June 2012 Regents Scanning CFN 201 – Information for School Staff

1. June 2012 Regents ScanningCFN 201 – Information for School Staff Version 3.01 – May 15, 2012

2. After viewing the presentation, you will understand: • The overall scanning process to be performed by schools, and step-by-step procedures for each stage; • How schools can avoid common pitfalls in the scanning process by using best practices; • Process updates for the June 2012 administration; and • What documents and resources are available for support, including use of the demo IT environment. 2

3. Process Changes for June 2012 Regents Scanning Key differences for June 2012 Regents Exams include: Schools must now scan ALL 10Regents examinations. Exams that will be scanned for the first time include Algebra 2/Trig, Chemistry, Geometry, and Physics. (Slide 4) A new exam code deck for high schools and middle schools has been released in STARS student scheduling. (Slides 8 - 9) A scan confirmation page will now be automatically generated after every batch of answer documents is scanned to report the scanning status of all answer documents and inform any necessary follow-up. (Slide 21) Use of “did not meet lab requirements” is now available for all 4 science exams (Slide 22) No final score will be calculated until an answer document is fully scored and scanned; this now includes one page answer documents scanned with missing teacher scored responses (Slide 24) 3

4. SED Regents Requirements • Beginning in June 2012, the SED requires all districts to collect and submit item-level data for all ten Regents exams. • Beginning in June 2012, all ten Regents exams will be scanned, including Algebra 2/Trig, Geometry, Chemistry, and Physics.* Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, teachers can no longer score the state exams of students that attend their school. • In January 2012, 27 schools engaged in a distributed scoring pilot model, in which teachers graded Regents exams of students from different schools; • In June 2012, 165 schools will engage in either an electronic or non-electronic distributed scoring effort on select exams to inform compliance starting in SY 2012-13. Networks will be trained to support schools through this transition *RCTs will continue to use the traditional administration and scoring process and will not be scanned. 4

5. Timeline of Key Steps 5

6. Step 2: STARS Main changes for June 2012: New June Regents and RCT codes have been added to all high school and middle school code decks. Best practices: Complete registration process for majority of student before printing answer documents. Only register students expected to take exams (though when in doubt, err in favor of registration). Middle Schools: Middle schools offering accelerated courses in eighth grade should schedule their students using the STARS accelerated course/exam codes. Middle school accelerated course/exam codes are available in the STARS add/modify screen. Data/application specialists can add new STARS exam courses to Middle School code decks. Networks will monitor the scheduling progress regularly. 6

7. Step 2: STARS New Exam Code Deck – High Schools The June 2012 Regents codes for High School students are below. Note these codes also indicate the month of exam administration. 7

8. Step 2: STARS New Exam Code Deck – Middle schools The June 2012 Regents codes for Middle School students are below: 8

9. Step 3: Printing Answer Docs in ATS There are four main options for printing answer docs: Not Previously Printed (batch printing for registered students) Prints batch of answer documents that have not been printed (RGPR) Print by Student ID (for DOE walk-in student) Prints an answer sheet for any student, one at a time. This option may be used for another DOE student taking the exam at your school. (Use SBIO screen to look up student ID.) (RGPR) Print by Name (non-public) (for non-DOE walk-in student) Prints an answer sheet for a non-DOE student who is taking the exam at your school. (RGPR) Reprint Answer Documents Reprint previously printed docs by student ID or answer-document page number. (RGRR) 9

10. Step 3: Printing Answer Docs in ATS (RGPR) • Use RGPR screen for printing options 1, 2, and 3. Sorting Options 10

11. Step 3: Printing Answer Docs in ATS (RGRR) • Use RGRR screen for printing option 4. Sorting Options 11

12. ATS-Generated Answer Documents Regents Scannable Old Answer Document • Schools will no longer receive answer sheets from NYSED for Regents exams 12

13. Step 3: Printing Answer Docs in ATS Best practices for printing answer documents Whenever possible, print answer documents using the ATS printer/scanner you intend to use for scanning. If this is not possible, print answer docs only on supported printers (Lexmark T640 or later), not older or incompatible printers After printing batches of answer documents, a “test page” will print. Scan the test page to confirm the ink quality for a batch. Trailing test pages are specific to each exam to better diagnose scanning issues ahead of testing period. Make sure to scan the test pages and with enough time to reprint answer document as necessary. Answer documents must be printed on white paper only.Use the same stock paper as is normally used for attendance forms. Using colored paper or heavy stock may result in scanning errors. Ensure only one answer document is printed per student per exam to avoid possible data errors. **School should contact their CFN if encountering trouble printing answer documents; if that fails, then call theDOE Help Desk to open a support ticket Networks will monitor the printing progress regularly. 13

14. Step 4: Logistics Planning for Regents Week Main tasks: Distribute test rosters and page one of answer docs to appropriate staff in advance. Train exam proctors on new procedures and policies. Ensure adequate supply of toner, paper, pens/pencils. Best practices: Roles and responsibilities are clear and communicated to all relevant staff before Regents Week. Ensure the scanner is clean; a dirty scanner may result in inaccurate results. See the Tips for Scanning appendix of the Regents Scanning Handbook (available on the intranet and ARIS) for instructions on cleaning. Arrange for servicing of scanner(s) as necessary prior to scanning. 14

15. Step 5: Exam Week & Scoring Main tasks: Proctors emphasize proper technique – READ THE DIRECTIONS Completely fill in bubbles and erase stray marks; Remind students to sign student declaration when finished; and Ensure accommodations are properly accounted for on the answer sheet Best practices: Students use Pencil for Multiple Choice, Pen for essays, DBQ questions. Student Attestation (Signature) preferred to be done in Pen but can be completed in Pencil. Teachers carefully fill in bubbles (using only pencil) when scoring Constructive Response questions. Ensure no teacher scored items are left blank and teacher names are filled in on the answer sheet. • Support:Network Assessment Liaison 15

16. Step 5: Exam Week & Scoring Administering Exams to English Language Learners: Schools should ensure ELL accommodations are correctly recorded 16

17. Step 5: Exam Week & Scoring Instructions for “Walk-Ins” Schools should make preparations and assign roles to handle walk-in students prior to Regents week. • Inform appropriate staff how to direct walk-ins upon arrival, and appoint staff to print answer documents using ATS. • Print answer documents by following the instructions below: *If Student ID is unknown, use ATS SBIO menu to look up. 17

18. Step 5: Exam Week & Scoring SED Rescoring Policy: As of June 2011, schools are no longer permitted to rescore any of the open-ended questions on any Regents exam after each question has been rated the required number of times (as specified in the rating guide), regardless of the final exam score. Specifically, exams receiving a final score of 60-64 or 50-54 are not permitted to be re-scored. Principals and other administrative staff in a school or district do not have the authority to set aside the scores arrived at by the teacher scoring committee and rescore student exams. 18

19. Step 5: Exam Week & Scoring Teacher scoring of their own students’ exams: In June 2012 exams, teachers can still score their own students’ exams, although NYSED requests principals should make every effort to prevent teachers from rating their own students’ responses, where possible. Under guidance from the New York State Education Department, starting in the 2012-13 school year, teachers will no longer be able to score their own students’ responses. Select schools will participate in electronic and non-electronic distributed scoring models in June 2012 to inform city-wide implementation for the upcoming school year. Contact your Cluster Assessment Point for more information. 19

20. Step 6 and 6a: Scanning Answer Documents Main tasks: After notification from the DOE, you may use the attendance scanner to begin scanning answer documents. Notification will be communicated to CFN Assessment and Data/IT Liaisons, on the intranet Regents page, and through the ATS login screen. Documents scanned before notification will not be processed and will have to be rescanned. Documents with errors in reading bar codes will be reprinted by the scanner with an error message. Documents with bubble read errors will be indicated on confirmation sheet(s) and may be investigated in ATS. Re-scan affected documents as necessary. Review REDS reports for “warnings” noted to inform of scan read errors, including multiple or omitted responses, or stray marks. Review the automatically generated SCNS report, which provides information on scanning status and whether ATS successfully received scanned data. In order to preserve answer sheet quality for audit purposes, answer documents should be scanned only once except if there is missing or incorrect teacher scores on the document, or if the “did not meet lab requirements” bubble is filled. • Support:Network Data/Application Specialist 20

21. Step 6 and 6a: Scanning Answer Documents “Did not meet lab requirements” bubble: Addition of a “Did not meet lab requirements” bubble on all science exam answer documents, including Chemistry and Physics. This designation is used only for students who sat (but were ineligible) for either exam, and should be used only on completed and scanned documents. Un-schedule students who did not sit for the exam in STARS and do not scan these documents. If this bubble is filled when scanned, it will remove the score; no grade will appear on report cards or transcripts. The score will not be reported to the State. 21

22. Step 6 and 6a: Scanning Answer Documents Do not scan completely blank (unused) answer documents 22

23. Step 6 and 6a: Scanning Best Practices The scanner will automatically print a confirmation page after every scanned batch indicating pages with scanning errors, and will reprint pages for which the bar code could not be read. If only one page of a two-page document is scanned, it will register in ATS as an incomplete scan until the second page is processed. No score will be calculated until both pages of a two-page document or if all teacher responses are blank on a one-page answer document. Schools may scan the first page of two-page documents immediately, before scoring is complete for page two. When scanning two-page documents, it is recommended to batch all page one documents and scan separately from page two documents for faster scanning and upload. File the scanned batches together with the DFS confirmation page. This will assist in retrieving papers as needed in the future. Scanning is open from 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekends. Please allow time for the whole batch to process, and do not attempt to scan large quantities of documents too close to the daily cutoff for overnight data transfer to STARS. 23

24. Step 6 and 6a: Scanned Images Scanning captures an item-level data string as well as images of answer documents (and any ancillary re-scans) for an audit trail. Central users have access to scanned image capture. 24

25. Step 7: ATS Reports: REDS (Status Report) REDS reports (available immediately after scanning): Use Document Status Report to ensure that all answer docs have been properly scanned and to flag warnings. Use Item Report to see students’ scores of individual students. Review report for “warnings/multiples/omits” by using “Include only W/M/O” option. Use Item Distribution Report to inform decisions on present and future instruction. REDS report changes: Scores of Misadministration, Did not meet lab requirements, Exam invalidated, and Absent will all override scaled score from responses. Score of “INC” will be shown when only one page (of a two-page answer doc) has been scanned or when all teacher score responses on a one-page answer document are unfilled. Given the length (and width) of the REDS report, it is best viewed when printed, as all data may not be visible on the ATS screen. Schools may download ATS reports into Excel for further analysis. 25

26. Step 7: ATS Reports: REDS (Status Report) Report uses: Displays score, accommodations, warnings, for each student. Shows summary of documents scanned, outstanding, and warnings. Use this report to track outstanding unscanned and incompletely scanned document. Scores Accom. Scan-specific info Document statuses 26

27. Step 7: ATS Reports: REDS (Item Report) Report uses: Displays line-item data for each student. Shows specific questions to review (warnings). Use to flag Teacher section questions to investigate (e.g. omits, multiples). TEACHER SECTION STUDENT SECTION Correct answers CR raw scores Multiple answers Incorrect answers 27

28. Step 7: ATS Reports: SCNS (Scan Statistics Report) Report uses: This report is automatically printed, but can be run separately for an exam. This report provides information on scanning status including the number of pages scanned, and whether the data was accepted or rejected by ATS. The total number of times scanned, with and without errors. 28

29. Step 7: ATS Reports: RADI (Item Dist. Report) Report uses: Shows school-level aggregated data for each question. Use data to flag specific subject matter and question types for instruction. ‘*’ denotes correct answer 29

30. Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) The RGTU screen is used to update student and teacher responses not accurately picked up by the scanner, including incomplete erasures, selections lightly bubbled in, or stray marks. Process: After a school confirms a scanner error, the school will use RGTU to update individual student or teacher section responses. Changes made in RGTU that do not cause a record to move from a failing score to a passing score will be processed automatically (e.g. an 80  82 or 49  52). Requested changes that cause a record to move from a failing score to a passing score will be held for review and approval by DAPS, and will cause the record to be locked until the document status is resolved. If a school attempts to rescan a locked record, the scan sheet will be successfully scanned and sent to ATS—but ATS will reject the record. The error will appear on the SCNS report, and the record will not be updated in ATS Principals will be able to review the status of requests in ATS. Most requests will be reviewed within 48 hours unless further information is needed. Appeal process Principals (and Data/IT Liaisons) will be directly notified via email if a change requested has been denied, or if further information is needed to justify the change. Assessment and/or Data/IT Liaisons will work with DAPS to clarify any such requests. 30

31. Best practices for use of the RGTU screen: Do not attempt to use the RGTU screen on an incompletely scanned answer document. Use RGTU for scanning errors, such as stray marks or lightly bubbled responses. Do not erase or re-bubble and then rescan any student responses. Under no circumstances may teachers or administrators mark, erase, or otherwise modify any part of the student section of the answer document. If a teacher fails to properly record a score in the Teacher section, then the RGTU screen should be used to correct the error. If a Teacher section answer is omitted, the answer document should be bubbled in with the correct response and then rescanned. In the event a document cannot be scanned, schools will need to recreate the student answer document and scan (and retain the original) in order to access the RGTU screen. Schools may mark an exam record as misadministered on this screen. Each school must retain a written explanation of each change in RGTU for audit and review purposes. • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) 31

32. Note corrections to Student and Teacher sections are made separately in the RGTU screen • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) 32

33. Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) • Example change to student section:

34. Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) • Example change to student section: Note that the response to Question 10 registers as “M” (multiple).

35. Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) • The online edit changes the student’s response to Question 10 from “Multiple” to “1”, leading to a new raw and final score.

36. Example Change to Teacher Section • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) 36

37. Change to Teacher Section: Note that Question 34 has been left blank • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) 37

38. Change to Teacher Section: Question 34 is now filled in, and the raw and final scores have changed. • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) 38

39. If an online edit results in a “critical change” (i.e., a change in score below 65 to a score of 65 or more) DAPS will review the requested online edit in conjunction with the scanned image(s), and make a determination either to accept or reject the edit. • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGTU(Update Regents Answers) 39

40. Schools can view the status of their requested online edits that have been held for DAPS review in the RGDR screen in ATS: • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGDR (Approval Status) 40

41. Schools can view the status of their requested online edits that have been held for DAPS review in the RGDR screen in ATS: • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGDR (Approval Status) • To identify the status of all RGTU requests at your school, you can you can simply press F2 twice. 41

42. Schools should check RGDR during Regents scanning period to observe the status of pending online edit requests • Step 7: ATS Reports: RGDR (Approval Status) 42

43. Step 7: Score Verification Main tasks: Although optional, schools should verify a sample of scanned results for accuracy - approximately 5% of answer documents. Schools should look in REDS reports for students with incomplete scores (INC) as well as students with a score of zero, which may result from scanning a blank answer document. Best practices: Verify scan data is correct prior to close of scan window; data errors identified after this time can only be corrected centrally. Data errors identified or missing and unscored answer documents discovered after upload of scores to the State will require Superintendent approval before they can be processed.. • Support:Jerry Lin – jLin3@schools.nyc.govNetwork Data/Application Specialist 43

44. Step 8: Accessing Results in STARS Main tasks: On the day after answer documents are scanned, results will be available in STARS (for non walk-in students) and on transcripts (for all students), provided that scanning was completed by 9 pm the previous day. Check ATS reports to ensure that all students have valid scores, and that no duplicate answer documents were mistakenly scanned Check the REDS report for omissions in student response and teacher scored sections prior to the scan window close. Best practices: Any future score changes (e.g. errors on State exams identified after administration) will be applied automatically. Data flows from ATS to STARS automatically; no manual data entry is required. Results will be automatically applied to transcripts and report cards from STARS. • Support:Jerry Lin – jLin3@schools.nyc.govNetwork Data/Application Specialist 44

45. State Testing Calendar 45

46. On-Going Support & Resources Documentation and updates: ARIS: or: http://www.bit.ly/regentsscanning Technical support (STARS, ATS, & Printing/Scanning): CFN Data/Application Specialist Scanners and printers: DIIT Help Desk, 718-935-5100 Overall process support: Amy Reynolds, CFN 201 Assessment Liaisonareynolds@schools.nyc.gov 917-940-7319 Jerry Lin, Network Data/Application Specialist jLin3@schools.nyc.gov718-281-7561 Borough Assessment Implementation Directors (BAID) • The following resources are available to support implementation and execution of Regents scanning. 46