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Question of the Week
Q: How can educators become actively involved in important assessment committees?
A: The Kentucky Department of Education is seeking Kentucky educators to assist with various assessment-related tasks in the upcoming months. The goal is to ensure that the assessments are of the highest quality, accurately measure the Kentucky Academic Standards, and are fair to all test takers. The creation of the Kentucky Summative Assessments (KSA) and the Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessments (AKSA) is a complex process that includes standard setting, item writing, bias review, and blueprint development.
K-12 educators who are interested in participating in the assessment development and other committee work for the assessment system are encouraged to complete the application. A pool of candidates is being gathered for these critical steps and other supporting activities. Applications are being accepted for each of these activities in science reading, mathematics, social studies, and writing. Much of this work will be done virtually, and participants will receive a stipend.
The Application for Assessment Committees is due by April 15, 2025, for work needed in 2025. If not chosen for participation this spring, summer, or fall, applicant names will be kept on file for future assessment work.
2025 Site Visit Forms
The 2025 Site Visit Survey Questions are available for review prior to the spring administration on the Forms Webpage. There are three different site visit forms:
Additional details about 2025 KSA Site Visits will be shared in a Monday DAC closer to the opening of testing windows. If you have any questions, please contact DAC Info.
ACT Spring 2025 Junior State Administration – Accommodations and Supports Roster
ACT and the Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) strongly encourage schools and districts to use the Accommodations and Supports Roster as a tool to verify accommodations/supports counts. The roster provides information about whether a Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) pin has been applied, confirmation about the delivery format for accommodated students, and other information based on the approved accommodation.
The ACT-Hosted Testing Website is where testing staff can access the PearsonAccessnext User Guide and refer to the topic titled “Run the Accommodations and Supports Roster or Other Operational Reports” to get instructions on how to run the roster report.
For questions and assistance, please contact Christen Roseberry.
ACT Spring 2025 Junior State Administration – Upcoming Training Opportunity
OAA and ACT are partnering to offer testing staff the opportunity to attend an upcoming training session about the ACT spring 2025 junior state administration. Please ensure attendees register for the event using the link below.
Test Administration Training #2
Date: Feb. 13
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. ET
Target Audience and Content: Any staff who will be involved in the completion of key administration and post-administration activities associated with the ACT spring 2025 junior state administration. This content will be recorded and posted to the ACT-hosted website if staff are unable to join during the scheduled date/time.
For any questions, please contact Christen Roseberry.
Reminder: Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment (AKSA) Window Two Materials Shipping Selection Due Feb. 10
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) provides two shipping options for the second window of the AKSA to accommodate schools on spring break. Please complete and submit the 2025 AKSA Window 2 Shipping Selection Form by Monday, Feb. 10. If a form is not submitted by the deadline of Monday, Feb. 10, materials will be shipped during the default option. If materials have not been received by the Friday of the week selected, please contact Krista Mullins.
Shipping options for AKSA Window 2 are the following:
- Option 1: March 24-28 (default option)
- Option 2: March 31-April 4
For any questions, please contact Krista Mullins.
Reminder: AKSA Visual Impairment (VI) Materials Request due Feb. 10
KDE will provide tactilely enhanced supplemental materials (e.g., maps, graphs) for some grades on the AKSA Attainment Tasks (AT) to students who have visual impairments. KDE must verify that the student has VI marked on their Individual Education Program (IEP).
If a student qualifies for these materials, the person requesting the VI materials should verify a visual impairment has been clearly marked in the current IEP and the student is identified in the IEP as participating in Kentucky’s Alternate Assessment.
Once completed, move to these next steps:
- Locate and 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
- Save updated spreadsheets as “DistrictName_Window2.XLSX”
- Submit a copy to this Google Form by Feb. 10
Please note: 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. 10, to receive these VI materials for the second AKSA Attainment Task window. Districts that submit late information or do not follow the above instructions may not receive these materials for Test Window 2 (Apr. 14-May 23) on time. Email submissions will not be accepted. If your district does not need any VI materials, please complete the Google Form and select "NO VI Orders Needed".
For any additional questions or concerns, please contact Krista Mullins or by phone at (502) 564-4394.
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