Skip to main content

Meeting of the Board of Regents | November 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010 - 8:35am

SED Seal                                                                                   

 

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

TO:

P-12 Education Committee

FROM:

John B. King, Jr.

SUBJECT:

Release of Scores for the Grades 3-8 Testing

Program 2011

DATE:

October 28, 2010

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 1 and 2

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

Summary
 

Issue for Discussion

Does the Board of Regents endorse the Department’s recommendation on the timeline for the release of the grades 3-8 test results?

Proposed Handling

This question will come before the P-12 Education Committee for discussion at the November 2010 meeting.

Background Information

During the spring of 2008, the Board directed staff to review processes to ensure that the Grades 3-8 Test Scores were returned to schools prior to the end of the school year; we were able to do this. In the spring of 2009, the Board directed staff to move the Grades 3-8 Testing Program to a late April/May administration and continue to return scores prior to the end of the school year; the Department was able to do that but it placed great strain on schools, scanning centers, the Department and vendors. The Department must meet its obligations to both school districts and to USED for release of State accountability determinations, which must occur two weeks prior to the start of the new school year.

Superintendents and the scanning centers have informed the Department that they cannot meet the same scoring and scanning schedules for 2011 that they did in 2010, due to high costs and impact on their staff. This situation is exacerbated by the late date for Easter this year, April 24, 2011, which prevents the Department from starting the testing until the first week of May.

Staff from the Office of Assessment Policy, Development & Administration and the Information Reporting Services Office has analyzed the local scoring, scanning, data analysis, data return, and accountability verification timelines. They have worked to prepare two possible timelines: Timeline 1 maintains the aggressive milestones necessary to return test scores by the last day of school; and Timeline 2 returns scores nine working days after school ends. This problem is only for this year; from 2012-2014, Easter occurs in late March/mid-April and the State will be able to start testing in the last week of April. The Department also anticipates timely return of test scores when the PARCC Tests are administered in 2015 due to their computer-based format.


Timeline 1



Return Date of student scores on nyStart: 6/23/11

Challenges

  • Shorten scoring windows increase the chances that: 1) schools will not complete the scoring of the open-ended items on time; and 2) the first round of scanned data may not meet the minimum number of student records for conducting psychometric analysis.
  • Scanning Centers have indicated that they cannot meet these timelines.
  • Timeline has no margin for any type of loading or other computer problems that are associated with moving large, complex data files: approximately 1.3 million individual student records per subject need to be processed.

Benefits

  • Individual Student Reports will be generated by the State’s Data Warehouse and will be available when data is released.
  • Data will be available before the end of the school year in June.




Timeline 2



Return Date of student scores on nyStart: 7/7/11

Challenges

  • Lose nine days in accountability verification work.
  • Timeline has no margin for any type of loading or other computer problems that are associated with moving large, complex data files: approximately 1.3 million individual student records per subject need to be processed.

Benefits

  • Timelines will still be aggressive, but manageable for both school districts and scanning centers.
  • Schools should be able to complete the local scoring and this will ensure that we meet the minimum number of student records for conducting psychometric analysis.
  • Individual Student Reports will be generated by the State’s data warehouse and will be available when data is released.

Recommendation

The Department recommends Timeline 2 for this year given the timing of Easter and its impact on test administration and scoring schedules.