Question of the Week
Q: What formative assessments have been employed by districts during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking information on formative assessments used in schools and districts during the 2020-2021 school year. District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) are asked to complete this Google Form. The short survey will help KDE understand what formative assessments have been utilized during the pandemic. When completing the survey, please provide as much information as possible. The survey will be available until the close of business on March 5. KDE encourages all districts to participate in completing the survey. The survey should be completed by the DAC or their designee.
Preparation for Upcoming Virtual Question and Answer (Q&A) Sessions
February DAC Training Virtual Question and Answer (Q&A) Sessions will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 24 and repeated on Wednesday, Mar. 3. These Q&A sessions support administration of Spring 2021 Assessments as presented in the February DAC training videos.
Staff from the Division of Assessment and Accountability Support (DAAS), other Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) offices and Pearson representatives will be online to assist with questions. The following resources will assist with accessing and preparing for the upcoming sessions.
The Q&A Sessions can be accessed with the following links.
Wednesday, Feb. 24 Q&A Session
Wednesday, March 3 Q&A Session
Before attending the Q&A Sessions, DACs and BACs can be prepared by completing the following steps in the Checklist. Following the steps in this helpful resource may help DACs/BACs get the most benefit from the Q&A Sessions.
Checklist for Q&A Sessions
NOTE: EILA credit will be offered for the February DAC Trainings that does not include the Q&A sessions. Details on EILA credit will be shared in the Monday DAC Email on March 1.
Understanding ACCESS for ELLs 2021 Scores
World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) has created a guide to help stakeholders learn about the impact of the pandemic on ACCESS for ELLs and the implications for student scores. See the news article Understanding ACCESS for ELLs 2021 Scores on the WIDA website for more information.
New Courses Added to Micro-Offerings Series
WIDA Professional Learning has added two new micro-offerings to the free virtual learning series titled Supporting Multilingual Learners during COVID-19. The additions include:
- Educational Equity for Multilingual Learners during COVID-19
- Connecting Educators to Tools for Oral Language Development
The five-part series is designed to help educators navigate some of the nuances of teaching and supporting multilingual children and youth this school year. Each 30-minute learning opportunity provides educators with tools to effectively teach multilingual learners during the pandemic. Access all five courses on the Distance Teaching and Learning webpage.
DRC Planned Outage
A planned system outage affecting WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS) will take place Saturday, March 6 at 11 p.m. CT to Sunday, March 7 at 11 a.m. CT. WIDA and Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) apologize for any inconvenience caused by this routine maintenance.
Scores in Infinite Campus
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) strives to publish student results data in Infinite Campus (IC) as it becomes available. In this spirit, 2020-2021 KYOTE scores have been imported into the State Edition of Campus. KDE will publish these scores to all districts beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
Please email KDE data services inbox with any questions on this matter.
ACT Additional and Non-College Reportable (NCR) Orders
If a school/district had an enrollment increase after the Verify Enrollment deadline, schools can order additional materials for Test Window 1 in PearsonAccessnext (PAN). The window to place these materials orders is Feb. 23 - 26. For information to complete this activity, please review Directions for Ordering Materials.
If a student needs to test with NCR materials, schools can order NCR materials for Test Window 1 in PAN. The window to place these material orders is Feb. 23- 26. For information to complete this activity, please review Directions for Non-College Reportable Accommodations.
Waiver on Identifying TSI Schools for 2021
The following press release was published last week.
Public comment sought on Kentucky’s request for temporary waiver on identifying TSI schools for 2021
(FRANKFORT, KY) –Public comment is being sought on a request by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) for a temporary waiver on the annual identification of schools for targeted support and improvement (TSI).
The request, which would waive the requirements in section 1111(d)(2)(A) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) on Feb. 24.
The public comment period on the TSI waiver request will be held from Feb. 17 to 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 23.
Kentucky’s approved Revised Consolidated State Plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act states that a school will be identified for TSI status if “one or more of the same subgroups are performing as poorly as all students in any of the lowest performing 5% of Title I schools or non-Title I schools (by level – elementary, middle, or high school) based on the school performance, for three consecutive years.”
This federal classification is to be identified annually, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. This definition also is in Kentucky state statute KRS 160.346.
In the spring of 2020, Kentucky received a waiver from federal testing and accountability requirements due to the extraordinary situation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including extended and widespread school closures.
This previous waiver also waived the requirements for the identification of federal classifications, including TSI, in the fall of 2020. Due to this waiver, Kentucky is unable to identify schools for TSI status in the fall of 2021 because it does not have three consecutive years of accountability data.
Additionally, in January 2021, Kentucky submitted to USED the “Addendum to the ESEA Consolidated State Plan due to the COVID-19 Emergency.” This addendum allows Kentucky to roll forward the dates of identification for Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) and Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools. Neither of these classifications will be identified in the fall of 2021.
The unprecedented challenges of administering a statewide assessment during the 2020-2021 school year during the ongoing pandemic are likely to cause the results of the state assessment to be incomplete and unreliable, Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass wrote in a letter to USED requesting the waiver.
Therefore, Kentucky is requesting a waiver of the requirements to identify TSI schools due to the current lack of data posed by the previous year’s accountability waiver and to align the next TSI cohort with future identification cycles. Under this waiver, TSI schools would next be identified in the fall of 2024, following three consecutive years of accountability data (2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024).
Section 8401(a)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the ESSA, allows the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education to waive, with the exceptions outlined in Section 8401(c), “any statutory or regulatory requirements of this Act for which a waiver request is submitted.”
The waiver seeks to exempt Kentucky from the requirements under 20 U.S. Code § 6311(c)(4)(C)(iii) to “include differentiation of any such school in which any subgroup of students is consistently underperforming, as determined by the state, based on all indicators” in the state’s accountability system.
While new TSI schools would not be identified in 2021 under this waiver, Kentucky’s commitment to equity and service will continue to ensure that students from traditionally underserved backgrounds have their physical, emotional and instructional needs met during the 2021-2022 school year.
“This waiver supports the advancement of student academic achievement by maintaining the integrity of Kentucky’s accountability system,” Glass wrote in the letter to USED. “Due to the lack of testing data collected during the 2019-2020 school year and the unprecedented challenges posted by testing during the 2020-2021 school year, the good-faith identification of TSI schools is not possible.”
“By waiving the identification requirement until Kentucky can faithfully execute the expectations outlined in its state plan and state statutes, Kentucky is able to maintain a high-quality accountability system that promotes equity and trust.”
Kentucky will continue to collect and monitor relevant data related to school quality and student performance.
Currently, Kentucky does not have any actively identified TSI schools. Kentucky maintains a robust system of support for low-performing schools or schools with consistently low-performing subgroups.
Schools that are at risk of falling into TSI status in the future may voluntarily opt for early intervention from KDE.
The full request for the waiver can be accessed online on KDE's website.
Public comments must be received by 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 23. Comments may be emailed to kdecommunications@education.ky.gov or submitted to Todd Allen, General Counsel, Kentucky Department of Education, 300 Sower Blvd, 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601. Comments also may be submitted via fax at (502) 564-9321. All comments that are received during the window will be considered before submission of the waiver request to USED.
Powell County is located in Eastern Kentucky and is home to Natural Bridge State Park. Powell County School District’s current enrollment is 2,000 students and consists of three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school (which houses the CTE program). This year Powell County Middle School launched The Lighthouse, a grades 6 and 7 personalized learning academy. Powell County High School started The Connect Academy, focused on grades 10-12 students, that would benefit from additional opportunities in career and technical skills. The teachers and administrators leading these new endeavors have persevered through this unusual year and are planning for how to continue these programs in the 2021-2022 school year.
This past year has opened opportunities for Powell County teachers to learn and grow in totally new environments, time and space! Teacher leaders and administrators have led professional learning virtually that included learning modules from the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) resources, The Curious Classroom, Social and Emotional Learning, The Digital Learning Playbook, and utilizing digital tools to support remote learning. Teams from each school and district administrators are participating in monthly learning with leaders from the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC). The book, Phenomenal Teaching: A Guide for Reflection and Growth, is the focus during this time. Teachers will begin small group coaching sessions in the spring for transfer of learning to classroom practice. Teachers are excited to see the evidence and impact with student learning and engagement from these learning experiences.
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).
|
