Question of the Week
Q: Will the window to submit nonparticipation requests for the 2021-2022 ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS ELLs Rosters be extended?
A: Yes, the ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Rosters in the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application is extended to March 25 at 5 p.m. ET. Districts will only need to add students if requesting approval for nonparticipation; it is not necessary to add students who are taking the assessments. There are resources to assist districts with rosters on the ACCESS for ELLs webpage and on the I Need Help button in SDRR.
2022 Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) Credits for February DAC Training
District Assessment Coordinators, Building Assessment Coordinators, and school and district employees who have viewed the 2022 February DAC training videos can apply for and can receive up to six hours of EILA Credits. To receive the EILA credits, participants must complete a survey after watching all videos. The survey can be accessed on Google Forms. Please allow at least two weeks after you have completed the survey to receive the EILA certificate via email.
Alternate Assessment Students Marked Blind/Visually Impaired (VI) On Individualized Education Program (IEP): Deadline Feb. 28
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will provide tactically-enhanced supplemental materials (e.g., maps, graphs) for some grades on the Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment Attainment Tasks (AT) to students who have visual impairments. KDE must verify that the student has VI marked on their IEP. If a student qualifies for these materials, please complete the following tasks:
Verify a visual impairment has been clearly marked in the current IEP and the student is identified as participating in Kentucky’s Alternate Assessment. Once completed move to the next step.
Download your District Spreadsheet using this link: Window 2 VI Orders
Open the Google Sheet
Select File>Download>Microsoft Excel
Edit the spreadsheet with your District’s data.
Once you have completed this spreadsheet, please save it then upload it in this Google Form
This needs to be completed by February 28, 2022
Only one list containing all students who qualify for this accommodation should be provided per district.
All submissions must be made no later than Monday, Feb. 28, to receive these VI materials for the second Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment Attainment Task window. Districts who submit late information or do not follow the above instructions may not receive these materials for Test Window 2 (April 18 – May 27) on time. For any additional questions or concerns please contact Jason Howard or by phone at (502) 564-4394.
Alternate Assessment Window Two Materials – Please select shipping Window by Feb. 28
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) provides two shipping windows for the second window of the Alternate Assessment to accommodate schools on spring break. If you have a preference on shipping windows please submit that preference to Jason Howard by Monday, February 28. Failure to do so will default your district to the earliest possible shipping window (April 4-8).
- Option 1: April 4-8 (default option)
- Option 2: April 11-15
Please e-mail Jason Howard if your district would prefer to select a different shipping window other than the default option.
Reminder - ACT Test Window 1 Materials Arriving Soon
ACT State Testing materials for Test Window 1 will arrive at schools based on the materials receipt week chosen during the Select Test Dates task. It is possible that materials were delivered last week (week of 2/7) or will be arriving this week (week of 2/14). The materials that are delivered will include personalized non-test instructions documents for each examinee associated with any given school, as well as copies of the Taking the ACT booklets, which are what students need to conduct the non-test activity in MyACT. For more information about conducting the non-test activity, please visit Step 4 of your ACT-hosted website.
Within 24 hours of receiving test materials, please inspect and check all materials. Refer to the test date flyer when checking materials to ensure all materials have been received for the correct test date. If materials are missing, please contact ACT immediately by phone at (319) 337-1270.
Reminder - ACT State Testing Additional Order Window Deadline Approaching
ACT has packaged and are delivering materials based on the student enrollment associated with each school as of Jan. 21. If schools have had an enrollment increase after that deadline or need more materials, schools can order additional materials, including non-college reportable accommodations materials, for the initial test date through PAN. The deadline to request additional materials for Test Window 1 is Feb. 25, 2022. Instructions for entering an additional order within the Configuration step of the ACT hosted website. For more information, please contact Shara Savage.
Reminder - ACT Requesting Non-College Reportable Accommodations
If a school has a student(s), who were not authorized for accommodations and are not eligible to obtain accommodations and/or supports during the ongoing Qualified Exceptions to the Deadline window, school staff may consider utilizing non-college reportable (NCR) accommodations materials for this spring’s administration. Schools can place an order for NCR accommodations materials during the additional order window. For instructions on placing an order for NCR materials, please refer to instructions for entering an additional order within the Configuration step of the ACT hosted website. For more information, please contact Shara Savage.
ACT Parental Consent Policy Reminder
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) has been working with the U.S. Department of Education (USED) to ensure that the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Kentucky school districts are fully compliant regarding federal privacy laws concerning non‐test information provided to third parties when administering the Kentucky state administration of the ACT to Juniors in the spring of 2022. The Parental Consent Form is required for all students under the age of 18. The form is embedded into the Parental Consent Guidance document. As a reminder, consent can be obtained through a google doc, email, hard copy or verbally. If consent is not obtained from a parent and/or guardian, the student does not have the permission to opt into the Educational Opportunity Service (EOS) system and send scores to colleges. For more information, please contact Shara Savage.
Cohort Preliminary Report for 4-year and 5-year
The Preliminary 4-year and 5-year Adjusted Cohort Student Listings will be available Feb. 15 in the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application. These reports allow District Assessment Coordinators the opportunity to review the students associated to the district/school. When checking for changes made in Infinite Campus (IC), please note the On Time Status Last Date and Next Planned Update information in red in the Cohort section of SDRR. These reports are for information only. Submission of change requests will be available after the end of the current school year (July 31). It is a good time to review and filter for students associated to the district/school with On Time status of ‘No’ and Nonparticipation set to ‘Participated.’
For assistance, click on thebutton in SDRR oIf you do not find the answer there, contact KDE Assessment or phone (502) 564-9853.
Robin Poynter is the new Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Assessments for Hancock County Public Schools. This school district is located in Hawesville and Lewisport, Ky where there are approximately 1700 students with 40 percent economically disadvantaged and 10 percent minority.
Mrs. Poynter has worked a 30 year career in many different districts serving in many positions such as teacher, staff developer, assistant principal, principal and has spent her last ten years serving as an Educational Recovery Leader for the Kentucky Department of Education where school turnaround was the focus and setting up school districts with systems that lead to continuous improvement. Working with Tim Schlosser as they turned Simpson County around to become one of the top performing 5 percent high schools in the state and have sustained that level of success for many years, was one marker of success during those years with KDE. Now, in Hancock County, serving as the Assistant Superintendent and DAC, Mrs. Poynter finds herself working in a place she calls home. Mrs. Poynter resides in Owensboro, Ky also has two daughters. Brooklyn is completing her Biochemistry Degree in the fall at Mary Mount University and Katlyn is serving as an RN at a military base in Landstahl, Germany. Her husband Scott owns a store in Owensboro - The Glass Factory.
Mrs. Poynter has helped to establish many new beginnings of systems that will have a longtime success effect once completed within the Hancock County framework of teaching and learning. She began with four pillars of focus in each of the schools. These include systems and activities which establish strong foundations within the school system:
(1) Professional Learning Communities working from data that counts
(2) Establishing job embedded coaching through data gathered from walkthroughs and evaluations
(3) Establishing a clear sense of Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction for both instruction and behavior
(4) Establishing a system to deliver enhanced instruction for students who have mastered the intended standards provided by the Kentucky Academic Standards.
In developing these MTSS structures, Mrs. Poynter has helped to lead a district wide focus on PBIS in each of the schools to establish norms for expectations and celebrations for each of the milestone successes along the way. Establishing a spreadsheet that is present in each of the schools with individualized student data is used to analyze data for the purpose of Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction and provide informative information to transitional schools at the end of the school year. This data is used weekly in planning for instruction during PLC’s and providing the structure to Tier 2 flexible grouping for an intervention focus provided by our new positions of instructional assistants used as interventionists.
Establishing walkthroughs with valuable information of what the students are doing and providing teachers feedback will not only be a focus for this semester, but also providing better feedback and support for teachers as evaluations are completed through a new digital platform being developed throughout this year that will provide immediate feedback and coaching through individualized videos articles or additional training.
Tier 1 and 3 Reading Instruction has been another system of focus in the elementary schools for Mrs. Poynter. Hancock County has a solid history of Tier 2 Reading instruction success with many resources gathered over the years through the RTA grant. Establishing grade level standards and having the materials to support that focus is a huge undertaking when there are so many good teachers doing a great job teaching, but just not well vertically aligned with one another. Through the assistance of the University of Louisville and Project Link, The elementary principals are vetting a Tier 1 level of instruction for their schools in order to select and establish that K-5 vertical alignment of reading standards. This selection should be made this semester and all resources ready to roll into the 2022-23 school year.
Along with this partnership with the University of Louisville, another district- wide focus has been establishing a firm Tier 3 Reading focus with training approximately 20 teachers in the Orton Gillingham primary and intermediate levels district-wide as well as approximately 20 additional teachers in LETRS. These evidence based (as well as researched based) programs/trainings will help the district have the adequate training and materials needed for those students who are performing 2-3 years behind in reading at any grade level in the district.
The Professional Learning Communities are where all of these systems come together to support the learning journey of the students served. Norms are established to be consistent in their focus and ability to gain results from looking at the student data. Whether it is establishing a high-yield instructional strategy needed, grouping from the formative assessment results or plain “thinking outside the box”, the PLC time is used to establish the systems needed for all student success.
At the high school level, preparing students to be Postsecondary Ready is a system establishing intentional pathways and schedules able to accommodate the variety of class needs. Looking at the priorities and talents of our staff, there have been some strategic changes in class offerings in order to create more opportunities for certifications to meet the Career Ready requirements. Other methods of using KYOTE and Aleks has been intentionally added to support students who are pursuing the College Ready requirements. The high school also has new leadership and has been hands-on establishing the purpose and planning for differentiated learning within the classrooms so students are supported at any level of learning.
Mrs. Poynter is more than pleased with the progress and leadership within the district to jump in and align systems that work for improving student support and success. Her Superintendent, Mr. Robby Asberry, who is also new has set the premise within the district vision and mission statements to do “whatever it takes” to support our students and staff to be successful….and that is exactly what Mrs. Poynter sets to do each day in her new position this year.
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).
|