Question of the Week
Q: How should school districts manage changes to District Test Windows in response to HB 241, inclement weather closures, or other unforeseen circumstances?
A: District Test Window Collection for the Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) closed on March 28 in the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application. If district staff need to make changes to the district’s school calendars in Infinite Campus (IC) due to HB 241, inclement weather closures, or for any other reason that has an impact on the district testing window in SDRR, DACs need to email kdeassessment@education.ky.gov.
For issues with secure test materials, DACs need to email DACinfo.
KSA Office Hour Session 2
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA), in collaboration with Pearson, will host an office hour session on Wednesday, April 16. Pearson will provide a tutorial to assist District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) and Building Assessment Coordinators (BACs) with tasks to be completed in PearsonAccessnext (PAN), including starting sessions, transferring students, and attending to Work Requests. DACs, BACs and all test administrators will be able to ask questions and receive assistance during this time. Questions can be submitted prior to the office hour using the KSA Office Hour Form. Please use the meeting link below to join the Teams meeting. Links to future Office Hour sessions will be shared in Monday DAC emails.
KSA Office Hour Session 2 – Wednesday, April 16, 10-11 a.m. ET (Please use this link to access the meeting.)
KSA Office Hour Session 3 – Wednesday, May 14, 10-11 a.m. ET
Please note that the questions asked during the office hour sessions should be specific to the KSA administration and not include personal identifying information.
For questions, please contact Melissa Chandler.
Fulfilled K Screen Orders
The first round of BRIGANCE Materials has been delivered to districts across Kentucky. KDE is asking each district to inventory shipments to ensure it coincides with the completed order form submitted in March. OAA understands that some materials may have been damaged as a result of the recent statewide flooding disasters. Thoughts remain with all affected during this challenging time. An article will be shared next week providing detailed information on how to request replacement materials due to flood-related damage.
Please contact Tiffany Christopher if any discrepancies are found in the inventory and/or if additional materials are needed
ACT Spring 2025 Junior State Administration – Reporting Timeline
With the ACT spring 2025 junior administration now complete, the KDE and ACT want to ensure school and district staff have access to data and reports. As is detailed in the Schedule of Events under the “Reporting Information” section, scores will be released as processed by ACT, which will be completed approximately 3 to 8 weeks after the test is administered. The scores will be available within ACT’s Online Reporting System, which is housed at ACT Success for Organizations Website. Students can access an electronic copy of their results in the MyACT account.
Testing staff is encouraged to review the resources and training tutorials posted within Step 7 of the ACT-hosted webpage to become familiar with how to access and interpret the score reports and test data. This includes helpful user guides such as the ACT Online Reporting User Guide, which has sections about navigating in the online reporting system.
Final data and reports will be available no later than Tuesday, May 27. Please note that the results that are available within the online reporting system and MyACT accounts prior to May 27, are not embargoed. However, student level data is considered confidential and should never be shared publicly. OAA recommends that schools and districts refrain from publicly or internally sharing data until after May 27, when the aggregate results are complete, to ensure accuracy and consistency in reporting. If there are questions about accessing data within the online reporting system, please complete this ACT Contact Webform.
For additional questions and assistance, please contact Christen Roseberry.
Spring 2025 Caveon Site Visits
Staff from Caveon will be conducting in-person assessment site visits to selected schools across Kentucky during the KSA and Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment (AKSA) testing windows. Sites are selected both purposefully and randomly for each region.
When a visit occurs, a member of OAA will contact the DAC. Caveon staff will arrive onsite prior to the beginning of the school day and will present identification including an authorization letter from Commissioner Fletcher. All Caveon staff have passed criminal background checks, signed confidentiality agreements, and have been trained regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Kentucky state laws protecting student privacy.
During these in-person visits, Caveon members require valid login credentials to obtain secure internet access through the school network. The BAC will be interviewed and will need to provide supporting documentation regarding test procedures, including the testing schedule, examples of seating charts, etc. After the interview, monitors will spend approximately 20 minutes observing a live test session. Caveon monitors will not interfere with or disrupt testing in any manner during the observation, nor will they provide technical assistance or evaluative feedback during the site visit.
Information gathered during the Caveon site visits will be compiled and utilized as part of the site monitoring agreement information in the Caveon test security contract.
Please contact Devon Avery with any questions.
April DAC Webcast
The Office of Assessment and Accountability, Division of Assessment and Accountability Support (DAAS) hosted its live monthly DAC Webcast virtually on Thursday, April 10, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon ET.
The meeting was led by Shara Savage, Branch Manager in the Division of Assessment and Accountability Support. She was joined by Christen Roseberry, Tiffany Christopher, Krista Mullins, Chris Williams, Melissa Chandler, and Ben Riley, who shared important updates related to assessment and accountability.
Agenda topics included:
- House Bill (HB) 298
- ACT Score Reporting
- K Screen Reminders
- KSA/AKSA Site Visits
- AKSA Update
- SDRR Updates
- ACCESS/WIDA Alternate ACCESS Updates
- Honoring John Wickizer
The April 2025 DAC Webcast PowerPoint is available on the KDE Meetings and Trainings webpage. The session was recorded and is now accessible on the KDE Media Portal.
For any questions, please reach out via email to KDE DAC Information.
Future webcasts are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. ET.
SDRR "Hot Topic" Office Hour Reminder
The SDRR team in the OAA will be hosting the first SDRR "Hot Topic" Office Hour on SDRR Resources: Where to Get Assistance on April 15 from 1-2 p.m. ET in Microsoft Teams.
Please refer to the SDRR February DAC Training PPT for additional SDRR "Hot Topic" Office Hours and the Microsoft Teams login information for each session.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
WIDA Resources for Communicating About ACCESS Scores
With ACCESS for ELLs score reporting dates approaching, here are some key resources to check out:
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
#WIDA2025 Registration Giveaway
The 2025 WIDA Annual Conference will take place Oct. 27-30, in Seattle, Washington under the theme “Igniting Innovation for Multilingual Learners.” Visit the 2025 WIDA Annual Conference website for need-to-know information including a program overview, registration rates and more. This year’s event also includes a curated virtual track.
Enter to win! WIDA is giving away registrations to attend #WIDA2025 in Seattle. Visit WIDA's Facebook or Instagram page to learn how educators can enter.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
KDE Offices Closed
The Kentucky Department of Education offices will be closed the afternoon of Friday, April 18, in observance of Good Friday.
Reminder: AKSA Window 2 Now Open
Administration of Window 2 for the AKSA begins today, Monday, April 14, and runs through Friday, May 23. The Student Registration Database (SRD) will open for score entry for the second window today, Monday, April 14, and close on Friday, May 30.
For questions, please contact Krista Mullins.
Reminder: AKSA Window 1 Makeup Requests During the Second Testing Window
For each student needing to makeup Window 1, DACs should submit a request using the Spring 2025 Window 1 Makeup Request During Window 2 form. Please allow 1 to 2 business days for the KDE to review and approve the request. Districts may not administer Window 1 until after the request has been approved by the KDE. An approval email will be sent to districts once the request has been processed. As a reminder, all students participating in the AKSA must complete both Window 1 and Window 2, regardless of when the student became eligible for the AKSA.
For questions, please contact Krista Mullins.
Reminder: SRD and Career Readiness Database (CRD) Deletion Requests
Districts needing to delete students (due to no longer being eligible for the alternate program, death, or moving out of state) from the SRD or the CRD will need to complete the SRD/CRD Student Deletion Request 2025 form. Please allow 1 to 2 business days for KDE to review the request. A follow-up email will be sent to districts after the request has been processed.
Reminder: 2024-2025 CTE EOP Assessment Performance Results and Certificates to be Released April 16
The 2024-2025 Career and Technical Education (CTE) End-of-Program (EOP) Assessment performance results and certificates are scheduled to be released in the online testing system, E-SESS, on Wednesday, April 16.
CTE EOP Assessment performance results will be entered into the Technical Education Database System (TEDS) and Infinite Campus by KDE.
Contact the Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE) at kdeeopsupport@education.ky.gov, or Sherri Craig, OCTE, at 502-564-4286 ext. 4226 with any questions. Please visit the CTE EOP Assessment webpage for more information.
Reminder: 2024-2025 TRACK Pre-Apprenticeship Assessment Retest Window will be Open April 15-30
The 2024-2025 Tech Ready Apprentices for Careers in Kentucky (TRACK) Pre-Apprenticeship Assessment (Carpentry, Electrical, Welding) retest window will be open April 15-30. All 2024-2025 TRACK Pre-Apprenticeship Assessment (Carpentry, Electrical, Welding) retesting must be completed by April 30.
Refer to the TRACK Resources and TRACK Process Document for more information related to TRACK industry certification completion forms.
Please visit the Tech Ready Apprentices for Careers in Kentucky (TRACK) and CTE EOP Assessment webpage for more information and contact the Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE) at kdeeopsupport@education.ky.gov, or Sherri Craig, OCTE, at 502-564-4286 ext. 4226 with any questions.
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