Assessment Newsletter (Volume 8, Issue 18)

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

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12-04-20  |  WDE Assessment Updates  |  Volume 8, Issue 18


NAEP SPRING 2021 POSTPONED TO SPRING 2022

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Commissioner, with support of the National Assessment Governing Board, has officially postponed the NAEP 2021 assessments, as impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to increase and affect educational systems across the country. This decision moves the grades 4 and 8 mathematics and reading assessments to the 2021–2022 school year. Wyoming school district staff and principals, which had been selected for NAEP 2021, were notified of the postponement earlier this week.

Although postponed, NCES continues to believe the exploration of educational experiences within the context of COVID-19 in the 2020–2021 school year can be valuable to states and districts and has developed questions related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for inclusion in its school and teacher questionnaires (i.e., surveys that normally accompany NAEP student testing). Wyoming’s NAEP state coordinator, Will Donkersgoed, will reach out to school coordinators and principals in the 2021 NAEP Wyoming sample with more information later this winter if NCES decides to administer NAEP questionnaires to teachers and school administrators.

As always, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) deeply appreciates the diligence and collaboration of districts and schools that continue to support NAEP testing in Wyoming. 

For more information, contact Will Donkersgoed at (307) 777-5133 or william.donkersgoed@wyo.gov.


DRC PLANNED OUTAGE

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A planned system outage affecting WIDA AMS will take place from 10 p.m. Saturday, December 5 until 10 a.m. Sunday, December 6. WIDA and DRC apologize for any inconvenience caused by this routine maintenance. 

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.


MANAGING ONLINE ACCESS TEST SESSIONS

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From Noon-1 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8 

This webinar will provide information about: 

  • Creating test sessions.
  • Printing test tickets.
  • Managing test sessions.

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.

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ACCESS TESTING SCHEDULES

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Due January 10, 2020

Complete this Google Form for each Test Administrator in your school/district, and for each domain testing session. 

The WDE will be visiting districts virtually between January 19 and February 26, during the ACCESS for ELLs Assessment Administration window. Due to COVID-19, school site security and monitoring visits will look different compared to previous years. This Statewide Assessment Monitoring and Quality Assurance team will review school/district implementation and compliance with both federal and state laws and regulations. This will include evaluating test security and administration practices related to ACCESS assessments for the 2020-21 school year. During the meeting, additional time will be provided to answer questions you or your school staff may have about the statewide EL assessment.

These visits will help ensure that all eligible students are tested, test security is maintained, school district staff has been properly trained, and assessments are administered consistently and in a uniform manner. Guidance will be provided to districts about what to expect and how to prepare for these visits. You will receive a link to the virtual meeting after your testing schedule has been provided to WDE.

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.


IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

  • September 1-June 18: WY-TOPP Modulars.
  • October 5-January 29: Reading Supports for Multilingual Learners WIDA eWorkshop Training Course (6 modules-15 weeks long).
  • December 4, 11 and 18: WIDA Language Specialists: Engaging Multilingual Newcomers.
  • December 8: ACCESS for ELLs During Testing: Managing Test Sessions (Online) Webinar.
  • December 8 and 15: WIDA Scaffolding Learning through Language Training.
  • December 15: During Testing: Managing Students in WIDA AMS (Paper) Webinar.
  • January 5: ACCESS for ELLs During Testing: Managing Test Materials (Paper) Webinar.
  • January 7: ACCESS for ELLs During Testing: Technology Troubleshooting Webinar.
  • January 12-February 5: WY-TOPP Winter Interims.
  • January 19: WY-ALT Test Administration Training (Online).
  • January 19-February 26: ACCESS and ALT ACCESS Assessments.
  • January 21: WY-ALT Test Administration Training (Online).
  • January 29: WY-ALT Test Administration Training (Online).
  • February 2: During Testing: Monitoring Completion for Test Coordinators (Online) Webinar.
  • February 3: WY-ALT Test Administration Training (Online).
  • March 2-April 23: WY-ALT Assessments.
  • March 9: ACCESS for ELLs Post-Testing: Data Validation Webinar.
  • March 16: ACCESS for ELLs Post-Testing: Interpreting Score Reports Webinar.
  • April 13-May 7: WY-TOPP Spring K-2 Interims.
  • April 13-May 7: WY-TOPP Summative Assessments.
  • April 19-30: WorkKeys Test Administration Window.