AAA Assessment and Accountability Monthly Call - February 20, 2024
The AAA Assessment and Accountability Monthly Call on February 20, 2024, covers important topics like Accommodations, LEAP 2025, ELPS/ELPT, ACT, and K-3 Literacy. It emphasizes the need for timely completion of IEPs/IAPs/EL Checklists and provides details on Tests Read Aloud Options and changes in spring 2024 grade 3 paper testing procedures. Participants are reminded of webinar recording restrictions and the importance of meeting deadlines for test-related documents.
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AAA Assessment and Accountability Monthly Call February 20, 2024
Zoom Meeting Preparation Please make sure your phone or computer is muted to minimize background noise. To do this, hover over the bottom left-hand side of your screen and click Mute. Please make sure you have turned off your camera to save bandwidth and prevent any connectivity issues. Please do not enable any AI or other recording device. Per LDOE legal team, recording of this webinar is not permitted. Individuals who launch recording functions, will be removed from the meeting. NOTICE: In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance at this meeting please contact ldoecommunications@la.gov.
Agenda Items I. Accommodations Clarifications VI. Innovative Assessment II. LEAP 2025 VII. Accountability III. ELPS/ELPT IV. ACT V. K-3 Literacy
Deadlines for IEPs/IAPs/EL Checklists State policy requires that all IEPs, IAPs and EL Checklists be final no later than 30 days prior to the opening of the state s testing window. Based on the first day of each window, the dates below represent the deadline for finalizing these documents. LEAP Connect ELPT/ELPT Connect K3 Literacy LEAP Spring High School LEAP Spring Grades 3-8/IAP January 19 January 19 Window 3: March 1 March 15 March 15
Tests Read Aloud Options Please remind IEP teams that text-to-speech is not the same as human reader. The department considers human reader to be higher risk for test security and for test delivery quality. These two options for tests read aloud are not interchangeable.
Recorded Voice For spring 2024, grade 3 paper testing will no longer use DVDs. DRC is now going to provide secure electronic files. Documents will be posted on 4/1. Access will be restricted to 4/1 to 5/17. After 5/17 DRC will remove the files. Files will be zipped and password protected. District Test Coordinators are granted an exception to the OATH OF SECURITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT s provision prohibiting electronic storage and duplication of secure testing materials to support the use of these files, provided that all provisions outlined below are followed. The electronic files must be downloaded and stored in a secure, access-restricted electronic location similar to the locked, secure storage area used for physical secure materials. Only personnel with access to the physical storage location should have access to the electronic storage location. DRC will send instructions to DTCs when the DTC request the files as an additional material order.
Unique Accommodations Requests The Unique Accommodation Request form is required from all school systems that will provide human readers for test read aloud or for students who need a paper test in grades 4-12. We anticipate that the Communication Assistance Script may be ordered from DRC this year, but we still require the UAR to have school systems confirm the assurances at the bottom of the page and to flag possible monitoring. While school systems should refer to the Leap 2025 Accommodations and Accessibility Features User Guide to determine which students are eligible for math manipulatives, the school system should not submit a UAR for these students.
Testing Schedules LEAP spring testing schedules are due to assessment@la.gov by March 18. Please make sure to notify the department if any changes are made as soon as they are known. Testing schedules should not just be April 15-May 17.The department needs the schedule to be broken out by school, subject, day and approximate time.
LEAP Social Studies and Civics Field Testing BESE policy requires participation in field testing. All students in grades 3-8 and high school students who are enrolled in Civics classes in spring must participate in field testing. The only students who are exempt from field testing are those students who will participate in LEAP Connect in 2023-2024. No results will be returned for grades 3-8 social studies or high school Civics. Times for the field tests are as follows: Grades 3 and 4: Session 1 = 70, Session 2 = 40, and Session 3 = 70 Grades 5-8 and Civics: Three 70-minute sessions ( Session 1, Sessions 2a/2b, and Session 3)
Social Studies Field Test: Tests Read Aloud Accommodation For grades 3 and 4 social studies only, students with a PNP can also receive test read aloud. Please note that, like students with an IEP, IAP or EL Checklist, students must be receiving this accommodation routinely as part of regular classroom instruction. Headphones will need to be made available to students. For grades 5-8 and Civics, to receive test read aloud in any form, the student must have the accommodations checked on an IAP, IEP or EL Checklist. Students with a PNP in grades 5-8 and for Civics are NOT eligible for any form of test read aloud.
Science Field Testing School systems will be notified by Thursday, February 29 of any schools that were selected for science field testing in grades 5-8, which requires an additional session. Please remind your school staff and test administrators that field testing is an important part of future test development. Per directions in the test administration manual, students should never be told that a session will not count. Participation in field testing is required by BESE policy for selected schools.
LEAP Resources Please make sure that teachers and parents are aware of the quick start guides that are available for LEAP practice tests and LEAP 360 diagnostic and interim assessments. They include login information. Leap 2025 Practice Test Quick Start Guide for Teachers Parent Guide to the LEAP Practice Tests Leap 360 Diagnostic Assessment Quick Start Guide Leap 360 Interim Assessment Quick Start Guide
Reminder About Multiple Forms for LEAP Connect For all grades and subjects, students will be automatically assigned a specific test form prior to testing. This has been updated in the administration webinar deck. Once a student is added to a test session in DRC INSIGHT, the school test coordinator can use Export Details to export a list of all students in the test session, along with form assignments. It is important to communicate the form assignments to TAs prior to preparation of materials for testing. DTCs/STCs can view the LEAP Connect forms their schools were assigned by following directions: Test Management>Manage Test Sessions>Administration, district, school> Show Sessions> Export details next to each individual test sessions. DTCs and STCs can also contact DRC Customer Service at LAHelpDesk@datarecognitioncorp.com or 1-888-718-483 to receive an email of all the forms assigned across the school or district.
Preparing for ELPT Testing ELPT/ELPT Connect students have been identified based on information in EdLink and sent to the vendor. All students who have not scored proficient are expected to continue to test. Students who do not test will receive a zero for ELPT progress. There is no early exit for students with disabilities. All students who score transitioning will no longer be included in ELPT progress calculations. Demographic data for economically disadvantaged is set by System Support and should not be modified. Country of birth is not collected in EdLink and should not be changed from ZZ.
ACT Important Dates February 19-22 Receive materials for testing for accommodation and non-college reportable, if the later shipping date was selected for the school. Note: Depending on the test date selected in PearsonAccessnext, the shipment will include only non-secure or all materials. If only non-secure materials are delivered, the secure materials will arrive the week before the start of testing. March 1 Deadline to Order accommodations and/or supports materials for use in test window 1 by calling ACT Accommodations at 800.553.6244, ext. 1788. Submit ACT testing schedules to assessment@la.gov.
Thank you! Thanks to your considerably hard work, the state now has a secure, custom form of the K-2 literacy screeners. The research team was very complimentary of the participation and representation that showed in the data.
K-3 Literacy Screening The K-3 literacy screening window will open on April 1 and will close on April 30. The assessment calendar has been updated. Please be reminded that: There will be NO PAPER OPTION for grades K through 2. All administration must be done online. The screener will be a secure form, which means that it cannot be copied, photographed, memorized, or discussed . There can be no remote administration option for grades K through 2. Testing schedules are due to assessment@la.gov by March 18. Any attempt to duplicate, save or memorize items will be considered a serious test security violation.
K-3 Literacy End of Year Screening Window End-of-Year (EOY) Screening Window: April 1- April 30 Per state law, there can be no extensions into May End-of-Year Student Records: The department will provide a new student file to Amplify for preloading students. All requested transfers made during Window 2 will be updated to the data that is now in EdLink for the applicable students. MOY data will transfer with the student. All grade level updates and site code updates should now be reflected in EdLink. From March 1 to March 16 the mCLASS Admin Portal will be closed. All other activities will remain open.
Accountability Codes for Students from mCLASS For End-of-Year screening, users can apply accountability codes for students who are not screened and for whom an accountability code applies to them. There are no special codes for screening. Codes 01-44 and 97: These codes can only be used for students who are also exited from EdLink with the same exit reason code. At the time that the student data file was pulled from EdLink at the end of February, students with exit codes were excluded from the file. Code 80: This code can only be used with a doctor s letter. Please note that for all testing, there must be a doctor s letter to apply this code that does not use a student s disability as the sole reason for not testing, and the letter must includes all dates of the screening window. There is no code 81 for EL students since the data will not enter into accountability for schools until 2025-2026. (Code 81 is always used on a test that is taken.)
Invalidation Report The department received an invalidation report from Amplify listed by system, school and test administrator. Because of an alarmingly high number of invalidations, we will be collecting information from systems and providing guidance on how and when invalidations should be applied. Prior to opening, please make sure that: All of your schools and test administrators know that it is unacceptable to invalidate screening in order to allow a student to perform better on the assessment. There is a system in place for test administrators to assess the correct student under the correct name and the correct test. Test administrators know all accommodations prior to administering the screener.
Braille Requests for K-3 Literacy To order a braille copy of the literacy screener for the end-of-year (EOY) screening, please complete the JotForm found at the link below no later than Friday, January 26. Braille forms are being shipped to school systems directly from the vendor. https://form.jotform.com/LDOE/k-3-literacy-screener-material All resources for the K-3 literacy screening are being posted to the K-3 Literacy- Screener page of the department website.
Gifted Report: Sent to Gifted Coordinators MOY Literacy Screening Gifted Reporting Due 2/23 https://form.jotform.com/LDOE/moy-literacy-screening-gifted-2024 Louisiana Statute 17:24.9 mandates districts to report the number of students identified for referral for gifted evaluation for every literacy screening administration for Kindergarten through Grade 3. The following data sets will be collected for each grade level: The number of gifted students scoring in the above-average range on the literacy screener. The number of non-gifted students referred for additional screening. The number of non-gifted students referred for gifted evaluation. Currently, we have no submissions from any school system.
K-3 Literacy Screener Louisiana mCLASS Page Amplify created a link for Louisiana educators here: https://amplify.com/louisiana-mclass/ This page includes many helpful links to additional supports for rostering, administration and reporting. The site also includes an email and phone number for the Amplify customer support team. Please bookmark this page. As resources are developed for Louisiana, they will be posted at this site.
Innovative Assessment Test Administration Manuals The department received feedback from some staff who participate in one of the state s innovative assessments that they were unaware of the requirement to use the TAM for administration. Please remind test administrators that all state administered assessments have required directions. All innovative assessments have scripted sections that should be used with all assessments, including field and pilot testing.
Parental Opt-outs There is no accountability code to excuse students from testing for parental opt- outs from mandated state assessments. There is no formal process provided by the department. The department recommends that the school requires the parent submit a letter in writing refusing permission to test their child in advance of the testing window. Schools cannot refuse to allow a student to attend school on testing days. Schools should provide instructional activities for students on testing days. Parents should be reminded that there are promotion decisions based on testing results, and that no student can graduate with any form of state diploma without participating in state testing.
Preparing for Cohort Graduation Data Certification Cohort graduation data certification for the 2023 cohort will open in late March. It is time to be sure that: all graduated students have a graduation date on the transcript in STS (students without graduation date will be counted as non-graduates) all credentials have been posted to the transcript (this is a time-consuming process in data certification that substantially delays the release of the graduation rate) documentation is collected for all students who are exited with code 10, 14, and 16. PLEASE do not submit transfers to online schools for any of these codes. This documentation will be considered insufficient and the student will be changed from legitimate leaver to nongraduate.
Preparing for Cohort Graduation Data Certification Some districts may be selected for FAFSA parental opt-out reviews due to high percentages. Dropout and exit code change requests will not be reviewed or approved. The department will host a webinar prior to the opening of this data certification. New accountability contacts must plan to attend. Data managers should be aware of the timeline. Accountability contacts may need their assistance to correct issues on transcripts before anything is approved.
2024-2025 Assessment Calendar The 2024-2025 assessment calendar is with the executive leadership team. As systems develop their own calendar, please be reminded that: K-3 literacy screening is mandated by state law (first 30 days of school, December, and April) ACT only provides a list of options that begin in fall and run into late spring. The department selects the option that best avoids breaks for Mardi Gras and Easter. Tentative dates similar to last year. LEAP high school spring assessments for students who are not grade 12 must undergo psychometric study. They are released toward the end of the assessment window. Schedule final grades accordingly.
Call Summary Month Key Deadlines Support and Resources Assessment Library DTC Resources Page February 19-March 22: ELPT/ELPT Connect testing February 19: March 22: LEAP Connect testing February 23: MOY literacy screening gifted referral form due February 29: School systems notified of science field test selection February 2023-2024 Assessment Calendar K-3 Literacy Screener March 1: Finalize accommodations for K-3 literacy end-of- year (EOY) screening March 1: Submit testing schedules for ACT March 15: Finalize accommodations for all LEAP spring testing (grades 3-8 and high school); IAP Window 3 March 18: Schedules due for LEAP Spring and K-3 EOY Office Hours Tuesdays at 3:45: February 27, March 5, 12, 26 Monthly Call: March 19 March
