Materials Management Participation Counts, Distributions, Additional Orders and Returning Test Materials

1. Materials Management Participation Counts, Distributions, Additional Orders and Returning Test Materials 2011 Fall Academy for New District Testing Coordinators Presented By: Irasema Serrano, Pearson

2. Distribution of Test Materials • Update Coordinator Information with TEA • District and Campus Coordinator Manual • Participation Counts for TAKS and EOC • Texas Assessment Management System FIRST THINGS FIRST!

3. Distribution of Test Materials What contact information does TEA need? • District Coordinator Name • District Coordinator Address (Mailing) • District Coordinator Address (Shipping) • District Coordinator Phone Number • District Coordinator Fax Number • District Coordinator E-Mail Address

4. Distribution of Test Materials Why is it important for TEA to have correct information? • Notification of Shipments • shipping@txassessmail.pearson.com • Broadcast E-mails • Broadcast Faxes • Phone Requests • User ID and password for Texas Assessment Management System (formerly Online Data Management/NCS Schoolhouse) • Additional Materials Orders • Change Forms

5. Distribution of Test Materials How do I know what information TEA has on file for my district? • TEA Website • AskTED • http://askted.tea.state.tx.us/

6. Distribution of Test Materials How do I change the information? • http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/taascoor/index.html • AskTED Coordinator for your district • Everything except shipping address • Student Assessment Division • Shipping address for test materials • Charter Schools – different process • All changes must be submitted in writing

7. Distribution of Test Materials • District/Campus Coordinator Manual • What information does it contain? • Everything from general program information to specific testing policies and procedures, outlined for both district and campus coordinators • When are DCCM manuals distributed? • Only one distribution per year, in early January • Manual is distributed with the Calendar of Events poster • Based on calendar year, not school year

8. Distribution of Test Materials Participation Counts for 2012 • What are participation counts? • Participation Counts are the number of students who will be taking a test. • Your first and best opportunity to order test materials for the upcoming year – including TAKS programs including STAAR 3-8, and STAAR EOC • Districts are required to submit participation counts via the Texas Assessment Management System’s website • www.texasassessment.com

9. Distribution of Test Materials • Participation Counts for 2012 • Why are Participation counts important? • Distribution counts for all administrations (except retests) are based on participation counts submitted by districts during this period.

10. Distribution of Test Materials • Participation Counts for 2012 • How do I enter counts? • First review the User’s Guide for the Texas Assessment Management System found at http://www.TexasAssessment.com/guide • Entering participation counts is a district coordinator function on the Texas Assessment Management system • You will need the district coordinator user ID and password in order to access the secure online system

11. Distribution of Test Materials • Participation Counts for 2012 • Are there deadlines for entering counts? • YES –It is very important that districts submit their participation counts online before the deadlines • Initial participation count period • September 23rd thru November 7th 2011 • Update period available in January 2012

12. Distribution of Test Materials • Participation Counts for 2012 • How do I get help? • You may contact Pearson’s Austin Operations Center for assistance with participation counts, or for general navigation assistance with the Texas Assessment website • 800-627-0225

13. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information • Advance Letter and Materials Page(s) • Shipment Models • Delivery Schedule of Materials • Email Notification of Shipments

14. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information • Advance Letter and Materials Page(s) • When and how are they distributed? • They will be posted online about one month before the test administration (or one week before your first shipment of materials) • What information do they contain? • Two types of letters • Distribution letter shows that you will be receiving an initial shipment of materials for the upcoming administration. The materials page(s) included show quantities of materials to be shipped (district totals). • Non-distribution letter shows that you will NOT be receiving an initial shipment of materials for the upcoming administration. The materials pages(s) included show 0’s in the quantities to be shipped.

15. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information (cont.) • Advance Letter and Materials Page(s) (cont.) • Available online at http://www.TexasAssessment.com/login • Campus Materials Listings • District Overage Listing • District Listing • Where do counts come from?

16. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information (cont.) • Advance Letter and Materials Page(s) • How do I use the information? • Consult with your campus coordinators regarding the quantity of test materials to be shipped, and make sure that you can cover any shortages with the district overage materials • If district overage materials are not sufficient to cover additional campus needs, compile campus counts and submit one additional order per administration. • Submit this additional order online as early as possible after you review your advance letter and materials list(s) • Specific information regarding the use of the additional order system on the Texas Assessment website is included later in this presentation

17. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information (cont.) • Shipment Models • Separate Shipments • Nonsecure (Shipment 1 contains all materials except test booklets [and linguistic simplification guides for LAT]) • Secure (Shipment 2) contains test booklets [and linguistic simplification guides for LAT]) • Combined • Nonsecure and secure materials are packed and shipped together • Secure materials may include not only test booklets, but also linguistic simplification guides for LAT administrations • Check the Calendar of Events to determine the shipment model for each test administration

18. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information (cont.) • Delivery schedule of materials • Overlapping shipments • Use the Calendar of Events to help you schedule activities for overlapping shipments

19. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information (cont.) • Delivery schedule of materials (cont.) • How can I tell the shipments apart? • Pearson box labels will note which administration and shipment each box is for, as well as if the box includes district or campus materials • If the box includes campus materials, the campus name and number will also be printed

20. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information (cont.) • E-mail notification of shipments • What information do they contain? • Each email notification includes ship dates, carrier information and tracking information for each administration’s shipments • Who gets them? • Emails are sent to the email address on file for the district testing coordinator [see page from TEA website outlining procedures for updating district coordinator contact information] • Make sure that you work with your IT department so that emails from ‘pearson.com’ are not blocked as junk mail or spam including shipping@txassessmail.pearson.com

21. Distribution of Test Materials General Shipment Information (cont.) • E-mail notification of shipments • When do they get sent out? • Emails for initial shipments are sent in bulk at approximately 9:00 am the day after the shipment leaves Pearson • Emails for additional materials shipments may be sent at any time during the day as shipments leave Pearson • It is possible that shipments sent from Austin could arrive before the shipment notification email reaches your inbox

22. Save the Boxes • This seems like a simple thing but, it is very important. Believe it or not, Pearson had a task force to create boxes sturdy enough to withstand shipping materials out to the districts and for the districts to use shipping materials back in to Pearson. Why? Because the process for most major shippers to sort boxes is very hard on the boxes. Boxes tumble from one belt to another thru the sorting process. Some belts travel as fast as 30 mph. If the boxes aren’t constructed properly, they can be damaged and break apart. When that happens, answer documents can be damaged, sometimes beyond repair which affects that students test results. So, all though this may sound like a simple thing, it is also a very important thing! If you have space issues, break the box down flat for storing. Just be sure to use a strong and sturdy packing tape when you get ready to ship materials back.

23. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials • Large Print • Oral Administrations • Dyslexia Bundled Accommodation Administrations • LAT

24. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials • How do I order? • First and best opportunity is during participation counts • Can also be requested via additional order system

25. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials (cont.) • In which shipment will they arrive? • If ordered during participation counts, they will be sent with your initial shipment of secure materials and will be packaged by campus • If requested via the additional order system, they will be sent closer to the test administration date and will be packaged in bulk

26. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials (cont.) • Braille • How do I order? • Student names and PEIMS ID #’s must be provided for each Braille book ordered • Instructions for ordering will be coming out soon • In which shipment will they arrive? • In separate shipment from your initial non secure and secure materials • The separate shipment will arrive closer to the test administration date than the initial shipments

27. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials (cont.) • Texas Assessment Management System • How do I access the system? • Go to Texas Assessment website (http://www.TexasAssessment.com/login) • Login with the district coordinator id and password • Go to Test Setup – Order Additional Materials • Verify you have selected the appropriate test administration • Click Order Additional Materials • How do I use the system? • User’s Guide • View and track orders and shipments • Order additional materials • View reports of order activities

28. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials (cont.) • Texas Assessment Management System (cont.) • How do I know what to order? • Use your Advance Letter and Materials List(s) and consult with your campus coordinators to determine if the quantities of materials to be shipped are sufficient • Fill shortages from district overage first • Then compile district needs and submit one additional order per administration • Are there deadlines for ordering? • YES -- check the Calendar of Events for each test administration to find the additional order deadline • Pearson cannot guarantee the delivery of test materials ordered after the deadline

29. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials (cont.) • Ordering additional materials is a three-step process. • First, verify that the shipping information is correct. If it is not correct, fax or mail the correction to the Students Assessment Division at TEA. • Second, enter a quantity in the Quantity column for each type of test materials that you want to order. • Third, review the order, and then click Save to complete the ordering process.

30. Distribution of Test Materials Additional Materials (cont.) • Additional Materials Orders Helpful Hints • Pay close attention to the form • Pack size vs. individual items • Do try to submit only one order per test administration • DO use the viewing and tracking orders/shipments feature • DO use the viewing reports of order activity feature • DON’T order too much surplus • DON’T submit another order if your materials don’t show up the next day

31. Returning Test Materials Assembling Scorable Materials for Return • Answer Documents • Student information correct? • Precoded data verified? • DCCM Pages 99 - 104 • Hand gridded answer documents? • DCCM Pages 105

32. Assembling Scorable Materials for Return (cont.) Optional Reports Order • What is an Optional Reports Order? • Where do I find it? • Why do I have to complete it to order ‘free’ electronic individual student record file?

33. Returning Test Materials Assembling Scorable Materials for Return (cont.) • Answer Documents (cont.) • Special Coding • See Campus Coordinator Activity 9 (DCCM, page 111) • Accommodations (including oral administration, large print, Braille and dyslexia bundled accommodations) • Test Taken Info fields • Score codes gridded properly? • All documents included? • Large Print or Braille documents • Transcribed and bubbles gridded? • Appendix D

34. Returning Test Materials Assembling Scorable Materials for Return (cont.) • ID Sheets • Class ID Sheets • What are they? • How do I use them? • Campus/Group ID Sheets • What are they? • What’s a ‘group’ • How do I use them? • Void ID Sheets • What are they? • What are voids? • How do I use them?

35. Returning Test Materials Assembling Scorable Materials for Return (cont.) • Paper bands • What are they? • Where do I find them? • How do I use them? • What do I do if one paper band isn’t large enough to hold all my documents?

36. Returning Scorable Test Materials Assembling Scorable Materials for Return (cont.) • ADPL (Answer Document Packing List) • What is it? • Where do I find it? • Why is it important? • Crucial to fill out accurately and completely • Critical that all counts match up • ADPL • Campus/Group ID • Number of documents actually shipped • Discrepancies may result in delay of test results • Better to get late than not at all • Call AOC for instructions • 800-252-9186 • ADPL missing or lost at district • Generic forms on website • Can also call AOC

37. Returning Scorable Test Materials Boxing Scorable Materials for Return • Use only Pearson boxes for return • Why? • Use the appropriate return shipping labels • Scorable • Addressed to 905 W. Howard Lane • Number boxes appropriately • Number on return shipping label • First and last box should be marked X of X • Count only boxes with scorable labels • Use appropriate carrier labels or bills provided by Pearson • Ship on or before deadline listed in Calendar of Events • Shipping after the deadline may result in delay of receiving test results

38. Returning Nonscorable Materials Assembling Nonscorable Materials for Return • Test booklets • All unused test booklets for grade/instructional levels 3 – 10 and Exit Level • Braille materials • Large print materials

39. Returning Test Materials Assembling Nonscorable Materials for Return (cont.) • Unused or voided precoded labels • Include only labels that have not been previously applied to an answer document or test booklet • Unused or Voided ID sheets • Class • Campus/Group • Void • Unused answer documents • Voided documents should have been returned with scorable materials • Typed or tape-recorded materials

40. Returning Nonscorable Materials Boxing Nonscorable Materials for Return • Use only Pearson boxes for return • Why? • Use the appropriate return shipping labels • Nonscorable • Addressed to 710 W. Howard Lane • Number boxes appropriately • Number on return shipping label • First and last box should be marked X of X • Count only boxes with nonscorable labels • Use appropriate carrier labels or bills provided by Pearson • Ship on or before deadline listed in Calendar of Events

41. Returning Test Materials Materials That Do Not Need to Be Returned • Unused paper bands • Science rulers • Mathematics charts • Science charts • Coordinator manuals or supplements • Coordinator packets • Test administrator or rater manuals or directions • Packing lists or packing cover sheets

42. Shipping Update • UPS is the primary carrier for Pearson • UPS Express used for MOST scorable shipments • UPS Ground used for nonscorable shipments • Motor freight carriers will to be used for large shipments depending on your district’s needs.

43. How do I arrange UPS to pickup a Ground scorable shipment? • Make sure that the return labels being used to ship the materials back are ground labels. Calls to UPS for ground shipments must be placed two working days before the desired pickup date. To schedule a pickup: • Call UPS at 1 - (800) 823 - 7459 • Inform the UPS Representative that you are calling in a pick up request for Pearson and will be using their "Return Service". • Provide UPS with the following information: • Account # from the return label • The physical location where the packages will be picked up • Estimated number of packages that will be picked up • Pick ups should be scheduled 24-48 hours in advance. Please note that there can be time constraints for specific pick ups based on their location. The UPS Representative will let each district know if the pick up can be made as requested  • Once the pick up is confirmed, the school/district will receive a confirmation number from UPS for reference if questions or changes arise. 

44. How do I arrange UPS to pickup an Express Pickup • Make sure that the return labels being used to ship the materials back are express labels. Calls to UPS for express shipments must be placed one working day before the desired pickup date. To schedule a pickup: • Call UPS at 1 - (800) 823 - 7459 • Inform the UPS Representative that you are calling in a pick up request for Pearson and will be using their "Return Service". • Provide UPS with the following information: • Account # from the return label • The physical location where the packages will be picked up • Estimated number of packages that will be picked up • Pick ups should be scheduled 24-48 hours in advance. Please note that there can be time constraints for specific pick ups based on their location. The UPS Representative will let each district know if the pick up can be made as requested  • Once the pick up is confirmed, the school/district will receive a confirmation number from UPS for reference if questions or changes arise.

45. Shipping Update • UPS Shipping – Important Notes • If you have difficulty scheduling a pickup (express or ground) • Call Pearson at 1-800-252-9186 • Or • E-mail AOCAnswers@support.pearson.com • If you do not have enough UPS labels (one per box) • Do NOT photocopy the labels • Call Pearson at 1-800-252-9186 or • E-mail AOCAnswers@support.pearson.com

46. Returning Test Materials Reporting • Interpretive Guide • Posted online only • Reports User ID & Password • Sent to District Superintendents • Reports Users Guide • Posted online only

47. Returning Test Materials Common Errors • Answer documents left inside test booklets • ADPL not returned • Discrepancies in counts • ADPL, Campus/Group ID, actual number received • Pen used on answer documents • Pencils other than a #2 pencil used • Using a prior administration’s answer document for the current administration (e.g., using October 2010 instead of October 2011 or using July 2011 for October 2011 testing) • Incorrect or incomplete coding for LAT students. (Score code section, LAT Info section, and LAT test booklet info section must all be completed).

48. Resources Telephone Assistance (DCCM, page i) Texas Education Agency’s Student Assessment Division • student assessment program and policies • State Board of Education or commissioner’s rules, • accommodation requests, testing irregularities, • and general testing questions Telephone: 512-463-9536 Fax: 512-463-9302 E-mail: studenta@tea.state.tx.us

49. Resources Telephone Assistance (DCCM, page i) Pearson Educational Measurement’s Austin Operations Center (AOC) • shipment status, missing shipments, additional orders, • standard and optional reports requests, • score code corrections, • student information updates or changes, • hand-scoring and rescoring requests, and precoding Telephone (toll-free): 800-252-9186 Fax: 512-989-5375 Email: AOCAnswers@support.pearson.com

50. Returning Test Materials Questions/Comments