Question of the Week
Q: What is the process of uploading the ACT Student Verification Excel spreadsheet to the secure web application?
A: All District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) are asked to upload the file with or without updates. With the upload of an unedited spreadsheet, DACs verify they have no changes. These will be the final lists of students eligible for fall ACT testing.
As a reminder, DACs must not rename the file or modify the contents in any way. Altering the file in any way other than modifying rows of data will result in the Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) rejecting the file. In addition, please keep in mind that this spreadsheet contains Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and should not be emailed or loaded into any web-based system for editing.
The upload process is as follows:
- To upload the file, please go to the secure web app upload website
- The username is KCCTFILE
- The password is UPLOAD
- Enter your 3-digit district number, name and email address when prompted
- Select continue
- Verify the information
- Select “Yes” if the information is correct
- Select “Choose File” to select a file to upload
- Select “Upload”
- The file will upload and will confirm the file was uploaded or had an error
- A confirmation email will be sent
Note: the username and password both have to be all uppercase.
Systemic issues should be emailed as soon as possible to kdeassessment@education.ky.gov.
For general information and assistance, please email Shara Savage or by phone at 502-564-4394.
If unable to access the KDE secure application site, check with the district WAAPOC or the KDE Help Desk. The KDE Help Desk can be reached at (502) 564-2002.
ACCESS Accounts
Any staff in the district with a current ACCESS for ELLs account can start July 1 taking screener and ACCESS quizzes on wida.wisc.edu for the 2020-2021 school year.
2020-2021 Technology Releases and Resource Updates
The following resources will be available in the WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS) under My Applications > General Information > Technology Downloads by end of day Thursday, June 25:
- Installers for the COS-SD and INSIGHT Secure Browser applications
- Testing Site Capacity Estimator
Technology documents for the 2020-2021 academic year will be posted by end of day Thursday, June 25 to the Technology Coordinators page of the WIDA Secure Portal and in WIDA AMS under My Applications > General Information > Documents. World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) and Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) would like to highlight the following:
- The Supported System Requirements for ACCESS for ELLs and Screener, July-Oct. 2020 has a revised format and methodology. Please note, DRC has not changed the system specifications for either the testing devices or the COS Service Devices in the 2020-2021 academic year. Districts and schools do not need to purchase new hardware to meet the specifications.
- Technology Coordinators should take note of three additional URLs to whitelist for this year’s online testing. These new URLs can be found in the System Requirements and Testing Information section of the Technology User Guide.
If districts have any questions about these resources, please contact DRC Customer Service or phone (855) 787-9615.
Stay Connected with #WIDA
WIDA has a new Facebook Group: Supporting Success for Multilingual Learners with Disabilities. This group creates a space for people who care about multilingual students with disabilities to share ideas and resources, ask questions, and network. Join the conversation today!
2020 Pilot CTE EOP Assessments—Planned Fall 2020
Due to COVID-19, 2019-2020 Pilot Career Technical Education End Of Programs Assessments were postponed until fall 2020. Six new/revised Pilot CTE EOP Assessments (i.e., Accounting, Financial Services, Automation Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering) are tentatively planned for Oct. 19 – 30, if in-person classes are in session. Schools are encouraged to participate, if eligible, in order to meet the minimum number of participants to ensure a successful pilot. Upon a successful pilot, the assessments are planned to be available in spring 2021. More details will be provided to eligible schools. If you have questions, please contact Sherri Craig, OCTEST, for assistance.
Graduation Codes Deadline
Rodney Bennett, with the Division of District Services (DDS), monitors G-code entry and the Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) will use that data for Graduation Rate reporting this fall in the School Report Card. The deadline for G-codes to be entered in Infinite Campus (IC) is June 30. The G-code end status and graduation tab must be complete in IC for all summer school graduates by July 31. OAA will run and provide to districts initial graduation rates based on final year G-codes from June 30. OAA will monitor for any data quality issues and follow-up with DACs in July and calculate final graduation rates in early August based on any changes from summer graduates.
For assistance with cohort questions, in SDRR, click on the I NEED HELP button and choose Cohort. If you do not find the answer there, contact David Curd via email or phone (502) 564-9853, ext. 4744.
 |
|
DAC Spotlight
Kim Reed
Mayfield Independent Schools
|
Mayfield Independent School District is located in the small rural city of Mayfield in Western Kentucky. The school district consists of three schools that 1,991 Cardinals call home. Mayfield Independent prides itself in small class sizes, a widely diverse student population and strong community partnerships.
The district, like many public and private schools across the country, were faced with planning for multiple non-instructional days in a short amount of time with no experience. The culture of the district is to rally around one another in times of celebrations and trials. They faced this trial together with the superintendent leading the way virtually. The message was clear; this was an extraordinary time period and the job was to meet the needs of Mayfield students. Each school created its own unique plan to deliver instruction. The elementary school provided packets for their students with several teachers reaching out to their students through Zoom and Facebook Live. The middle school created a blend of online and packet instruction. High school students, with Chromebooks in hand, completed their work through Google Classroom and numerous ed tech resources. Packets were created and made available to those students who did not have Internet access. Extra efforts were made to communicate directly with students and parents for academic help as well as some social and emotional support. Food services stepped in with mobile meals to confront food insecurities during the school closure. The faculty and staff of Mayfield Independent adapted quickly and efficiently to the situation because its students needed that.
Upon the completion of NTI days, a survey was sent out to both certified and classified employees to gather feedback on successes and improvements. The responses were overwhelmingly positive with the suggestions driving current discussions about preparing for the upcoming school year. Mayfield truly lived its vision of Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day.
Mayfield Independent continuously seeks out opportunities for students. All three schools participate in the 21st Century Afterschool Program. The programs serve over 500 students per year with 220 students receiving daily academic, social and emotional support. With the Transformation, Leadership and Climate Control (TLC) Project coming to an end, the middle school with the help of the district office, will be able to continue the Leader in Me Programs. As a Lighthouse school, the resources and coaching are invaluable to the continuation of growing student leaders. Most recently, the district received the Kentucky Comprehensive Literacy Grant. This federal program funds projects designed to support literacy in the community and its educational system. In coordination with the following partners, Mayfield schools will be implementing: The 500 Book Initiative with community children, birth through five, the Comprehensive Intervention Model and Reading Recovery with first through third grades and the Literacy Design Collaborative model with fourth through 12th grades. Mayfield staff are excited for the opportunity to work in partnership with coaches and the community to improve reading and writing district-wide beginning at birth and continuing through graduation.
While Mayfield Independent is quite proud that staff and students were able to rise to the many challenges faced during the pandemic crisis, they are ready to get back to normal classroom instruction. Whatever “normal” may look like come next school year, Mayfield Independent Schools will be ready.
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).
|
