Question of the Week
Q: If 14 test days do not provide enough flexibility to get virtual students tested this year, may District Assessment Coordinator (DACs) request additional test days for K-PREP?
A: Yes. If schools need more than 14 days to administer K-PREP, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will certainly consider the request. District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) can email KDE DAC Information with the specific details for each school including the district’s original 14-day window, the number of additional days needed, specific additional dates, and number of virtual students that will be tested.
PearsonAccessnext Opens March 16 for K-PREP
PearsonAccessnext (PAN) opens tomorrow for K-PREP reading, mathematics, science and on-demand writing in grades 3-8, 10 and 11, Tuesday, March 16, to allow districts and schools to complete tasks necessary for the 2021 spring assessment window. Note: Although OAA is still working through whether or not the Social Studies Field Test will be held in Spring 2021, social studies will also be available upon the opening of PAN. DACs should prioritize tasks for the other content areas until final plans for the social studies field test can be made.
Trainings for both PAN and TestNav are available on the Meetings and Trainings page on the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) website and on the Kentucky Portal.
As a reminder, please make sure that the following tasks are completed:
- Update district and school profiles.
- Familiarize staff with PAN navigation instructions.
- District Assessments Coordinators (DACs) create user accounts.
- DACs and Building Assessment Coordinators (BACs) create test sessions.
- Prepare online testing environment with technology staff.
On the Kentucky Portal, Text-to-Speech (TTS) Instructions are found under the PAN Guidance Document Tab.
Please refer to 2021 Important Dates for all K-PREP completion dates.
March 11 DAC Monthly Webcast
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA), Division of Assessment and Accountability Support (DAAS) hosted its live monthly DAC Webcast on March 11.
The meeting was hosted by Jennifer Stafford, Director, in the Division of Assessment and Accountability Support. She was joined by consultants, Shara Savage, Chris Williams, Benjamin Riley, Kevin O’Hair, Jenni Larkins, Kiley Whitaker and Jason Howard. Agenda topics included:
- Regulation Changes
- ACCESS Updates
- SDRR Updates
- ACT Testing Updates
- CTE Updates
- K-Screen Updates
- K-PREP and Alternate K-PREP Important Reminders
- Assessment and Accountability Updates
- Tentative Social Studies Field Test
- Accountability Waiver
The DAC Webcast PowerPoint is available on the right-hand side of the KDE Meetings and Trainings webpage.
The session has been recorded and posted on the KDE Media Portal.
Future broadcasts are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. ET.
Alternate K-PREP Test Materials Ship March 16-19
Materials sent to District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) for the Alternate K-PREP Testing Window will arrive in districts March 16-19. The materials will include assessments for reading in grades 3-8 and 10, mathematics in grades 3-8 and 10, science in grades 4, 7 and 11, writing in grades 5, 8 and 11, and social studies in grades 5, 8 and 11. Binders will contain tasks A-C for each content area with tasks D-F shrink wrapped and accompanying that same shipment. For questions about materials please contact Jaci Norman.
Alternate K-PREP Testing Window Begins March 22
The Alternate K-PREP testing window to administer Attainment Tasks (AT) will begin Monday, March 22. This window is set to assess content standards for reading, mathematics, science, social studies and writing. No tasks may be administered before Monday, March 22.
Instruction may continue into the testing window if the content provided is not derived from the actual Attainment Tasks being administered. Once the task administration begins, all instruction for that standard should cease until after the task administration has been completed. The testing window will end May 28. For questions about the testing window please contact Kevin O’Hair.
Alternate Assessment-Student Registration Database (SRD) Opens March 22
Teachers who have been activated by their District Assessment Coordinator (DAC), Director of Special Education (DoSE), or District Alternate Assessment representative will have access to the SRD beginning March 22 for score entry. No teachers will have access to the SRD before March 22. Anyone denied access to the SRD on or after March 22 should contact their DAC, DoSE or District Alternate Assessment representative to request activation into the system. Activation to enter scores must be completed at the district level. For teachers who have received access to the SRD, a SRD PowerPoint for Teachers has been provided with details about working in the system along with the SRD Manual. There is also a Special Guidance PowerPoint for the SRD that shares updates specific to the SRD and the spring 2021 administration. For specific questions about the SRD, please contact Darrell Mattingly.
Alternate Assessment-Career Readiness Database (CRD) Opens March 22
The CRD will open March 22 for the Employability Skills Attainment Record (ESAR) score entry and the Career Work Experience Certification (CWEC) status entry. In 2020-2021, only eligible students (grade 12 and any grade 14 students planning to exit in 2021) who are working toward career readiness and on track to complete the CWEC may take the ESAR assessment.
Any teacher who has been activated in the SRD (and passed both the ESAR and CWEC quizzes) will be activated in the CRD. Access the CRD by using the OTS (Online Training System)/SRD username and password.
For questions about the ESAR or CWEC, please contact Kiley Whitaker or Sherri Craig. For technical assistance, please contact Darrell Mattingly.
K Screen Training of Trainers Registration Link
A K Screen Training of Trainers session for new district trainers will be held on March 26 from 9 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. ET. District staff wishing to attend the K Screen Training of Trainers may sign up using the Google Form. EILA certificates will be emailed to participants after the event occurs. During the session, Curriculum Associates will discuss the process of administering the Brigance, best practices, training procedures and resources to ensure having a successful K Screen Implementation in the 2021-2022 school year.
Please register before March 24. If there are any questions, please contact Ben Riley. KDE and Curriculum Associates look forward to seeing registered participants soon. EILA certificates will be emailed to participants after the event occurs.
Note: a second Training of Trainers Session on July 22 that will be virtual as well. Registration for the July 22 session will be coming soon.
ACCESS for ELLs and WIDA Online Screener Supported System Requirements
Updated Supported System Requirements for ACCESS for ELLs Online and WIDA Screener Online have been posted to WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS). These system requirements are valid for Feb.-June 2021.
Contact DRC Customer Support or 855-787-9615 with any questions.
K-PREP District Test Window Collection Reminder
School and District level users will see the spring summative testing window dates in the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application. SDRR opened on March 15 at 9 a.m. ET. District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) need to enter the date of the first day of K-PREP testing for elementary, middle and high schools in the district.
Please note that the first day of the spring summative testing window must fall within the last 14 days of the school year. That date range information is pulled from Infinite Campus (IC) calendars. There will be only one time that IC will refresh any changes made to school calendars during the K-PREP District Test Window collection in SDRR.
There can only be one date for each level. School level users can view the test window dates provided by the DAC, but they cannot change the information. Only District level users can make changes to these dates. SDRR will close on March 31 for District Test Window collection for K-PREP.
If the district’s testing windows change for any reason, SDRR must be updated to reflect the correct dates. The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) uses the testing window dates provided by DACs and student enrollment information in IC to calculate and pre-load 100 days for students whenever possible. If the testing dates are incorrect, the pre-loaded 100 days may be incorrect, and school and district users will have to do more work to correct student 100 days during spring rosters, or one of the data review periods in the fall. Note: the 100 days are being collected as a precaution. KDE anticipates formal accountability to be waived from the U.S. Education Department (USED).
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 ACT scores have been imported into the State Edition of Campus. KDE will publish these scores to all districts beginning on Tuesday March 16.
Please email KDE data services inbox with any questions on this matter.
Lee County Schools is the proud home of the Lee County Bobcats and Lady Kats! The school district is a small rural system located in Beattyville. The district consists of one elementary school and one middle/ high school. An Area Technology Center is located adjacent to Lee County Middle/ High. The faces of Lee County Schools have changed recently. The superintendent is in her second year, both the middle/high school principal and assistant principals are in their first year, and the elementary principal has less than five year of experience. This year has been a very different year. Schools have spent much of the year in a virtual setting but are blessed to be back to a hybrid model for the time being. It has been great to see students in the hallways!
This year has been a challenge for so many, but while it has been hard it has been exciting to see how teachers and students embrace the challenge. Lee County Schools have revolutionized virtual learning this year. Staff had a solid grasp of Google Classroom and the Google Drive, but have sharpened the use of these tools and added a few new tools as well. Some of the new tools embraced during this COVID-year include: Screencastify, Google meet, Google Hang Out, SWIVEL, and Edpuzzle. Each of these tools has allowed the district to address different barriers in virtual learning. It appears the process has been tweaked continuously throughout the year and remains a work in progress.
While Lee County Schools have accomplished a lot, they are still aware that the gaps that already existed have only grown throughout this past year. They are working at each school to develop plans to strengthen both Tier One Instruction and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) programs. They are doing this by reviewing and revising the curriculum (backward design units) to ensure meeting the intent and rigor of the standards in Tier I instruction. With that, they are strengthening formative assessments and MTSS structures to allow the identification of learning gaps early in the learning process. This will be a challenge and an on-going process, but Lee County Schools is up to the challenge and eager to meet the needs of its students.
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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