Assessment Newsletter (Volume 6, Issue 97)

Wyoming Department of Education sent this bulletin at 03/29/2019 10:05 AM MDT

Update from the Wyoming Department of Education  |  view online |  website

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March 29, 2019  |  WDE Assessment Updates  |  Volume 6, Issue 97

WY-TOPP BLUEPRINTS & RUBRICS

The WY-TOPP assessment system consists of Modular, Interim, and Summative assessments. Each type of assessment has a blueprint that is used to create the assessment. Follow this link to view the WY-TOPP Assessment Blueprints and Rubrics webpage. 

COMMUNICATION DEVICE POLICY FOR STATE ASSESSMENTS

no cell phone icon

It is very important to maintain test item security before, during, and after test administration. The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) suggests that campuses communicate a strict policy for communication devices during testing. For campuses that do not have cell phone or communication device policy, Follow this link to an example of a communication device policy that can be read or distributed to faculty, staff, and students during state testing.

HOMESCHOOL STUDENTS REQUESTING TO TEST

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Any homeschool student who receives services or classes at your school should already be a part of your nightly upload as a primary enrolled student with the homeschool indicator. In order to identify homeschool students not enrolled within your student informational system, the department must collect information to associate them with a school in TIDE. The WDE687 collection will be used to collect information on homeschool students not served by your school district. This collection will open April 8, one week prior to the testing window.  You will want to submit your roster a minimum of two days prior to your first test day. 

The collection will be submitted through the DCS (Data Collection Suite). The WDE687 Certify role will need to be assigned to the WyEd User account of the person submitting the roster. To access the data collection form, guidebook, and error report go to the Forms Inventory Page and click on the arrow to the left of the WDE687 and then the Documents tab.

For assistance with the WDE687, contact Brian Wuerth at 307-777-6748 or brian.wuerth@wyo.gov.

TIDE ERRORS AND WY-TOPP TESTING

As the WDE prepares for WY-TOPP, it has been determined that some students are mislabeled or missing from schools’ informational systems (SIS). This is a reminder that students who attend a school should have a primary enrollment at that school even if they are homeschooled or have been placed within an institution. Reminder: Accountability for the state is pulled using the information within the WDE684 file. The primary enrollment information is primarily used for uploading students within the assessment system. Please double check your systems to ensure your files are clean and complete to help in our efforts to produce valid and reliable data throughout the state.

QUALITY ASSURANCE CHECKLIST - TEST SECURITY

Yellow start, blue check, and green plus symbol

Follow this link to the Quality Assurance Checklist. The Wyoming Department of Education will be using the Quality Assurance Checklist when conducting test site visits. The purpose of the visit will be to observe test security practices and answer any questions school staff may have about statewide assessment. Principals were contacted to schedule test site visits for the spring WY-TOPP administration. Contact Catherine Palmer at 307-777-5296 or catherine.palmer@wyo.gov, if you have any questions regarding the checklist. 

ACT REMINDERS

Before test day, follow instructions in the manuals to complete your test day preparations. Some of these activities are:

  • Arranging for examinees testing paper to complete the non-test information, including applying barcode labels
  • Organizing the materials for each test room
  • Training your staff
  • Setting up test rooms so they meet seating and other requirements
  • Arranging for audible signals and announcements to be turned off
  • Finalizing online testing preparations, setting up test sessions, and printing student authorization tickets

Follow this link to view the ACT test administration manuals. 

WORKKEYS AVAILABLE FOR ALL 11TH AND 12TH GRADE STUDENTS

ACT Workkeys

All 11th and 12th grade students have the opportunity to take the ACT WorkKeys assessment

After successfully completing Applied Math, Graphic Literacy, and Workplace Documents portions of the WorkKeys assessment, students will earn the ACT NCRC certificate.

This spring, Wyoming schools will have an opportunity to administer the ACT WorkKeys Assessment in the following window:

Test Mode and Test Window

ACT WorkKeys - Online April 16-30, 2019
ACT WorkKeys - Paper April 16-30, 2019

Building coordinators should have received an email from ACT WorkKeys. The communication included information about the ordering paper window, online testing realm set up, training, etc.

Key information to keep in mind about ACT WorkKeys:

If you have not received any information regarding ACT WorkKeys please call Jeremiah Barnhart at 319-337-1386.

Training - Attend one of ACT WorkKeys’ webinars. ACT offers recorded and live webinars on topics such as Introductions to ACT WorkKeys Online Test Administration, ACT WorkKeys Test Administration Training for Paper Testing, Explore What’s Changed with ACT WorkKeys, etc.

To view or register for a training please follow the link here.

For more detailed information please refer to the Wyoming- ACT WorkKeys Schedule of Events and the  Wyoming's ACT State testing Website.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

  • February 25-April 17: WY-ALT additional paper response options ordering window
  • March 4-29: WY-TOPP and WY-ALT address verification window
  • March 4-29: WY-TOPP paper order window
  • March 11-April 24: WY-ALT online assessment window (Grades 3-10)
  • April 2: ACT paper test day (Grade 11)
  • April 2-4, 9-11: ACT online test window (Grade 11)
  • April 15-26: WY-TOPP additional paper form ordering window
  • April 15-May 10: WY-TOPP Spring Summative window (Grades 3-10)
  • April 15-May 10: WY-TOPP Spring Interim window (Grades K-2)
  • April 16-30: WorkKeys assessment window (Grades 11 & 12)
  • April 26-27: Wyoming English as a Second Language Conference - Casper
  • May 21: ACCESS 2.0 Interpreting Score Reports for Instruction Workshop - Casper
  • May 22: ACCESS 2.0 Interpreting Score Reports for Instruction Workshop - Riverton