Assessment Newsletter (Volume 8, Issue 41)

Wyoming Department of Education sent this bulletin at 05/28/2021 11:30 AM MDT

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

05/28/2021 | Volume 8, Issue 41

This is the last scheduled Assessment Newsletter until early August 2021, though there may be an occasional special edition throughout the summer. The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) wishes you a wonderful and relaxing summer. It has been a difficult year for many, and we hope everyone takes time to renew, replenish, and rejuvenate before next school year.

PANDEMIC IMPACT SURVEYS

Closing: Provide Your Input by May 30, 2021

Take the Teacher Survey here.
Take the Administrator Survey here.

WY-ALT CONTENT AND FAIRNESS REVIEW

The WDE is seeking Wyoming educators to participate in either the WY-ALT Content Alignment or the WY-ALT Fairness Item Review Committee meetings (ELA, Math, Science). Meetings will be held virtually the week of June 14, 2021. Participants must be available to attend a morning training on Tuesday June 15, 2021. Committee members will be eligible for an honorarium that will be paid after all committee work is complete. If interested, apply here.

WDE684 CORRECTION WINDOW

English Learner Post Data Validation

A key purpose of the WDE684 collection is to identify the number of Active ELs and any students in Monitor Status. Once the WDE receives all the WDE684 data, validations will be performed, and an error report will be created. Antoinette Hallam will contact districts with identified EL Errors. The data clean up period is June 26 through July 7, 2021. Take this time to review and validate all WDE684 student information.

For more information on the WDE684, contact Antoinette Hallam, English Learner/Foreign Language Consultant, at antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov. For more information on the WDE684, refer to the WDE684 Guidebook, or contact April Strong, Records and Data Management Analyst, at 307-777-8751 or april.strong@wyo.gov.

DOWNLOAD TIDE USER FILES AND ROSTERS

TIDE will Close June 25, 2021

Each year, TIDE system ‘Users’ are reset in order to ensure security.
The WDE encourages districts to download their current users, revise those files to update staff and any role changes, and prepare the file for re-upload in the fall.
Remember, each user role comes with a certain level of student data access. Assigning all test administrators to a Building Coordinator role may allow unnecessary access to student information and could be a FERPA violation.
Student rosters may also be downloaded and securely stored until they can be re-uploaded for the Fall Interim window.
For further information refer to the TIDE User Guide.

For more information, contact Jessica Steinbrenner, Assessment Team Supervisor, at 307-777-8658 or jessica.steinbrenner@wyo.gov.

ASSESSMENT SURVEY

Survey Closes on June 25, 2021

The WDE requests educator participation in an assessment survey for the 2020-21 school year. The data collected will provide valuable information about the WY-TOPP assessments. This will help identify what is working well and where changes may need to be considered. Take the Assessment Survey here.

For more information, contact Jessica Steinbrenner, Assessment Team Supervisor, at 307-777-8658 or jessica.steinbrenner@wyo.gov.

ASSESSMENT RESULTS

FINAL RESULTS

Student results reflect some variance this year due to disruptions in education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These may include student learning environment at home and at school, effects of social isolation/remoteness, the digital divide in rural areas, etc.

Keep in mind the populations that were able to test and those whom were not.
The WDE will review the results to make determinations regarding the use of the scores for a baseline.
Reminder: This year state accountability has been waived, however to provide guidance moving forward, calculations will still be made.

TENTATIVE RESULTS TIMELINE

June 30-July 7: ACCESS review window.
July 26-August 6: Confidential Assessment Data Review Window.
August 12-25: Confidential SPR Review Window.
August 31: Update Confidential SPR reports for Districts.
September 1: Public SPR Release.
October 11-22: District 2020-21 ACT review window.

For more information, contact Jessica Steinbrenner, WDE Supervisor of Assessment Team, at 307-777-8568 or jessica.steinbrenner@wyo.gov.

SCIENCE & MATH BLUEPRINTS

For WY-TOPP 2022 and Beyond

Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) for WY-TOPP and Achievement Level Descriptors (ALDs) for WY-ALT can be found on the WDE PLD page. (Note: PLDs and ALDs are synonymous).
Assessment Blueprints (BP) for WY-TOPP and WY-ALT. Updated documents include the following for the school year 2021-22 (which are to be fully assessed on WY-TOPP in Spring 2022):

WY-TOPP Science Assessment Blueprint - approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) in February 2021.
WY-TOPP Math Assessment Blueprint - approved by the SBE on May 26, 2021. Although this document looks different from the most recent WY-TOPP Math Assessment BP, it has the exact same content standards and percentages.

For more information, contact Laurie Hernandez, WDE Director of Standards & Assessment, at 307-777-3469 or laurie.hernandez@wyo.gov.

PORTAL UPDATES COMING

Cambium Transitions to New Portal

All content currently on the Wyoming Assessment Portal wyoassessment.org will be transitioning in look but not in location.
The new look will help to better streamline the information.
This transition is set to take place later this summer.

For more information, contact Jessica Steinbrenner, Assessment Team Supervisor, at 307-777-8658 or jessica.steinbrenner@wyo.gov.