Question of the Week
Q: When will the recorded February DAC Meeting videos and resources be released?
A: February DAC Meeting videos and resources are now available. Each section has been recorded by staff in the Division of Assessment and Accountability Support (DAAS) and our testing partners from Pearson. The trainings include Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA), Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment (AKSA), Accommodations, High School, Test Security, the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application and trainings from Pearson on Operational Testing and TestNav. The separate videos may be accessed from the KDE DAC Training Series.
PowerPoints and other referenced resources, which include the FDT training check sheet, for the February DAC Training may be accessed on the Meetings and Trainings page or from the 2023 February DAC Training Folder.
The 2022-2023 Kentucky Assessment and Accountability FAQ contains questions and answers for the different assessment programs, the Student Data Review and Roster application, test security, and accommodations. This FAQ document is another valuable resource for testing staff.
EILA credit will be offered for the February DAC Meeting Videos. The EILA credit will not include the February DAC Meeting Q&A sessions in person or virtual. The expectation for districts will be to review the recorded training videos prior to the hybrid Q&A Sessions. DAAS staff has prepared a Q&A Checklist to assist in preparing for the Q&A sessions. Information on how to receive the EILA credit will be provided in an upcoming Monday DAC Email.
For questions on any of the resources, please contact DAAS by email or phone at (502) 564-4394.
ACT Spring 2023 Junior Administration: Window to Create Online Test Sessions Open
Testing staff can begin creating online test sessions and adding students to those sessions starting on Monday, Jan. 30. Detailed instructions for creating online test sessions and adding students to those sessions can be found within step 4 of the ACT-hosted website. The Create and Assign Test Sessions training tutorial resource will assist testing staff with creating online test sessions. Please be aware that students must have an online test delivery mode and be associated with the appropriate school within PearsonAccessNext (PAN) for testing staff to add students to an online test session. Note: All students were uploaded by KDE with an online delivery format. If you need assistance or have additional questions, please contact Shara Savage.
ACT Spring 2023 Junior Administration: Window to Order NCR Material Open
The window in which testing staff can request Non-College Reportable (NCR) accommodations materials opened on Monday, Jan. 30. The deadline to submit orders for the initial test date (Test Window 1) is Friday, Feb. 24. Testing staff can secure these materials by placing an additional order within PearsonAccessNext (PAN). Testing staff can review a training tutorial to obtain additional information about placing an additional order in PAN. Testing staff should be advised that test administration which occurs with NCR accommodation, does not result in a score that students can use for official purposes such as scholarship eligibility or post-secondary readiness measures. Additionally, NCR-accommodated materials are in paper format only. If you need any additional information or assistance, please contact Shara Savage.
ACT Spring 2023 Junior Administration: Non-Test Activity for the ACT and Parental Consent Policy Reminder
The delivered materials will include personalized non-test instructions documents for each examinee and copies of the Taking the ACT booklets, materials which students need to conduct the non-test activity in MyACT. When students establish a MyACT account and have the account linked to this spring’s administration, they will be able to utilize free test preparation resources. They will be notified via email when their score is available.
Additionally, schools will have access to a more comprehensive set of information when results are available that will help shape and influence curriculum to ensure examinees are taking or plan to take courses that will ensure they are prepared for success after high school. School testing staff should make arrangements to host school sessions to conduct the non-test activity. Schools may consider hosting separate sessions for students with and without parental consent. Additional information about parental support can be found below. For more information about conducting the non-test activity, please visit Step 4 of your ACT-hosted website.
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 2023. The Parental Consent Form is required for all students under the age of 18. The form is embedded into the Parental Consent Guidance. 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 permission to opt into the Educational Opportunity Service (EOS) system and send scores to colleges. For more information, please contact Shara Savage.
ACT Spring 2023 Junior Administration: Qualified Exceptions to the Deadline Window Open
The Qualified Exceptions to the Deadline (QED) window opened on Monday, Jan. 23. The QED is for newly diagnosed or newly enrolled students. Please be sure to review the QED form to determine if the school/district has examinee(s) who are eligible to request accommodations and/or supports during this window. The QED window is not an opportunity to submit or resubmit initial requests for accommodations and/or supports. For more information, please contact Shara Savage.
Alternate ACCESS Field Test Reminders
The Alternate ACCESS Field Test will occur after the Alternate ACCESS operational administration starting February 14 and closes on April 17. The Alternate ACCESS Field Test material will arrive in the districts that have Alternate English Learners (ELs) starting February 7 with the CANDOO dog on all the field test materials. If districts need additional materials during the window, DACs please email Chris Williams for the google form. There is no additional ordering window in WIDA AMS. The test administrator must complete the Alternate ACCESS course training with field test information on the WIDA Secure Portal. The materials will be shipped back to Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) via UPS shipping.
The Alternate ACCESS Field Test webpage is a good resource to learn what district/school coordinators and test administrators need to know before, during, and after the field test.
WIDA PRIME 2020
WIDA PRIME 2020 (PRIME), a new tool for aligning K-12 instructional materials with the WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition, has launched! Districts, schools, and educators can use PRIME as a tool to support their decision making and planning related to improving the quality of learning for multilingual learners in their schools and districts. Local users may use the PRIME materials creatively for their own purposes, including instructional planning and curriculum mapping.
Additionally, although local users are not able to apply for a PRIME seal of alignment, they may use the PRIME seal as a criterion or consideration when evaluating published K-12 instructional materials.
Request the WIDA PRIME 2020 Rubric and Portfolio Workbook and find published instructional materials that have received the PRIME seal on the website.
Visualize Assessment Data with New Tools
New data analysis dashboards are available to make it easier for you to explore data. These dashboards provide district assessment coordinators (DACs) and other school and district leaders with new tools to easily explore data towards improving student outcomes for individual and groups of students. For more information, see Insights and the Data Analysis Portal User Guide for Tableau Visualizations.
To learn how to use the new dashboards to filter assessment and other data by grade, student subgroup, and test, and to drill down to see student details, join the Feb. 7 Kentucky Student Information System (KSIS) Infinite Campus mid-year training*. Sessions that introduce the tools are:
Infinite Campus Insights – 9:30 a.m. (ET) will preview the Insights module that will be available Feb. 9. Insights provides easy options to explore information in the Early Warning System, including assessment, attendance, classroom performance, and stability data.
Assessment Data Visualization – 11:15 a.m. (ET) will introduce the new Tableau data visualizations for ACT College Readiness and KPREP-KSA assessments that are available in the Data Analysis Portal.
*Visit the KDE KSIS Training webpage for the complete training agenda, online registration and information about EILA credit.
Please share any suggestions or comments about the new data visualizations tools by email to KDE Data Services.
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