Assessment Update Webinar
May 16, 2017
Answers to Questions
Q: Is it required to use Managing Test Windows?
A: For the remainder of the Spring 2017 administration window, the use of Managing Test Windows is not required. Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, the use of Managing Test Windows will be required.
Q: Will paper pencil testing for SBA be an option in 2017-2018?
A: Beginning in 2017-18 Washington will move to online testing. The paper tests for Smarter Balanced ELA and math and science assessments will be available only for students whose IEP indicates paper as the required method for testing. EOC will continue to be administered via paper.
Q: Is WA-AIM late enrollment handled by registering the student in the WA-AIM system? Do we have to report this separately to Toni Wheeler, as well?
A: We misspoke during the webinar – WAMS is all that is required; we can validate against CEDARS enrollment information to calculate late enrollment.
Q: Are we required to identify homeschool/private school students that test with us?
A: If they are partially enrolled and reported to CEDARS as such, no additional action is necessary. If they are only showing up for testing and have no enrollment at all, recording the student as homebased/private in TIDE will ensure they are excluded from aggregate reporting.
Q: The TIDE labels do not match the CEDARS labels for ALE students in the data cleanup (the less than or greater than .8). How do we know which one is correct and which one do we use to
record our ALE students who are .8 enrolled?
A: The TIDE labels are incorrect. A student who is exactly .8 FTE select option 2 which ought to be “less than or equal to .8 FTE” per CEDARS definitions and would exclude the student from aggregate reporting. That said, if the student has any enrollment at all, and it is reported to CEDARS, see previous question. There shouldn’t be a case where a student is even partially enrolled and not reported to CEDARS.
Q: Will there be a Sandbox for practicing creating test sessions, logging in students and approving them?
A: Yes. Using the demo records on the interim assessments, a teacher/TA could walk through all the steps to create and administer a session, score the record in Teacher Hand Scoring, and view the results in AIRways.
Q: What will the process be for TIDE roll-up if a student has moved to another building?
A: This question is ambiguous, but so long as a student is being reported correctly to CEDARS, this would not be an issue.
Q: Will districts be able to test the ELPA21 Screener if they have not rolled up CEDARS in summer?
A: Yes, but the screener would only be necessary if the student were new, or in some rare instances, returning from a multi-year absence. The same process to generate SSIDs for guest testers or for a student who must sit for a test prior to a full CEDARS submission including them can be leveraged to administer the screener.
Q: Will there be an opportunity for teachers and students to provide feedback on the HS science field test?
A:We anticipate giving test administrators an opportunity to provide feedback via survey.
Q: How quickly will ELPA21 online screener results be posted?
A: The ELPA21 screener scores will be released in the ORS system within 7 days of test submission.
Q: When will the ELPA21 screener is available online? Will there still be the 10 day testing window requirement? Sometimes there is a delay acquiring SSIDs before students can access TIDE and internal procedures for launching the secure testing browser, which may delay testing for longer than 10 days.
A: The law requiring potential ELs to be screened, placed, and receiving services within 10 days of enrollment will not change when the ELPA21 screener is launched. There will be a way to test a student prior to SSID issuance. Any internal processes that delay testing may need to be examined for opportunities to restructure the process.
Q: We screened our Pre-KG students this month with the paper pencil screener. Can we still use that data?
A: Yes. Using the WELPA for incoming Kindergarteners is the plan and those scores can be used for eligibility determinations for 2017-18.
Q: Is there a list of the programs for Chromebooks and iPads that can be used when students need Text to Speech on their assessments?
A: We are checking with AIR to see if they have such a list available.
Q: Will a fix be in place for next year for using Text-to-Speech on Chromebooks?
A: AIR has committed to adding functionality to the next update of the Chrome OS Secure Browser (likely during summer, 2017) to block Chromevox as a forbidden application (assuming this is technically feasible). This should solve the current issue of students turning Chromevox on after the district had turned it off in settings.
Q: Speech-to-Text: I understand your recommendation to use a PC and Dragon Dictation. Will there be a future patch for Chromebooks so we can use them? Many districts are heavily invested in Chromebooks.
A: It is unknown if this is technically feasible, but we have asked AIR to look into this possibility.