorized accommodations and English Learner (EL) supports that were not initially approved. If you would like ACT to review a request, you may use the Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) System to submit additional documentation. The deadline for requesting a reconsideration of ACT-approved accommodations and supports on the ACT is Friday, Sept. 18. Directions for submitting a request for reconsideration begin on page 56 of the TAA User Guide. 

ACT Additional Order Materials Deadline

If additional standard time testing materials are needed for the Sept. 22 test date, the deadline to order the materials is Friday, Sept. 11. Directions for ordering the supplemental materials can be found under the Order Materials section of the PAN User Guide.

ACT Non-College Reportable Accommodations Materials Deadline

The school test coordinator authorizes non-college reportable accommodations test materials (NCR) as appropriate f or examinees. These are not requested through the TAA system. The test coordinator is responsible for ordering non-college reportable accommodations test materials in PearsonAccessnext (PAN) for each examinee who needs them. The deadline to order NCR material is Friday, Sept. 11. Directions for ordering the NCR materials can be found under the Order Materials section of the PAN User Guide.

ACT Test Materials Arrive Sept. 8-11 Reminder

If testing occurs at the school on the initial ACT test date (Sept. 22), standard time and accommodations test materials will arrive this week. Test Coordinators are required to check-in materials within 24 hours of receiving them from ACT. Contact ACT immediately if contents do not match packing lists, or if there is evidence of tampering. Materials must be kept in secure storage at all times before and after testing. The Test Coordinator is responsible for the security of all test materials from the time of receipt.