TO: Principals, School Test Coordinators

CC: Executive Directors, Network Facilitators, Office of Teaching and Learning

FROM: Office of Achievement and Accountability

DATE: August 19, 2013

RE: October 2013 HSA Administration- Professional Development for School Test Coordinators and Roster Verification

Professional Development for School Test Coordinators

  • The Office of Achievement and Accountability (OAA) will conduct professional development for School Test Coordinators in preparation for the October 2013 HSA Administration on Wednesday, September 4, 2013 for schools administering the paper version of the HSA. This session will take place at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Banneker Hall from 12:30pm-3:00pm.
  • Also, in conjunction with Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), OAA will host professional development session for schools administering the online version of the HSA on Thursday, September 5, 2013. The session will take place at the Professional Development Center (PDC) located at 2500 East Northern Parkway, Lab 126, Baltimore, MD 21214 from 9:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m. Schools Test Coordinators are required to attend one of the training sessions.

October HSA 2013 Administration

  • The test window for the October 2013 HSA administration is September 30- October 2, 2013 for the paper administration; paper make-up testing date is October 3, 20103.
  • The test window for the October 2013 HSA online testing is September 30- October 11, 2013. Schools will receive test materials from the vendor September 12-16, 2013.

Roster Verification

In preparation for the October administration, we would like to ensure that your school receives the necessary materials for those students who have been identified to participate in testing.

The roster of students identified to participate under the October administration, (“October 2013 HSA Roster”) is located on the Principal’s Dashboard in the HSA tab found within the Student Information tab. This information will be available for your review byWednesday, August 28, 2013.

As School Test Coordinator’s do not have access to the Principal’s Dashboard, Principals should download the roster and then share it with their School Test Coordinator for verification.

Office of Achievement and Accountability’s October criterion for student selection is all students who have not passed an HSA test as of August 16, 2013. Therefore, the roster reflects the number of students enrolled at your school, by content area that has failed an HSA test as of August 16, 2013. Please verify the number and names of students selected to participate in the October administration by September 9, 2013.

School Test Coordinators should confirm the October 2013 HSA roster by September 9, 2013 by emailing .

  • If the roster is accurate, please send an email stating, “My school’s October 2013 HSA roster is accurate. No additional materials are needed.”
  • If the roster is missing students or contains students that should not take the October 2013 HSA, the email should list the Student ID and whether the student needs to be added or removed.
  • After this verification process, Office of Achievement and Accountability will assist STCs if additional materials are needed.

If you find that additional materials are needed, please contact Tameka Payton in the Office of Achievement and Accountability at (410) 396-8962 or by email . Materials can be picked up from OAA (200 E North Ave., Room 203) after orders have been placed and filled. School Test Coordinators will be notified when orders are ready for pick-up.

Test Monitoring

The COMAR regulations governing testing require City Schools’ OAA to conduct random monitoring of state assessments. In order to minimize the potential for testing improprieties, the district will do random monitoring of the High School Assessments (HSA) during the October 2013 administration. Schools that have been selected will be contacted by the Coordinator of Test Integrity, by September 13, 2013.