http://www.p12.nysed.gov/accountability/documents/UPDATEDDoubleTestingFieldMemo2.21.14.pdf
Ira Schwartz regarding updates on SED's request to eliminate double testing in mathematics for certain grade 7 and 8 students. The memo can also be found at:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/accountability/documents/UPDATEDDoubleTestingFieldMemo2.21.14.pdf
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Since the release of the June 2014 Regents Examination schedule, NYSED received feedback from school administrators expressing concern about having an adequate supply of graphing calculators for all students taking Regents Examinations in mathematics on Friday, June 20, 2014.
To address this concern and ensure that all students taking Regents Examinations in mathematics will have access to a graphing calculator, the Department has issued a revised June 2014 Regents Examination schedule posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/schedules/2014/regents-614updated2.pdf. The Regents Examination in Algebra 2/Trigonometry will now be administered on Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 1:15 p.m. and the Regents Examination in Physical Setting/Physics will now be administered on Friday, June 20, 2014 at 1:15 p.m. This schedule supersedes any previously released schedule for the June 2014 examination period. This updated schedule is also available on the Department’s web site at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/schedules/. This decision was made after much deliberation and consultation, including a discussion with a representative group of superintendents and district superintendents from across the State at a recent meeting of the Commissioner's Advisory Council. Elementary/Intermediate Testing Schedule -
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/schedules/schedule-ei.html http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/schedules/2015/38testingschedule15.pdf Regents/High School Testing Schedule - http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/schedules/schedule-hs.html January 2015 - http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/schedules/2015/regents115.pdf June 2015 - http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/schedules/2015/regents615.pdf State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. announced today that the United States Department of Education (USDE) has approved New York State's request for a waiver from the provisions of federal law that currently require students who take Regents exams in mathematics when they are in seventh or eighth grade to also take the state mathematics assessment. The waiver will effectively end the "double-testing" of these students, beginning with the spring 2014 assessments.
"USDE's approval of New York's waiver request means the end of double-testing for nearly 60,000 New York students," said King. "The Regents, the Chancellor and I are committed to reducing the amount of time students spend on tests and eliminating any tests that don't inform instruction or improve student learning. Testing is an important part of the instructional cycle and good, sound assessments are necessary to monitor student academic progress. But we have repeatedly said that the amount of testing should be the minimum necessary to inform effective decision-making. Our successful waiver request is an example of New York's commitment to smarter, leaner testing." At their October 2013 meeting, the Board of Regents directed the State Education Department (SED) to submit a request to USDE to waive provisions of the federal law that require states to measure the achievement of standards in mathematics using the same assessments for all students. The approved waiver will relieve teachers and schools from having to prepare students in seventh and eighth grade who are receiving instruction in Algebra I for multiple end of year assessments. Currently, seventh and eighth grade students who are receiving instruction in Algebra I and who take the Regents Examination in Algebra I (Common Core) are also required to take the NYS Common Core Mathematics Test for the grade in which they are enrolled. School districts will now be allowed to administer only the Regents Examination in Algebra I (Common Core) to these students, eliminating the need for double-testing in grades 7 and 8. This provision also applies to students in grades 7 and 8 who receive instruction in Geometry and who take the Regents Examination in Geometry. Other than two high school history Regents exams, all required state tests – including all grades 3-8 assessments; secondary-level exams in English, math and science; alternate assessments for students with disabilities; and annual assessments for English language learners (ELLs) – are required by federal law. The State has not created any additional tests as part of Common Core implementation, and the Department is currently developing "Teaching is the Core" Grants to encourage the reduction or elimination of locally selected pre-tests and locally bargained and selected achievement measures. With respect to the existing State tests, SED reduced the number of questions and testing time on the federally required assessments for grades 3-8, and our State budget request will include funding to eliminate multiple-choice stand-alone field tests. SED is also asking the U.S. Department of Education for flexibility to use for accountability purposes Native Language Arts tests for Spanish speaking ELLs who are newly or recently arrived to the United States and permission to allow testing at instructional level rather than chronological age for students with significant cognitive disabilities not eligible for the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA). Additional information about New York's approved ESEA Flexibility Waiver, including FAQs, can be found at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/accountability/waivers/home.html The Board of Regents item that directed the Department to submit a waiver request can be found at: http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2013Meetings/October2013/1013p12d6.pdf Informational materials for the Regents Exam in Algebra I (Common Core), including the Educator Guide, 3 webcasts, and additional Sample Items have been posted on EngageNY at: http://www.engageny.org/resource/regents-exams-mathematics
The materials and their individuals links are as follows: Educator Guide to the Regents Examination in Algebra I (Common Core) The Guide was designed to support educators by providing an overview of the new test design. Information about how the assessment shifts informed test development and how the CCLS will be measured on the new Regents Exam in Algebra I (CC) is specified. http://www.engageny.org/resource/regents-exams-mathematics-algebra-i-test-guide Algebra I Webcasts The three webcasts provide: (1) background on the Common Core State Standards along with teaching principles and tools that are crucial for implementing changes in pedagogy and a mathematics curriculum (2) information for teachers on the test design of the Regents Exam in Algebra I (Common Core) and how it measures the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and (3) background information on the sample questions for Algebra I (Common Core). http://www.engageny.org/resource/regents-exams-mathematics-webcasts Algebra I Sample Questions Fall 2013 Additional sample questions have been provided to help students, parents, and educators understand the instructional shifts under by the Common Core. http://www.engageny.org/resource/regents-exams-mathematics-algebra-i-sample-items Please share with educators and parents. Thank you, Candace Shyer Assistant Commissioner of Assessment, Standards and Curriculum The Grades 3-8 ELA and Math Test Guides were posted at
http://www.engageny.org/resource/test-guides-for-english-language-arts-and-mathematics. The Test Guides for English Language Arts and Mathematics will address the following topics for each grade: + the instructional shifts demanded by ELA and Mathematics CCLS; + how ELA and Mathematics are conceptualized in the CCLS; + the 2014 Common Core ELA and Mathematics Tests content and design; and + the CCLS rubrics for short and extended constructed response questions. The Grade 3-8 Common Core English Language Arts Test Guides will introduce several changes that differentiate the 2014 CCLS English Language Arts Tests from past New York State tests. Some of the important changes discussed in the 2014 English Language Arts Test Guides include: + additional information about authentic passages + the 2014 ELA tests will be split into 3 books administered across 3 days + Day 2 will consist of one book with both multiple-choice and constructed response questions + in Grades 5-8, Day 2 will have fewer passages and questions than Day 2 of the 2013 tests Similarly, the Grade 3-8 Common Core Mathematics Guides will highlight many ways that the 2014 CCLS Mathematics Tests will be different from past New York State tests. Some of the important changes discussed in the 2014 CCLS Mathematics Test Guides include: + fewer questions on the 2014 Grades 3-8 Mathematics Tests than the 2013 tests; + shorter administration times for the 2014 Grade 3-8 Mathematics Tests than in 2013; + clarifications to the Mathematics rubrics and scoring policies; and + a change in content emphasis in Grade 8 We hope the Test Guides will assist educators in their efforts to provide high quality instruction of these rigorous learning objectives. Thank you, Ken Wagner This memo (November 25, 2013) from Ira Schwartz provides updated information regarding the current status of the requested waiver from the Grade 8 Mathematics assessments for those students who are accelerated and will be taking a Regents exam in Mathematics. It includes a "frequently asked questions" sections that may be helpful.
The following information was shared recently by Ken Wagner:
(1) In October, the Board of Regents discussed Performance Levels for the Common Core Regents Exams, to be first administered in June 2014 (see http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2013Meetings/October2013/1013p12d4.pdf). In November, staff proposed five performance levels, with separate cut scores analogous to the current score of 65 (necessary for credit and graduation purposes) and the current scores of 75/80 (the aspirational performance measures). If approved by the Board, these performance levels will allow similar percentages of students to pass Common Core Regents Exams for graduation and credit purposes as currently pass the existing Regents Exams. See http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2013Meetings/November2013/CommonCoreRegentsExams.pdf. (2) At its November 2013 meeting, the Board of Regents adopted an emergency rule that provides at local discretion an additional opportunity, at the January 2014 examination administration, for students enrolled in Common Core ELA courses to meet diploma requirements by passing either the Regents Comprehensive Examination in English or the Regents Examination in English Language Arts (Common Core). The updated field memo is posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/commoncore/transitionccregents1113.pdf. (3) In 2014, the Estimated Time on Task (ETOT, or how long it will take the student to complete the test) will decrease on the grades 3-8 math tests. The math tests will have fewer questions and, therefore, will take less time to complete. Due to fewer questions on the math tests, the session length (how long students will be given to complete a test) on Day 1 and Day 2 has decreased by 10 minutes each day, resulting in a total decrease in testing time of 20 minutes per grade. In 2014, the Estimated Time on Task (ETOT, or how long it will take the student to complete the test) will decrease on the grades 5-8 English language arts (ELA) tests. The ELA tests in these specific grades will have fewer passages and questions on Day 2 and, therefore, the ETOT will decrease by 10 minutes. The ELA session time is remaining the same in 2014 based on field concerns that students have sufficient time to complete the test. This information will be released shortly when the 2014 Test Guides are posted. The operational test length in 2014 was reduced by moving embedded field test items from the operational tests to standalone field tests. In addition, the Department has submitted a legislative budget request to eliminate grades 3-8 ELA and math multiple-choice standalone field tests by increasing the number of operational test forms. If this budget request is granted, all multiple choice field test questions would be included in the operational test, without increasing testing time. This would reduce the number of students by 42% who need to take standalone field tests. We would continue to need standalone field tests for constructed response questions only. (4) Testimony on the data security and privacy protections contained in the EngageNY Portal was presented to the Assembly Education Committee and posted at http://usny.nysed.gov/docs/presentations/enyp-assembly-education-committee.pdf. During the 2012-13 school year, leaders and educators from districts and BOCES across the state worked to fully implement the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) process. The development of high quality teacher and principal evaluation systems is an evolutionary process and the Department recognizes that there is much to be learned from the first full year of implementation across New York. The Office of Teacher and Leader Effectiveness, Policy and Programs is pleased to share with you a new resource meant to build upon the experiences, reflections, and requests from the field as you work to reflect and refine your work in the 2013-14 school year.
The Department has released a document titled “Early Elementary Assessments.” This resource focuses on assessment pathways for districts and BOCES seeking opportunities to reduce and/or refine assessments used in early elementary grades and subjects. For the purposes of APPR, there are no K-2 standardized tests administered or required by the State[1]. Decisions about how to measure student progress in K-2 are made by local school districts and BOCES. Education Law §3012-c provides districts and BOCES with design flexibility and assessment options. Districts and BOCES are encouraged to reflect upon decisions made within grades K-2 to ensure testing is the minimum necessary for effective decision making at the classroom, school, and district/BOCES level. The Department strongly recommends against the use of traditional standardized tests and urges districts and BOCES and their respective collective bargaining units to identify other ways to assess learning progress for these very young students. There are a variety of ways in which a district or BOCES can design a meaningful and authentic assessment program that provides information to drive instructional decisions, ultimately leading to an increase in students' knowledge and skills. This document offers considerations and opportunities that draw upon performance-based assessment approaches used by a variety of districts and BOCES. The Department offers this resource to encourage districts to engage in collaborative conversations about assessment opportunities available at all levels, including the early elementary level. (“Early Elementary Assessments” can be found here: http://www.engageny.org/resource/early-elementary-assessments) Shared by Courtney Jablonski, Office of Teacher and Leader Effectiveness, Policy and Programs (NYSED) Ken Wagner shared the following update from the BOR meeting:
It was shared with the Board yesterday that Estimated Time on Task (ETOT, or how long it will take the student to complete the test) will decrease in math in all grades (20 minutes) and ELA in grades 5-8 (10 minutes) in 2014. These tests in these grades will have fewer questions and are shorter. In addition, the Session Time (how long students will have to complete the test) will decrease in math in all grades (20 minutes) in 2014. The ELA Session Time is remaining the same this year, however, based on field concerns that students have sufficient time to complete the test. This information will be released shortly when the 2014 Test Guides are posted. |
IES Team
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