NECAP Test Administration Workshop Grades 3–8

1. NECAP Test Administration WorkshopGrades 3–8 Dates: September 8, 9, 10 &11 2009 Maine Department of Education and Measured Progress

2. The purpose of this workshop is to ensure that Students and staff are prepared for a positive and productive assessment experience. Standardized testing procedures are consistent across all schools. Accommodations are provided appropriately for students who need them. Secure test materials remain secure at all times. Test materials are returned according to specifications to expedite the return of test results. Test Coordinators and Test Administrators are prepared to carry out all of their responsibilities.

3. NECAP Important Dates September 15-19: Test materials and first round Student Labels shipped to schools October 1: Deadline for schools to update MEDMS /Infinite Campus with accurate student data for additional labels and reports. October 9: Additional student labels shipped to schools October 1-22: NECAP Test administration window October 22: Last day to request Medical Exemptions (State Special Consideration) October 23: UPS pickup test materials for return to Measured Progress (materials need to be ready at 8 AM) NECAP Test Administration Website: http://www.maine.gov/education/lsalt/necap/admininfo.html

4. New to Maine This Year • Maine joins NECAP for reading and mathematics at grades 3-8 and writing at grades 5 & 8. • NECAP Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) will be assessed. • Writing Pilot in Grades 5 & 8 – no scores • “Teaching” and “Testing” years • Alternate Assessment to NECAP administered during “Teaching” Years of grades 2-7 • Revised Table of Standard Accommodations – MEA to NECAP Crosswalk online • All students enrolled as of October 1, 2009 should be tested. • Test Coordinator and Test Administrator Training CDs shipped to schools.

5. New to Maine This Year • 2 labels per student at grades 5-8, one for test booklet, one for answer booklet (except writing). • Additional labels will be sent automatically. • “Optional Reports” Box will NOT be utilized this year. • Reference materials on walls or desks that could result in a student being advantaged or disadvantaged by their testing environment must be covered or removed during testing to ensure standardized administration. • No dictionaries or thesauruses allowed during writing test. • Completion of writing test in pencil, not pen • Scratch paper allowed in mathematics (be careful!) • No NECAP or other reference materials are allowed for Math Session 1, except for reference sheets at grades 5-8.

6. New to Maine This Year • No Student Questionnaire question for local use. • PCPA must be completed online with numbers of test and answer booklets returned, etc. • Online Principal/Test Coordinator Questionnaire – to be completed during completion of PCPA • Online Test Administrator Questionnaire – Appendix D in the Test Administration Manual • NECAP results will be made public immediately upon receipt in schools in January; a two week review period for AYP purposes will still be in place. The MEA science will continue to measure the grade 5 and grade 8 “teaching” year, but the window has moved to May 10-21, 2010. The science alternate assessment will also occur during the “teaching” years of grades 5 and 8.

7. Test Coordinator’s Responsibilities (page 2 ) Primary responsibilities: • serve as the school’s contact person with Measured Progress, • ensure that MEDMS/IC is updated by Oct. 1 for additional student labels, • coordinate all test-related activities, • prepare test administrators to administer NECAP according to directions in the Test Administrator Manual, • observe and monitor test administration in your school, • oversee the inventory, distribution, collection, and return of ALL test materials, and • overall, help the principal maintain test security and ensure compliance with test administration procedures. Help teachers create an environment that will motivate students to do their best.

8. Test Security (page 2) • Test Security relies on the professional integrity of everyone in our schools across all four states. No student should be advantaged or disadvantaged based on how or where the test is administered. • All Student Test Booklets and Student Answer Booklets are secure and may not be copied or duplicated in any way or kept by the school after testing is completed. • Using secure test material to prepare students in any way for this test administration is a violation of test security and testing procedure.

9. Test Security Procedures • Ensure that all school staff who will be involved with the assessment understand the importance of test security and adherence to standard test administration procedures. This includes special educators and special education technicians. • Keep testing materials in a locked location when not in use. Do not remove testing materials from the school. • Inventory test booklets when they arrive at your school. Keep an on-going inventory of materials as they are distributed and returned each day. Although not required, it may be beneficial to have test administrators sign tests in and out each day. • Never leave students alone with testing materials. Do not allow students to carry test materials unescorted from room to room. • Complete and submit the Principal’s Certification of Proper Test Administration form. Keep a copy on file.

10. Breaches in Test Security • Teachers must report any concerns about breaches in test security to the test coordinator, principal and/or superintendent. • The test coordinator/principal is responsible for reporting breaches both to the district superintendent and to Susan Smith at the ME DOE (207-624-6775). • The superintendent is responsible for ensuring that all breaches in test security be reported to the ME DOE.

11. Before Testing: Who should be tested (page 3) • All students enrolled in the school (grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) as of October 1, 2009. • Exceptions are students who… • Completed an alternate assessment (PAAP) representing learning and progress during the 2008–2009 school year, or third grade students who would have participated in PAAP in second grade if it had been required. NECAP answer booklets should not be returned for these students. • Are English Language Learners new to the U.S. after October 1, 2008 who take the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs® English language proficiency test or another proficiency test. They do not have to take the Reading and Writing tests. They must take the Mathematics test. • Qualify for state-approved special considerations.

12. ME State-Approved Special Considerations: • Students can be excused from the assessment because of special considerations which may include: • Medical reasons • Personal crisis • Family emergency • Court order Rule of Thumb: If the student can receive instruction, the student can participate in state assessment. • Procedure for approval of special considerations: • Each student must be registered in MEDMS. • A Request for Special Consideration form, signed by your principal, must be submitted to ME DOE for approval. This form is available on the ME DOE website. • Requests are due no later than 10/22/09 • Schools will receive written notification of approval or denial • Special Consideration Forms are located on the MDOE NECAP website.

13. How students will participate using accommodations Before Testing: Accommodations • All students are eligible for accommodations. • Refer to the NECAP document: “NECAP Accommodations Guide (REVISED 2009). This guide covers these topics: • — Other Accommodations (O) • — Modifications (M) • — Documenting Accommodations • You will need to plan for: • Accommodation Team decision-making time • Training staff to administer accommodation • Scheduling students, staffing, and rooms

14. Accommodations • Accommodations do not change what we expect students to know and be able to do. • Test accommodations are based on individual student needs and classroom assessment practice; they are not for the use by an entire classroom or category of students. • They should not give students unfair advantages; rather they are meant to remove barriers that may exist due to a student’s learning style or disability. • Test administrators must be trained in their use. This includes special education assistants and substitutes. • Students should have experience using the accommodation(s). Preferably, they should be accommodations the student uses in day-to-day classroom instruction and assessment.

15. Appendix F—NECAP Table of Standard Accommodations(pages 34-37) • Revised in 2009 – Reflect many of Maine’s 08-09 Accommodation Codes: • T for Timing (T1 through T4) • S for Setting (S1 and S2) • P for Presentation formats (P1 through P11) • R for Response formats (R1 through R7) • O for Other (O1 and O2) • M for Modifications (M1, M2, and M3) • Crosswalks to original MEA accommodations – available on ME DOE website

16. Maine-Specific Accommodations • This is a transition year for Maine, so Maine students will be allowed to use any accommodation from the March 2008-09 MEA list that was approved for them by a team (October 2009 only). • There is an MEA-NECAP Crosswalk posted on the website. The italicized NECAP codes included in the crosswalk are those that must be used on the student answer booklet.

17. Maine-Specific Accommodations • The following 08-09 MEA accommodations will be allowed this year, although they are not approved NECAP accommodations and will not be allowed after 2009: • T5 – flexibility in order of tests • P11 – simplified English for ELL students • R9 – side by side placement of test booklets • R10 – teacher rewriting word for word over student writing in CR answers. • These four codes must be coded as O1 on the NECAP student answer booklet, since they have no corresponding NECAP code, but do NOT need prior approval from MDOE. These accommodations will not be allowed in future years.

18. Maine-Specific Accommodations • P3 – “READ ALOUD” Accommodation = M2 • The old MEA Accommodation P3 is in a unique category this year. NECAP normally does not allow any portion of the reading test to be read aloud. However, for Maine students who have been approved for the old MEA P3, the questions and answers in the reading sessions of the test MAY be read aloud this year. Reading passages may NEVER be read aloud. • For this year only, since there is no P3 code for reading in the NECAP accommodations box on p. 2 of the Student Answer Booklet, Maine schools must code the MEA P3 accommodation as the NECAP M2. Although this code is included in the NECAP Modification section, M2 will NOT be treated as a modification for Maine students, and student work WILL be scored and counted. • NECAP states are reviewing this accommodation and will make a final decision before next spring.

19. Maine-Specific Accommodations • R4 – “Computer-Generated Responses” • In our April NECAP workshops, we explained that NECAP requires that all computer-generated responses be copied into student answer booklets. Since that time, it has been clarified that Maine schools can continue to return their “CGR” responses as always. • This means that CGR response pages must: • include student name, school, MEDMS ID, content area and question number on each page, • be stapled together in one corner for each student , • be inserted in the student’s answer booklet, • be returned in the “Special Handling” envelope.

20. Maine Accommodations • Starting with the October 2010 NECAP test, all accommodations for Maine students must be chosen from the NECAP approved list.

21. Accommodations NECAP Accommodations Guide takes the place of the old MEA Policies and Procedures for Accommodations : • Available at http://www.maine.gov/education/lsalt/necap/admininfo.html • Using the NECAP Table of Standard Accommodations, school teams may choose in advance, and use without state approval, any standard accommodation listed in categories T, S, P, or R. • After testing is finished, all accommodations actually used during testing must be recorded on page 2 of the Student Answer Booklet, using the NECAP codes.

22. Accommodations (page 4) Requests for the use of Other Accommodations (O) • Contact ME DOE (Susan Smith) in advance of testing for permission to use any accommodation not included on the approved list. The only exception to this permission requirement is for the four MEA accommodations (T5, P11, R9 and R10) that are now coded O1. • Accommodation(s) must be consistent with those used in student’s regular classroom or student has experience using the accommodation prior to the assessment. • If the requested accommodation is found to be comparable to a standard accommodation, written approval will be given. • Student work done using category T, S, P, R or approved O accommodations will be fully credited and scored.

23. Modifications (page 4) • If state review determines that your request for an “Other” accommodation will change what the test measures, the state will respond in writing that use of this procedure will produce a test “modification” and must therefore be coded as a “Modification (M).” • Maine has never allowed modifications on the MEA. This category is included in NECAP policy for certain situations, such as when an IEP includes modifications. • Use of a “Modification (M)” will result in no credit given for student work during test sessions in which this modification was used, except for M2 for this year in Maine. • Any “Other” Accommodation not registered as “approved” by the ME DOE will be treated as a “Modification (M)” after this year.

24. NECAP Test Design: Structure of Content Area Tests

25. Distribution of Emphasis for Mathematics * 2(3) indicates end-of-grade 2 GLEs are tested at the beginning of grade 3

26. 16 multiple choice(one point each) Mathematics Grades 3 & 4 Test Design Three 45-minute sessions (Schedule 90 minutes each)* Session INo Calculator or tools Session IICalculator and tool active Session IIICalculator and tool active 12 multiple choice(one point each) 16 multiple choice(one point each) 5 Short Answer(one point each) 4 Short Answer(one point each) 4 Short Answer(one point each) 6 Short Answer(two points each) 4 Short Answer(two points each) 3 Short Answer(two points each) *All students are allowed an additional 45 minutes without an accommodation. Additionally, extended time accommodations are available for all students and must be made prior to testing.

27. Mathematics Grades 5-8 Test Design Three 45-minute sessions (Schedule 90 minutes each)* Session INo Calculator or tools Session IICalculator and tool active Session IIICalculator and tool active 13 multiple choice(one point each) 14 multiple choice(one point each) 14 multiple choice(one point each) 3 Short Answer(one point each) 3 Short Answer(one point each) 3 Short Answer(one point each) 3 Short Answer(two points each) 3 Short Answer(two points each) 3 Short Answer(two points each) 2 Constructed Response(four points each) 2 Constructed Response(four points each) 2 Constructed Response(four points each) *All students are allowed an additional 45 minutes without an accommodation. Additionally, extended time accommodations are available for all students and must be made prior to testing.

28. Distribution of Emphasis for Reading *2 (3) indicates end-of-grade 2 GLEs are tested at the beginning of grade 3

29. Short Reading Passage 2 stand-alone vocabulary multiple choice (1pt) 1 Literary or Informational passage 4 multiple choice questions (1 pt) 1 constructed response question (4 pts) Long Reading Passage 1 Literary or informational passage 8 multiple choice questions (1 pt) 2 constructed response questions (4pts) All Text is Authentic Literary passages include poetry, traditional narratives, and modern narratives. Informational passages include content areas and practical text. Reading Test Design Grades 3-8: Same design for each of the three 45-minute sessions (Schedule 90 minutes each session)* *Students are allowed an additional 45-minutes per session without an accommodation.

30. Distribution of Emphasis for Writing * 2(3) indicates end-of-grade 2 GLEs are tested at the beginning of grade 3

31. Writing Test Design Grades 5 and 8 Two 45-minute sessions at grades 5 and 8 (Schedule 90 minutes each)* Session I Session II 10 Multiple Choice (1 pt): Conventions & Structures May have response to text stimulus Prompt Planning reminders- may be used to plan or to check writing Extended Response (12 pts): 5th Grade response to literary text OR response to informational text OR report OR narrative 8th Grade response to literary text OR response to informational text OR report OR persuasive Constructed Response (4 pts) 1st of 3 not in Session II Constructed Response (4 pts) 2nd of 3 not in Session II Constructed Response (4 pts) 3rd of 3 not in Session II *Students are allowed an additional 45-minutes per session without an accommodation.

32. Scheduling Test Sessions (page 5) • All testing, including accommodated sessions and make-up sessions, must occur within the testing window (October 1 — October 22, 2009). • Test sessions must be scheduled and given in the order presented in the student’s test booklet. • Make-up testing may begin as soon as a student returns to or enters a school. • All grade level classrooms in the school must follow the same testing schedule. To the extent possible, districts should coordinate testing in order to avoid possible breaches in test security. Schools do not need to report their testing schedule to the ME DOE.

33. Scheduling Test Sessions • NECAP test sessions are designed to be completed in approximately: • 45 minutes for grades 3 through 8 • Test sessions may be no shorter than these minimum time limits. • All students are allowed additional time. • 45 minutes for grades 3 through 8 • Additional time, if needed, can be given to all students without an accommodation. However, only those students with an “Extended Time” accommodation (T-1) may be permitted more than 90 minutes to complete a session. • If all students finish before the 90-minute window has ended, testing may be concluded for that session.

34. Testing Schedules (pages 6-8) Grades 3 through 8 • 3 Reading and 3 Mathematics Sessions • 2 Writing Sessions (at grades 5 and 8 only) • 1 Student Questionnaire

35. Sample Testing Schedule: Grades 3, 4, and 5

36. Test Materials (pages 10-13) • Inventory Test Materials • Check all materials needed for each grade are received. • Count materials actually received and compare to number reported on Material Summary Form. • Locate green instructions sheet for completing the Principal’s Certification of Proper Test Administration online form. • Save the original boxes and RS labels for shipping materials back to Measured Progress. • Quantities of Student Test Booklets and Student Answer Booklets • Quantities of Other Materials • Packaging of Test Materials • Storing and Access to Test Materials

37. Student ID Labels (page 13) • Labels are generated through MEDMS/Infinite Campus State Edition. • 1 label provided for students in Grades 3 and 4 (one integrated Student Test Booklet) • 2 identical labels provided for students in Grades 5-8 (one for Student Answer Booklet, one for Reading/Mathematics Student Test Booklet). No label is required for the separate Writing Student Test Booklet (grades 5 and 8 only)

38. Sample Student ID Label

39. Student ID Labels: Missing Labels Missing labels for students enrolled in your school: • All students enrolled in your school must be entered into MEDMS/Infinite Campus by end of day on October 1, 2009. This information will be sent to MP and additional labels will be printed and automatically sent to your school before the end of testing.

40. Student ID Labels: Incorrect Information Student ID labels containing incorrect information: • 2 fields MUST be correct in order to use label (student name and school name) • If either of these 2 fields are incorrect, DO NOT USE the label. Instead throw it away. • Student ID labels with incorrect grade or date of birth can still be used.

41. Student ID Labels Student ID labels for students NOT in your school: • Labels are NOT transferable between schools. • Throw away any labels provided for students not enrolled in your school. • DO NOT forward these labels on to other schools. • DO NOT affix these labels to Student Answer Booklets. Labels for students who took the Alternate Assessment in 2008-2009 (or 3rd grade students who would have taken part): • Throw away any labels for these students • DO NOT affix these labels to Student Answer Booklets

42. Student ID Labels For students who do not receive a student ID label with testing materials: • Maine schools will automatically receive additional labels based on the difference in student enrollment in MEDMS/IC from August 14 (the date of the label file) and October 1, 2009. These labels will be mailed from Measured Progress on October 9th. • If MEDMS/IC enrollment is NOT updated by October 1, 2009, students will not receive a label and you must fill in the student name, state assigned student ID, and birth date on pages 1 of the Student Answer Booklet. This would apply also to students who move into your school after October 1.

43. Prior to Test Administration (pages 15-19) Preparing Test and Answer Booklets for Testing • Count enough booklets for each administrator and the group of students to whom they will administer the test. • Affix student ID labels to the appropriate booklets (see additional information on page 16 of Principal/Test Coordinator Manual). • Braille booklets, large-print booklets, and writing test booklets do not require a label. • For students without a label, fill in the student name, state assigned student ID, and birth date on page 2 of the student answer booklet.

44. Preparing Test and Answer Booklets for Testing • DO NOT separate the Student Answer Booklets from the Student Test Booklets (grades 5 – 8) • If the booklets do become separated, you will need to match the form number on the front cover of the Student Test Booklet with the bracketed portion of the number printed on the bottom right corner of the Student Answer Booklet. • The unique serial numbers on test booklets and answer booklets are not designed to match.

45. Place labels here upon receipt

47. Optional Reports (page 16) The Optional Reports Box will NOT be used in Maine this year.

49. Designating Test Administrators (page 17) A sufficient number of trained test administrators are needed to fulfill these responsibilities: • Administration of test sessions simultaneously at a grade level throughout the school • Students should be tested in surroundings that will provide them with the opportunity to do their best work • Students that require accommodations must be supervised by trained test administrators (refer to NECAP Accommodations Guide) • Makeup sessions must be supervised by trained test administrators

50. Preparing Test Administrators • Create a plan for applying Student ID labels or coding student identification information • Explain purpose of “Optional Reports for School Use” field • Discuss additional materials needed: • Scratch paper • Rulers and protractors • Mathematics toolkits for grades 3, 4 and 5 (punch out before testing) • Mathematics reference sheets for grades 5-8 • Discuss additional optional materials and when they are allowed: • Calculator (sessions 2 and 3 only) • Multiplication table and 100s chart (sessions 2 and 3 only) • Post-Its (anytime, but NOT on returned answer booklets) • Highlighter (grades 5-8 Student Test Booklets only)