Question of the Week
Q: What is the next step for data review now that the Ten-Day Regulatory Data Review period has ended?
A: Final Data Files After Ten-Day Regulatory Data Review
The ten-day regulatory data review period after the public release and the final data review period in the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application are complete. All approved data review changes have been applied to the system. These data changes have been updated in the School Report Card (SRC).
Data that reflect changes made in the SDRR application for ACCESS, Alternate ACCESS, KSA, Alternate KSA, and Cohort Graduation Rate during this data review are now available in the KDE Applications Login.
District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) will download the zipped files with student information. The zipped files for each district can be found under the Student Data Detail. The file name is, SD23_###_DataReview_2023_District_20231211.zip. The zip file contains six folders. Several of the folders have sub folders which has spreadsheets for each school and district on the following:
- Accountability
- Change Summary
- NAPD (Novice, Apprentice, Proficient and Distinguished) Grade
- NAPD Level
- QSCS (Quality of School Climate and Safety)
- Summary
- Assessed
- Calculator
- EL (English Language learners)
- ACCESS for ELLs
- EL Attainment
- Graduation Rate
- Student Data
- Graduates
- PSR (Postsecondary Readiness)
- Tests
The Accountability folder now contains a Change Summary folder which provides information for accountability changes made during the final data review process. Change Summary folders are available for all districts. The Accountability Summary Changes spreadsheet will indicate if changes were made. See “Have Change” in Column F. The NAPD Grade, NAPD Level, QSCS and Summary data are included. The QSCS sub-folder contains the suppressed data fields. These sub-folders include the data for all students who were accountable for testing. The Assessed folder has two sub-folders NAPD Grade and NAPD Level, the spreadsheets in these sub-folders reflect where the students tested. The EL folder has two sub-folders; ACCESS for EL contains data for all EL students who were assessed for proficiency and the EL Attainment sub-folder. The Graduation Rate spreadsheets contain data on the four-year and five-year graduates. The Student Data folder contains all assessment, Post Secondary Readiness (PSR) and graduation data.
Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment (AKSA) Window 1 to Close
Test administration for Window 1 will close on Dec. 15. All scores MUST be entered into the Student Registration Database (SRD) by Dec. 22. The Window 1 makeup runs from Jan. 8-Mar. 22. A formal request for any makeup must be submitted using this form no later than Jan. 31.
Reminder: AKSA Office Hour
The AKSA Office Hour will be held on Dec. 13 from 3-4 p.m. ET and cover topics such as SRD score entry, Window 1 test materials, Window 1 makeups, Medical Nonparticipation, and Postsecondary Readiness. District Assessment Coordinators (DACs), Building Assessment Coordinators (BACs), Directors of Special Education (DoSE), and all teachers/test administrators will be able to ask questions and receive assistance during this time. The date, time, and link to the Teams meeting below may be forwarded to any school personnel who may benefit from attending this session:
AKSA Office Hour - Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 3-4 p.m. ET
For questions, please contact Krista Mullins or call (502) 564-4394 Ext. 4759.
Reminder: ACT Spring 2024 Junior Administration - Request Accommodations and Supports
As a reminder, ACT’s Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) system, accessed via success.act.org, is open. The published deadline to request accommodations and supports for the upcoming ACT spring 2024 State Junior Administration is Jan. 19, 2024; however, ACT’s review and approval process typically takes multiple business days. Please work to complete this task now to ensure testing staff have the opportunity to provide any additional information ACT may require for approval. Ideally, to guarantee this process is complete by the deadline and students receive a college reportable score, testing staff should complete this critical task by Dec. 15, 2023. Please share this information with school testing staff to ensure they are aware of the process for requesting accommodations and supports.
Please ensure testing staff have access to the TAA system. If the testing staff have not yet requested accommodations and supports, ACT and KDE highly recommend that this activity be completed as soon as possible.
Step 3 of the ACT-hosted testing website has contains comprehensive information about requesting accommodations and supports. This includes helpful resources such as the TAA User Guide, detailed information about Requesting Accommodations and English Learner Supports and Retesting with Accommodations, and the on-demand Accommodations webinar that ACT hosted in Nov. 2023.
For questions and assistance, please contact ACT at 800.553.6244, ext. 1788 or email ACTStateAccoms@act.org. Additionally, you may contact Shara Savage or Christen Roseberry with any questions, concerns or assistance.
ACT Spring 2024 Junior Administration - Online Testing Site Readiness
KDE and ACT strongly encourage schools to conduct the appropriate pretest activities to verify that the local network and devices are properly configured to administer the ACT online successfully. A best practice for schools and districts is to complete all site readiness requirements and lock down (freeze) devices prior to the start of testing. This ensures no operating system updates or other updates are pushed to the devices that could potentially negatively impact the test administration itself. The recommended date to lock down your devices is Jan. 31, 2024. Note that districts can still do site readiness activities beyond this date, even leading up to the day before testing, but completing the site readiness requirements prior to testing is recommended.
A first step to completing site readiness is for District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) to appoint a Technical Coordinator and create a user account for him/her in PearsonAccessnext (PAN). Directions for creating a user account can be found in the PAN User Guide for the ACT. This Technical Coordinator user account is necessary for completing the required technical steps. Step 2 of the ACT hosted testing website contains helpful resources about completing site readiness for online testing, to include the Technical Coordinator Checklist, Technical Guide for Online Testing, Site Readiness Plan, Mock Administration Guide, and various training tutorials.
DACs and School Test Coordinators should have received an email this week from ACT, with the subject titled “Prepare for ACT Online Testing.” This email described the remaining steps necessary to complete the site readiness process for online testing. Please forward ACT’s email to district appointed Technical Coordinators. For questions or assistance, please contact Shara Savage or Christen Roseberry.
ACT State Testing Office Hour - Dec. 13, 2023
OAA and ACT will host an office hour session focused on the Select Test Dates and Online Site Readiness tasks on Dec. 13, 2023 at 11 a.m. ET. The session will be hosted via a Microsoft Teams meeting. While the content will be focused on those specific tasks, KDE and ACT encourage testing staff to attend and ask any questions they may have at this time. Please be sure to provide testing staff with this Microsoft Teams Link for the session. Attendees will not have to register for office hours specifically, but will want to mark time on calendars to avoid any scheduling conflicts.
If you have any questions, please contact Shara Savage or Christen Roseberry.
Spring 2024 ACT State Administration Training and Materials Available
KDE and ACT have collaborated on new resources for the Spring 2024 Junior State ACT Administration. The ACT/OAA Spring 2024 State Administration Guidance Document is now available on the KDE ACT page. This guidance document covers KDE policy and frequently asked questions pertaining to the ACT State Administration. In addition to the guidance document, the ACT/OAA Spring 2024 State Administration Training has been recorded, and the training video and PowerPoint have been uploaded to the ACT-hosted website. For questions or concerns, please contact Shara Savage or Christen Roseberry.
ACT State Fall 2023 State Senior (Optional) Administration Testing - Data and Reports Finalized
The data and reports from the fall 2023 State Senior (Optional) Administration will be finalized on Dec. 13, 2023 and can be accessed within ACT’s online reporting system at success.act.org. School and district staff will also receive an email from ACTon Dec. 13, 2023, which will provide additional supporting information. Step 7 of the ACT-hosted website contains comprehensive information about how to access data in online reporting and understand score reports. If you have any questions, please contact Shara Savage or Christen Roseberry.
CWEC and ESAR Quizzes to Close
The Career Work Experience Certification (CWEC) and Employability Skills Attainment Record (ESAR) qualification quizzes will close on Dec. 22. The Qualified ESAR Administrator must pass the qualification quiz before ESAR administration begins. Administration of the ESAR must be completed by May 24, 2024. Due to data reporting timelines, the deadline to enter all ESAR scores and CWEC completion status into the Career Ready Database (CRD) is May 31, 2024.
For questions, please email Sherri Craig or call at (502) 564-4286.
Updated Focus Bulletin on Identifying Multilingual Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities
WIDA recently updated a Focus Bulletin originally published in 2017. The bulletin, Identifying Multilingual Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities: Data, Advice, and Resources for School Teams, offers expert advice, data templates, common scenarios, and resources for identifying K-12 multilingual learners for Specific Learning Disabilities. This updated version includes data on 2020-2021 identification rates, and additional advice, templates, scenarios, and resources.
Please share with school staff who work with English Learner (EL) students with disabilities.
Modified WIDA and DRC Customer Service Hours for December
During the final two weeks of December, WIDA Client Services and DRC Customer Service will be available to assist educators during the following days and times:
WIDA Client Services Center
- 12/18 – Fri. 12/22: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. CT
- 12/26 – Fri. 12/29: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. CT
DRC Customer Service
- 12/18 – Fri. 12/22: 7:00am-6:00pm CT
- 12/26 – Fri. 12/29: 7:00am-6:00pm CT
Both customer service teams will be closed on Monday, Dec. 25 and Monday, Jan. 1 and will return to their regular hours of operation on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Please share with all EL Testing staff.
Reminder: Upcoming WIDA Technology Q&A Webinar
Please join WIDA and DRC to learn about the following topic:
- During Testing: Technology Troubleshooting Thursday, Dec. 14 at 1:00pm-2:00pm CT
Learn more and add these upcoming webinars to your calendar on the Webinars page (login required).
Can’t make it? The recordings for WIDA Q&A Webinar is posted to the WIDA Secure Portal on the Webinars page within a week of the presentation.
Share with Technology Coordinators and staff.
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