Question of the Week
Q: When will the Kentucky Department of Education hold its first Technical Advisory Committee meeting?
A: The following media release was sent today, Oct. 18 from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and may be of interest to District Assessment Coordinators (DACs).
The Kentucky Department of Education's Technical Advisory Committee will meet on Oct. 21 from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET.
KRS 158.6455 requires the Kentucky Department of Education to organize and convene its own technical advisory committee.
The committee was created to provide advice and recommendations on: the development and modification of the assessment and accountability system; the development of administrative regulations governing the assessment and accountability system; and the setting of standards used in assessment and accountability.
This meeting will be held via video teleconference. Members of the public may watch the meeting in Conference Room 517 at the Kentucky Department of Education, 300 Sower Blvd., Frankfort, KY 40601. The meeting also will be available on the KDE Media Portal.
Visitors will be required to wear a face covering or they will not be permitted in the building. If a visitor does not have a face covering upon arrival, a face covering will be provided.
A full agenda for the meeting follows:
KDE Technical Advisory Committee Oct. 21, 2021 10:30 a.m. ET Video Teleconference Meeting Conference Room 517, KDE, 300 Sower Blvd., Frankfort, KY
AGENDA
- Welcome and Legal Requirements
- Background of Kentucky’s Assessment Program and Update
- Test Design for 2022 Reading and Math Assessments: Reporting, Test Blueprints, Scaling and Equating
- Science Assessment for 2022 and 2023
- Standard Setting for 2022 Reading, Math and Science Assessments
- Validity, Reliability and Impact Evidence for Kentucky’s Assessment Programs
- Local Innovative Assessment Development
- Future Technical Advisory Committee Dates
- Recap
- Adjournment
Register for KDE Policy ACT Administration Training Sessions
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) and ACT, Inc. will be delivering hybrid trainings this fall for the state administration of the ACT on Nov. 17 and 18. New this year, OAA and ACT are offering three sessions at each location to ensure ample opportunity to participate and comply with COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Space will be limited at each in-person session. The 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. session at each location will include a remote option via Teams (please note time zone difference per location). EILA credit will be provided for this training. Please ensure the testing staff is aware of these dates and options. Please carefully consider the in-person or virtual option and register just once for the appropriate session.
Registration links are embedded below:
Register for the Lexington Location
Date: Nov. 17
Location: Clarion Hotel Conference Center – North
Address: 1950 Newtown Pike, Lexington, 40511
Times (EST): 8 – 10 a.m., 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., 2 – 4 p.m.
Register for the Bowling Green Location
Date: Nov. 18
Location: Holiday Inn University Plaza – Bowling Green
Address: 1021 Wilkinson Trace, Bowling Green, 42103
Times (CST): 8 – 10 a.m., 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., 2 – 4 p.m.
For questions or more information, please email Shara Savage.
ACT Spring 2022 State Administration Welcome Email
The spring 2022 administration of the ACT is opening in PearsonAccessnext (PAN) the week of Nov. 1. District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) and Test Coordinators (TCs) will receive an email from NoReplyTestAdmin@act.org announcing the opening of PAN. The email message will include directions for accessing the systems, schedule of events and completing required tasks within each system. It will also include links to system user guides with more detailed information.
After logging in to the system, TCs will be able to select a test date (deadline: Dec. 3). Test Coordinators will use the Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) system to request ACT-authorized accommodations and manage the status of those requests. The deadline to request ACT- authorized accommodations is Jan. 7.
If School Test Coordinators have changed since 2020 testing, DACs should forward the ACT email to the current Test Coordinator and then change the TC contact information in PAN. Directions for changing TCs can be found in the PAN User Guide for the ACT. New DACs that do not have an account in PAN for the ACT should email Shara Savage. Note: the PAN account for ACT is different than the PAN account for the Kentucky Summative Assessment.
October DAC Monthly Webcast
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA), Division of Assessment and Accountability Support (DAAS) hosted its live Monthly DAC Webcast on Oct. 14. The meeting was hosted by Jennifer Stafford, Director of DAAS. She was joined by DAAS consultants Jason Howard, Ben Riley and Shara Savage. Agenda topics included:
- Updated and Additional Data After Regulatory Review
- ACT Parental Consent Policy
- K Screen Reminders
- Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment – Window #1
The DAC Webcast PowerPoint and the DAC Webcast Video links are available on the right-hand side of the KDE Meetings and Trainings webpage. The recorded session is posted on the KDE Media Portal.
Future broadcasts are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. ET on the KDE Live Stream.
Note: The November DAC Webcast meeting date has been changed to Wednesday, Nov. 10 as KDE is closed on Thursday, Nov. 11 in observance of Veterans Day.
2021-2022 Dropout Guidelines and Nov. 1 Deadline
The 2021-2022 Dropout Guidelines are now available on the KDE Dropout Data webpage. This data should be reviewed initially through the Infinite Campus (IC) KY State Reporting Dropout Report by the deadline of Nov. 1. After that date, there will be one final review through the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application. Instructions for review of the dropout data in SDRR will be provided in a Monday DAC Email prior to this final review period. Questions concerning Dropout Reporting may be directed to David Curd via phone (502) 564-9853, ext. 4744, email or Teams.
AP Coordinators Newsletter
District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) may find the following Advanced Placement Coordinators newsletter of interest.
AP Coordinators
The state of Kentucky will pay for AP Exams for students eligible for College Board fee waivers. The Kentucky Department of Education's (KDE) Computer Science and Information Technology (CS/IT) Academy will also pay for all AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) exams for public school students in the state. Finally, the KDE will pay the majority of the cost for all AP standard fee exams as well. See below to learn more.
State Funding for Fee-Reduced Students
Fee-reduced students are students who qualify for the College Board fee reduction of $34 per exam. For eligibility criteria, visit AP Exam Fee Reductions.
For fee-reduced students in public schools, the state of Kentucky will pay:
- $53 per AP Exam (except AP Seminar and AP Research Exams)
- $101 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam
The final fee for any AP Exam (including AP Seminar and AP Research Exams) for fee-reduced students is $0.
State Funding for Standard-Fee Students
Standard-fee students are students who do not qualify for the College Board fee reduction. For standard-fee students in public schools, the state of Kentucky will pay:
- $77 per AP Exam, excluding AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams, taken by standard-fee students.
- $125 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam per standard-fee student.
The final fee for any AP Exam (excluding AP CSP and AP CSA Exams) for standard-fee students is $10 per exam, or $19 per exam if the school does not forego their $9 rebate. This rebate is optional for all AP programs.
State Funding for AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams
The KDE Computer Science and Information Technology (CS/IT) Academy will also pay in full for all AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams for public school students in the state. Therefore, for public school students, the state of Kentucky will pay:
- $87 per AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exam taken by standard-fee students.
- $53 per AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exam taken by fee-reduced students.
The final fee for an AP CSP or AP CSA Exam for any public school student in Kentucky is $0.
What Schools Must Do
Your school's AP coordinator must take the following steps.
Before the exams:
- For your invoice to accurately reflect any fee reductions, the AP coordinator must indicate the fee reduction status for each eligible student in AP Registration and Ordering.
- For each student who is eligible for the College Board fee reduction, check the box for reduced fee next to their name in the student roster.
- For students who aren't eligible for the fee reduction, no action is needed.
- Once a student's fee reduction status is indicated as reduced or left as standard in AP Registration and Ordering, the Kentucky state subsidies will automatically be calculated and applied.
- A best practice is to indicate the fee reduction status for each student by the time you submit your exam order, if possible, to ensure you have time to plan for and collect the appropriate exam fees from students. However, if you need more time to verify this information, the deadline to indicate students' fee reduction status in AP Registration and Ordering is April 30, 2022 (11:59 p.m. ET).
After the exams:
- Your invoice will be sent to you via email after the late-testing administration. At that point, you can also access and print the invoice through AP Registration and Ordering.
- In summary, College Board would collect AP Exam fees from public schools in Kentucky as follows:
- Fee-Reduced (Low-Income) Students:
- $0 per AP Exam, including AP CSP and AP CSA Exams, per fee-reduced student
- $0 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam per fee-reduced students
- Standard-Fee Students:
- $10 per AP Exam, excluding AP CSP and AP CSA Exams, taken by standard-fee students.
- $10 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam per standard-fee student.
- AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) Exams and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams:
- $0 per AP CSP Exam and AP CSA Exam per fee-reduced student
- $0 per AP CSP Exam and AP CSA Exam taken by standard-fee students
- Additional Fees
- Any ancillary fees incurred, such as late order fees, unused/canceled exam fees, etc.
- College Board will bill KDE directly for its share of the qualifying students' AP Exam fees.
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June 15, 2022 is the postmark deadline for payment due to College Board.
- AP coordinators do not need to submit a copy of their invoice to the KDE.
- In the event KDE should ever need to verify the validity of a school's request for fee reductions, all schools receiving AP Exam fee funding from KDE must keep a list of students receiving the fee reductions, including which exams students have taken, on file at their school.
Questions? Email damien.sweeney@education.ky.gov.
“The Hickman County School District is a rural P-12 public school system located in the agricultural community of Clinton in western Kentucky. There are approximately 4,500 citizens in the county and the schools in the district are centers for activities and community involvement. The student population runs around 690 students with 94 preschoolers enrolled in the preschool program that is housed at the elementary school.
“The mission of the Hickman County School District, in partnership with the citizens of Hickman County, is to provide a positive, healthy and safe environment that will allow all students to learn and achieve at a high level in terms of academic performance, social skills, creativity, independent thinking skills, and physical well-being. BELIEFS: We believe that: Our students are our future. All students can learn. All students should strive to achieve at their highest level. Teachers, parents and students must work together to achieve maximum success. Teachers, parents and students must be willing to give the extra effort required to reach high goals. Every student is important. Every Student, Every Day!
“Hickman County High School has a successful dual credit program called the Falcon Academy that provides students with the opportunity to obtain over 30 hours of college credit while still in high school. The Falcon Academy is fully funded by donations from banks, businesses, industries, farmers, and a regional business partner foundation.”
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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