A Message from Dr. McCormick 3/24/17

Indiana Department of Education
Friday, March 24, 2017

 

Dear Educators:

This week I met with both Sen. Donnelly and Sen. Young. We are working hard to ensure we have positive relationships with our congressional delegation and to keep them informed about our priorities and how they can help.  

As always, I welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please email me at superintendent@doe.in.gov.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer McCormick
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Department of Education

Dr. Jennifer McCormick

In the News
IN Department of Education Announces Delegates of the 2017 National Youth Science Camp

Assessment
IREAD-3 recalculations from 2012 through 2016 were posted beginning March 24 on the DOE website, Learning Connection and Compass. Results were recalculated due to inconsistencies in the reporting metric. The republished calculations allow for informed comparisons which utilizes consistency in the number of students included in the denominator. The attached memo describes the calculation in greater detail. 

Standard edition ISTEP+ Part 2 materials and practice tests arrive in paper-pencil testing corporations March 27-March 31. Accommodated materials arrive by April 7. The Practice Test Window opened March 14 for online corporations. The ISTEP+ Part 2 Practice test manuals are available for download from Learning Connection. Operational test sessions are now available in PearsonAccessnext.

Graduation Rate Audit
The Department is providing the opportunity this year for schools to audit the 5 year graduation rate of the 2015 cohort starting on April 3, 2017. This audit is purely voluntary and will work similarly to the audit process that has been in place for the voluntary 4 year graduation rate the last 2 years. Please see the attached memo for more information.  

ESSA Community Meetings
Our meeting list has been updated. Please share this information with your staff and your school board. Click here to RSVP. 

Commission on Higher Education 
College Readiness Reports were released broadly this week. More information is available here

Mobile App: Legal Guidance on Sharing Juvenile Info 
The Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana has produced a free mobile app for both iOS and Android devices. The app is populated from a 200-page legal white paper on sharing information related to children. The app enables users in the field to quickly determine whether they can share records and if so, how to do it. For example, if a youth's probation officer wants copies of the child's grade reports and test scores, the app will explain under what circumstances the records can be shared, and whether a release or a court order is required. Look for "Information Sharing Guide" in app stores. For iOS devices, download here and for Android devices, download here. Users may also access a desktop version here

Social Media
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Weekly Updates
Miss an update? View previous weekly updates here.

 
 

A message from Dr. McCormick will be sent every Friday.