The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP)

1. The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) An Introduction of the (now) 4-State Assessment Collaborative Reading and Writing

2. Which States Participate in NECAP?

3. No Child Left Behind Requirements Each State Shall… Develop and implement a statewide accountability system that will be effective in ensuring that all local educational agencies, public elementary schools and public secondary schools make adequate yearly progress

4. What exactly is NECAP? NECAP is the assessment used by four New England states to meet the testing and accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.

5. Maine’s Participation in NECAP • Maine will participate in the NECAP reading, writing and mathematics testing in grades 3-8. • The NECAP test will assess the NECAP common standards called grade level expectations (GLEs) in: • reading and mathematics in grades 3-8 (testing the standards of grades 2-7). • writing in grades 5 and 8 (testing the standards of grades 4 and 7).

6. Maine’s Participation in NECAP Maine will adopt NECAP reading and mathematics GLEs at high school, but will NOT adopt NECAP high school testing. Maine will continue with the SAT Initiative including the Mathematics Augment and Science Tests as in previous years. These tests will continue to be administered during the spring of grade 11.

7. 2007 MLRs and NECAP Standards The 2007 Maine Learning Results are still very much in effect and describe the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills expected to be taught and learned at all grades and in all content areas.

8. 2007 MLRs and NECAP Standards The complete set of NECAP standards (GLEs) is posted on the MDOE MeCAS webpage at: http://www.maine.gov/education/lsalt/necap/standards.html

9. 2007 MLRs and NECAP Standards Until the MLRs are modified, instruction should be informed by the current PEIs unless there is a discrepancy between them and the NECAP GLEs. In those instances, instruction should reflect the NECAP GLEs.

10. NECAP Overview NECAP assesses the learning of one year (teaching year) at the beginning of the following year (testing year), so grades 2-7 are assessed at the beginning of grades 3-8 in reading and mathematics. Fourth and seventh grade writing standards are assessed at the beginning of grades 5 and 8. Alternate assessments are provided for students in grades 2-7.

11. NECAP Overview The testing window begins on October 1st, or the first school day following October 1st, each year and is 3 weeks long. Maine’s first administration of the NECAP tests will begin on October 1, 2009 and continue through October 22nd. Materials will be picked up on October 23rd.

12. NECAP Reading Test Design Types of Questions (Items) The reading test consists of a combination of multiple-choice (1 point) and constructed-response (4 points) questions.

13. NECAP Overview Test Design • There are 3 sessions of 45 minutes each in reading at each grade. • Up to an additional 45 minutes is allowed for all students (100% extra time). • There are integrated test/answer booklets at grades 3 and 4.

14. NECAP Test Design -Reading • Reading Test Design • There are 52 common score points at all grades distributed between the following item types: • 28 1-point Multiple Choice (MC) • 6 4-point Constructed Response (CR) • 54% MC and 46% Student Generated

15. NECAP Test Design -Reading Reading passages are divided evenly between literary and informational text. Persuasive text is considered informational. Each reading common test contains 2 long passages (4 MC, 1CR, 4MC, 1CR) and 2 short passages (4 MC, 1 CR), plus 4 stand alone MCs. Questions are arranged in text order.

16. NECAP Reading View the reading test design graphic at: http://www.state.me.us/education/lsalt/necap/0910materials/reading_test_design.pdf

17. 2007 MLRs and NECAP Standards The NECAP standards articulate vocabulary strategies and breadth of vocabulary knowledge AND initial understandings, analysis, and interpretation of literary and informational texts.

18. 2007 MLRs and NECAP Standards Vocabulary Strategies: Students identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary by . . . using strategies to unlock meaning (e.g., knowledge of word structure, including prefixes/suffixes and base words; or context clues; or other resources, such as dictionaries, glossaries; or prior knowledge)

19. 2007 MLRs and NECAP Standards Breadth of Vocabulary: Shows breadth of vocabulary knowledge through demonstrating understanding of word meanings or relationships by . . . Selecting appropriate words or explaining the use of words in context, including, content specific vocabulary, words with multiple meanings, or precise vocabulary. EXAMPLE (multiple meanings): Students explain the intended meanings of words found in text – Based on the way “spring” is used in this passage, would having a “spring” be necessary for survival? Explain how you know.

20. NECAP Reading Stand-alone vocabulary items measure the GLEs. Note that anything underlined in the GLE represents an addition from the previous grade. This will certainly be a priority for assessment development. Two examples of stand-alone vocabulary items at grade 8 are listed below: An antonym for the word elevate is A. take. B. throw. C. grab. D. lower. Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and other specific vocabulary knowledge is clearly articulated by grade level.

21. NECAP Reading The root tract in the words attract and subtract means A. pull. B. give. C. hold. D. make. Knowing roots, prefixes, and suffixes are included in the strategies demonstrating breadth of vocabulary.

22. NECAP Reading • Reading Passages: • have purpose setting statements, • are formatted the same as MEA reading passages, • Include numbered paragraphs when referenced in the item. • Poems are numbered every 5th line.

23. NECAP -Reading Reading passages begin with a purpose setting statement (PSS) such as: Read this passage about the early history of photography and then answer the questions that follow. Turner and his friend Lizzie are adrift in the ocean in a small boat. Turner watches as whales approach. Read this passage from the novel Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and then answer the questions that follow. A Berlese funnel can be fun to make and useful to have. Read this article and then answer the questions that follow.

24. NECAP Reading The passages will look very much like the MEA passages you are used to seeing. Passages, excerpts, stories, articles, web pages, editorials and other text types are included on the NECAP and will be referred to as such with language that is grade appropriate. Poems, though not on every test in every grade, are often presented in pairs.

25. NECAP Reading • Multiple choice items are arranged in text order. • Key words such as most likely, best, or main will be written in bold in the question for emphasis. • Vocabulary from the text is included in the item set. The vocabulary word is underlined in the question and in the text. • Specific paragraph reference is purposeful. The paragraph will be numbered in the text.

26. NECAP Reading • Constructed Response (CR) Items • These are short student-constructed responses that require students to write about a paragraph. • Students will earn the full 4 points for each response if they: • Respond to the entire question • Demonstrate original thinking • Elaborate on a response with specific detail from the text • Writing is not scored in the reading CR. However, if the quality of the writing is such that it interferes with understanding, then it will prevent the student from receiving the full 4 points. Students may respond to a reading CR with a chart, graph, other form of written response that makes the content clear to the reader.

27. NECAP Reading NECAP reading standards include initial understanding: Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts by… Identifying or describing character(s), setting, problem/ solution, or plot, as appropriate to text; or identifying any significant changes in character or setting over time EXAMPLE (of setting changing): In this poem, how does the farm’s appearance change over the years?

28. NECAP Reading NECAP reading standards include analysis and interpretations of text: Analyze and interpret elements of literary texts, citing evidence where appropriate by… Explaining how the author’s message or theme is supported within the text.

29. NECAP Reading NECAP reading released items: http://www.state.me.us/education/lsalt/necap/released.html 1/4 to 1/3 of the reading test will be released each year. View released items for a grade over several years to get the full sense of the reading test.

30. NECAP Writing • Writing • This October, the NECAP writing test will consist of a writing field test only. • No student scores will be reported. • The writing portion of the test is the most different from the MEA. • There are 2 sessions of writing.

31. NECAP Writing • Writing Test Design • There are 34 common score points at all grades distributed among the following item types: • 10 1-point Multiple Choice (MC) • 3 4-point Constructed Response (CR) • 1 12-point Extended Response (ER) • 100% of the writing test is released each year.

32. NECAP Writing • Multiple choice items at grade 8 assess aspects of writing such as: spelling, combining sentences, identifying sentence fragments and run-on sentences, use of apostrophes, correct subject-verb agreement, capitalization, quotation marks, etc.

33. NECAP Writing • 10 multiple choice items assess conventions and structures. • What is the correct form of the underlined • word in the sentence below? • Last year, the whale swims back and forth in • the channel. • A. swim • B. swam • C. swimming • D. swum

34. NECAP Test Design - Writing NECAP Writing • Where should a semicolon (;) be placed in the sentence below? • Truffles are mushrooms that are very expensive true food lovers pay almost anything to add them to soups and sauces. • A. after mushrooms • B. after expensive • C. after pay • D. after anything

35. NECAP Test Design - Writing NECAP Writing • Which edit is needed in the sentence below? • I asked the principle of my school if there was a possibility I could wait until tomorrow. • A. Change principle to principal. • B. Change possibility to possability. • C. Change wait to weight. • D. Change tomorrow to tommorrow.

36. NECAP Writing • Stimulus materials require students to read text appropriate for the range of students at the particular grade or occasionally respond to a photograph. • The stimulus may be a few lines or a whole page.

37. NECAP Test Design - Writing • Constructed response items require students to respond in a paragraph to 3 of the following 5 types of writing, after first reading stimulus materials : • response to literature (after reading a story, part of a story, or a poem • response to informational texts (after reading a short article)

38. NECAP Test Design - Writing • report (after reading a graphic organizer containing relevant or possibly irrelevant facts about a topic), • narrative (may or may not utilize stimulus materials) • persuasive at grade 8(7) – a response to a situation with no stimulus material.

39. NECAP Test Design - Writing • There is one extended response (ER) item (prompt) that will assess a type of writing not included in the constructed response items, although it will never be a narrative prompt at grade 8. • All stimulus material for the prompt is read by the teacher.

40. NECAP Test Design - Writing The NECAP writing test is 100% released each year. View NECAP released writing tests and supporting information at: http://www.state.me.us/education/lsalt/necap/released.html

41. The NECAP Reporting System NECAP reports will be available in late January 2010 and will consist of: • Individual student reports • School and SAU reports • Class analysis reports • Same online delivery mechanism – MP reporting tool

42. Contact Information Maine Department of Education