Best Practices Guide for Administering the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

1. Best Practices Guide for Administering the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills December 1, 2011

2. Background – Senate Bill 801 “The State Board of Education shall adopt guidelines for the best practices of administering statewide assessments of students. The guidelines must provide that a student who is in any grade from kindergarten through grade eight and who has met or exceeded state standards on a test is excused from being required to retake the test.”

4. OAKS is a Summative Assessment • Summative assessment is defined as a periodic assessment that determines how much knowledge and skills groups of students have acquired over a long period of time • Summative assessment should be administered after instruction • Best Practices Guide emphasizes that most students should test in late winter or spring;testing in fall and early winter should be restricted to those students who have received accelerated instruction

5. Restriction on Retesting • Restricts retesting students in grades 3 – 8 who have already met or exceeded the state achievement standard unless the district receives parental consent • Once adopted, this restriction will be added to the Test Administration Manual to give it force of law • This restriction does not apply to students in high school

6. Scope of Best Practices Guide • Emphasizes appropriate timing for administering OAKS as a summative assessment • Restricts retesting students in grades 3 – 8 who have already met or exceeded the state achievement standard (in conjunction with updated language in the Test Administration Manual)

7. Parental Consent • For remainder of 2011-12: to ease transition, districts may rely on passive consent • For 2012-13 and beyond: districts must receive explicit consent • To facilitate, ODE will provide sample parent letters that districts may use to notify parents of the intent to retest

8. Communication with the Field • June 22: ODE posted draft Best Practices Guide to ODE Website • Aug. 9: ODE posted updated draft to ODE Website • Revised to give parents the ability to “opt out” of additional testing if their child met or exceeded • Revision based on feedback from the field • Nov. 1: ODE posted updated draft to ODE Website • Revised to strengthen language around parental consent so that parents “opt in” instead of opting out • Revision made to more clearly implement SB 801 • Nov. 21: ODE posted updated draft to ODE Website • Revised to clarify appropriate use of OAKS as a summative assessment (this draft is included in today’s docket)

9. Dana Hepper, Stand for ChildrenOregon Advocacy Director

10. Erin Whitlock, Oregon Education AssociationConsultant with Center for Teaching and Learning

11. Bill Stewart, Gladstone SDDirector of Curriculum, Assessment, and Sustainability

12. Next Steps • State Board adoption of Best Practices Guide in January 2012 • Adopted Guide and revised Test Administration Manual go into effect in January 2012 • ODE will continue working with districts to develop strategies for districts to effectively implement the practices described in the Best Practices Guide.

13. Thank you