Question of the Week
Q: If in-person classes are in session during September, would your district be willing to participate in the social studies field test?
A: With the understanding that in-person classes may be different in the fall and many options are being considered for the return of students, the Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) is collecting the interest of each district to be included in the social studies field test. By June 1, please indicate whether your district would like to participate in the Fall 2020 Social Studies Field Test if in-person classes are held at the Social Studies Field Test Participation link . Participation in the field test is by district. If the district chooses to participate, all schools with grades 6, 9, and 12 will be included.
The online field tests are tentatively scheduled for September 14-18. The new social studies standards will be field tested at Grades 6, 9 and 12 in preparation for Spring 2021 operational assessments. Operational assessments in social studies are administered to students in Grades 5, 8 and 11.
A representative sample of students is needed to conduct the field test. If that representative sample is not achieved, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) reserves the right to require participation.
National ACT Test Administration
ACT, Inc. contacted many high schools about becoming testing sites for the June 13 and July 18 national test dates. Opening schools to a limited number of students should be considered cautiously. KDE recommends school and district leaders consult with the local health department for specific guidance. If educational leaders plan to open schools as ACT testing locations, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), state government, and local public health procedures should be followed. Additional guidance was released from KDE last week as a resource for school and district leaders, COVID-19 Considerations for Reopening Schools Initial Guidance for Schools and Districts May 15, 2020.
2020-2021 School Reconfiguration Changes
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) asks that District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) submit information on A1 schools with service area changes for the 2020-2021 school year by June 30. Changes to school service area (reconfiguration) requests need to be made if any of the following situations apply:
*the grade range in an A1 school changes;
*a new A1 school is opened;
*an A1 school is closed;
*an A1 school boundary changes;
*a shift in student population of more than 40% occurs.
The reconfiguration spreadsheet, instructions, and Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the Forms page located on the Assessment and Accountability section of the KDE website.
In addition, changes must be submitted through the District and School Collection Repository (DASCR) application. Please see the DASCR User Guide if unfamiliar with this web application. Your district Web Apps Admin Point of Contact (WAAPOC) handles access. WAAPOCs may contact the KETS Service Desk with questions/issues with DASCR at 866-538-7435.
Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) Planned Outage
A planned system outage affecting WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS) will take place Saturday, May 30 at 11 p.m. CT to Sunday, May 31 at 11 a.m. CT. World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) and DRC apologize for any inconvenience caused by this routine maintenance. Please contact WIDA for questions. WIDA Client Services WIDA at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research 866-276-7735
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DAC Spotlight
Tony Jury
Gallatin County Schools
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The Gallatin County School District is a small rural district located just south of the major Northern Kentucky metropolitan areas. Interstate 71 runs through the length of Gallatin County and one may recognize the Kentucky Speedway located off the Sparta exit. Gallatin County is also home to Nucor Steele and Dorman Products, which employ many the community residents. Much of the community still has strong ties to farming and traditional agricultural values. Even though the county is close to urban areas such as Florence, the demographics transition quickly when traveling south on I-71.
Gallatin County Schools is one of the smallest public school systems in Kentucky consisting of a Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School and High School. All schools are located on one campus in Warsaw. It really was not that long ago when K-12 were all in the same building. Being so small has challenges and benefits. It does not take long for new people in the system to meet everyone else across the district. That creates a family-like atmosphere and everyone is supported as the students are cared for and educated. In addition, most teachers will have just about every student in their classroom at one point in time. This creates a vested and collective interest in all students.
Staff members wear multiple hats each day. A small district must try to run at the same speed as larger districts in order to offer equitable opportunities and advantages to students. In an effort for continuous improvement, the district has placed priority on creating highly functional professional learning communities and building a collective teacher efficacy. The journey begins by first establishing a district instructional professional learning community and designating time to focus specifically on instruction in the classrooms. In addition, the district is learning to use a systems approach to continuous improvement that includes using the plan, do, study, act (PDSA) cycle in establishing effective systems. This has led to some great accomplishments over the past couple of years. Teachers and principals are building great leadership and team skills as PLC’s are sprouting and growing quickly. Gallatin County Schools has also established a district Planning Hub that houses all district unit/lesson plans, instructional resources and assessments. By organizing and compiling all this information in one easily accessible place, they have made huge strides in strengthening the curriculum. Horizontal and vertical sharing has come along naturally in the process as teachers have access to multiple grade level curriculums. This process initiated around the same time the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) started rolling out new standards. They can attribute much of the success to the assistance and guidance of the KDE Continuous Improvement Coaches and to the outstanding work of those developing the KY Standards website. The PLC structure has allowed for the immediate utilization of the resources and training made available on KYStandards.org.
Gallatin County School’s vision for moving forward is to continue the work of aligning instruction, assessment and curriculum to the new standards. They do this because they believe it will give students the same competitive opportunities as other students from around the state and nation.
Disclaimer: Any views or opinions presented in the article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
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