South Carolina Alternate Assessment

1. South Carolina Alternate Assessment DTC-Alt Pretest Workshop 2013-14 South Carolina Department of Education American Institutes for Research November 2013

2. Training Topics • Review of 2013 Administration Results • Preparation for 2014 Administration • Important Testing Procedures and Materials • Administration and Scoring Fidelity • Second Rater Administration Update • Precode • Test Administrator Training

3. Review of the 2013 AdministrationResults 3

4. SC-Alt 2013 Participation by Primary Disability

5. SC-Alt Participation 2007 – 2013 *Developmental Delay (DD) was implemented as a disability category applicable through age 9 in 2010.

6. SC-Alt 2011 to 2013 Participation Change

7. ELA Scores for SC-Alt 2013 by Disability Group

8. Math Scores for SC-Alt 2013 by Disability Group

9. Guidance for IEP Teams on Determining Participation in theSouth Carolina Alternate Assessment (SC-Alt) http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/48/documents/SC-AltParticGuidanceForIEPteams.pdf 9

10. SC-Alt 2014Administration 10

11. Administration Window March 3 - April 25 Testing materials will arrive in the districts by February 20 11

12. Test Administration Manual (TAM) • The TAM is the procedural guide to SC-Alt administration • Copies of the TAM will be provided at the regional workshops, to the DTC-Alt for district-level training, and on the SC-Alt Web page. • Includes list of materials teachers need to gather prior to testing 12

13. SC-Alt District Test Coordinator’s Supplement Manual • Provides information specifically needed by the DTC-Alt • Addresses DTC-Alt responsibilities for implementing the district’s administration of the SC-Alt • Does not duplicate information contained in the TAM 13

14. Score Report User’s Guide • Describes the types and expected uses of SC-Alt scores • Includes descriptions of achievement levels • Provides examples and interpretation of each type of score report 14

15. Preparation for the 2014 Administration

16. for 2014 • Douglas Alexander retired! • ELA and Math will include 12 tasks instead of 15 • ELA and Math start and stop points will be different from Science and Social Studies 16

17. SC-Alt Spring 2014Content to be Assessed • English Language Arts • Mathematics • Science (Elementary and Middle School) • Biology (High School) • Social Studies 17

18. Assignment to Grade-Band Forms(Elementary, Middle, and High School) Students are assigned to SC-Alt grade-band forms on the basis of their age as ofSeptember 1, 2013, as pre-coded in the PowerSchool data base For students who do not have a pre-assigned form, refer to the Age Reference Sheet in the TAM or on the SCDE website to determine the correct form 18

19. Administration by Form and Grade-Age 19

20. Science/Social Studies Assignment Non-Precoded Students • The student’s age and answer folder number will be used by the test administrator to determine science and/or social studies participation. • Teachers will need to calculate student age and follow the assignment rule. • The DTC-Alt is encouraged to follow up to prevent errors. 20

21. Test Security Regulations SC-Alt is subject to SC Test Security Regulations • Test books and materials are secure • Materials must be kept in secure place when not in use • Test books may not be copied or reproduced • All test administrators and monitors must sign Agreement to Maintain Test Security and Confidentiality • A copy of the Test Security Regulations is located in Appendix A of the TAM and on the Department website • Test Security Violations must be reported using the Test Security Violation Action Form in the TAM 21

22. Important Testing Procedures and Materials Information 22

23. Web Secure File Transfer • AIR uses an sFTPsite to electronically send secure materials to the school districts • You will be notified whenever pertinent files or information are posted on the sFTP site for your access such as: • Second Rater Roster • Secure Video Clips for Training • Training Webinar for the District Training • District Data Files • Demographic Correction Forms 23

24. Packaging of Test Materials All test materials for each grade band are bundled into one Test Administrator Kit. Test Administrators receive one kit for each grade band that they are assessing Each kit contains a serial number. This number is also on the School Packing List and Teacher Security Checklist. 24

25. Test Administrator Kit • Test Booklets • Print Manipulatives • Physical Manipulatives • Reading Passages 25

26. Items Packed by TeacherNot Included in theTest Administration Kits • Teacher security checklist • Student rosters • Answer Folders (by grade-band form, color coded) • Scoring worksheets • Precoded Bar Code Labels 26

27. Braille Materials • Teachers with students who need braille and tactile graphic materials can use the Braille Order Form in the TAM to request these materials. • Braille Order Forms are also provided in the the district box. • They submit the form to the DTC-Alt who forwards to the contractor. 27

28. Administration and Scoring Fidelity Monitors Second Raters 28

29. Monitors • Monitors must observe all assessment sessions and verify the use of proper procedures and authenticity of student responses. • Monitors must be trained. See TAM for responsibilities and training requirements. • Monitors must complete an Agreement to Maintain Test Security and Confidentiality. • Copies of the agreement will be provided in the school box 29

30. Second Rater Procedure • A trained SC-Alt Administrator observes and independently scores an administration to document administration and scoring fidelity based on a scientific sample • All districts are sampled • Sampling is implemented by teacher and student • Teachers are sampled according to proportions of students in their district • Approximately 1/3 of teachers and 10% of students will be sampled 30

31. Second Rater Selection Teachers will be selected to conduct second rater administrations from the January 2014 Precode file. Accurate precoding is important in order to assign the teacher for a second rater administration accurately. Second rater administrations for 2014 will be conducted in ELA only. 31

32. Second Rater Qualifications • Must meet the test administrator criteria: • Certified teacher • Administrator (e.g., school administrator, district level special education consultant, or other administrator) • Related services personnel • Must participate in test administration training • District-level 32

33. Second Rater Timeline

34. Precoding

35. Why Accurate Precoding is so Important • Determines SC-Alt materials distribution • Reduces additional material orders • Reduces errors related to: • Student demographic coding • SC-Alt form assignment • Science and Social Studies participation will be pre-assigned for precoded students, preventing the need for teacher/DTC-Alt assignment decisions 35

36. Importance of Accurate Precoding • Teacher materials are shipped based on the teacher name in the home room field • Second rater assignments are made based on the teacher name in the home room field • It makes your life much easier

37. Precoding Precode Training http://ed.sc.gov/agency/programs-services/46/

38. Precoding

40. Homeroom Field • Follow instructions and enter the SC-Alt Test Administrator. • For the same test administrator, be consistent across students. Use the same capitalization, number of spaces between names, and punctuation.

42. Order of SC-Alt Test Materials • If your district is not able to fully comply with the requirement that the homeroom field contains the SC-Alt Test Administrator by your district’s QDC2/P data submission, contact Aaron Brown at arbrown@ed.sc.gov with details. • The QDC2/P window closes on January 14, 2014. Failure to notify us will create problems with the second rater sampling and packaging of materials. If problems are detected after the window closes, contact AIR.

43. Critical to Precoding Success Complete all coding by the QDC2/P extraction. Make sure all your coding is done BEFORE your district transmits its data. The window closes on January 14, 2014, but districts are able to transmit before then. Check with your district test coordinator and/or technology coordinator for your district’s final QDC2/P transmission date. Use the “Home Room” field to identify the student’s SC-Alt teacher; verify that this is what is being done at each of your schools. This insures that teachers get the appropriate materials for each student. 43

44. Plans for 2014-15 Precoding • We are proposing to add a PowerSchool field just for the SC-Alt Test Administrator. • The proposed screenshot for 2014-15 is shown below.

45. Return Procedures

46. Return Procedures • Review the DTC-Supplement for return shipping procedures. • Helpful Hints • Review answer folders for completeness of coding. • Make sure all signatures are on the Test Administrator Affidavit. • Make sure all responses have been transferred from the scoring worksheet to the answer folder.

47. Return Procedures Helpful Hints • Use student rosters to verify that all appropriate students were assessed. • Make sure you have received all TA Kits and that the test booklets and other materials are included. • Follow up on any missing materials.

48. More Helpful Hints • Do not put sticky notes on answer folders or include other notes about why a student was not tested • When a student was not tested, provide documentation on the Students Not Tested Report (Office of Research and Data Management) 48

49. Frequently Asked Questions • What if I do not receive enough return shipping labels? One shipping label is sent for each box shipped but if you need more, contact the AIRHelpdesk and you will receive additional labels via e-mail. Apply the return shipping label over the original one to avoid materials coming back to you and to save wear on the box.

50. Frequently Asked Questions (cont.) • Can we return answer folders in one box and nonscoreable materials several days later? Yes • Why do I seem to have too many high school kits and not enough middle and elementary kits? One reason may relate to errors in precode but we also plan to address this in the 2014 administration by providing more overage at elementary and middle school and less at high school.