See important testing dates. Places for testing will be
announced in the Raven’s Call, and our website. There is a new requirement
for Correspondence students regarding testing. Please sign this form and
return it to our office. You may download practice tests on the Department
of Education and Early Development website at http://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/.
Due to No Child Left Behind, we are required to have a 95% attendance
rate at all levels of statewide testing.
Achievement testing at Raven correspondence School is conducted according
to the procedures outlined herein. At Y-KSD, the adopted achievement test
are the TerraNova, Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, and High School Graduation Qualifying
Exam (HSGQE). The TerraNova is administered to ally-KSD students, in grades
K, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 12. We do not require grades K – 2 testing, but
we do make the testing available for those grade levels, if requested.
Alaska Benchmark Examinations will be given in Grades 3, 6, and 8. The
HSGQE will be administered in grades 10, 11, and 12. These tests are used to
assess progress and are not used solely to determine grade placement or
retention.
3. Testing security for Benchmark Examinations and HSGQE
Each school principal and each Alaska certified proctor shall be
trained to give the Benchmark Examinations and the HSGQE.
The principal is responsible for all testing material. The principal
must inventory all testing material upon receipt.
All Benchmark Examinations and HSGQE testing materials shall be
locked in a secure area before testing, after each test date, and after
completion of TerraNova Complete Battery Plus.
Duration of testing and conditions for HSGQE and the Benchmark
examinations shall take place according to the Alaska Department of
Education’s exact instructions. Testing shall take place no earlier than
7:30 a.m. and end no later than 12 noon on each test date.
All the Benchmark examinations and HSGQE testing materials shall be
inventoried before being sent by certified mail to the Yukon Koyukuk
School District Administrative and Support Offices at 4762 Old Airport
Way, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709.
Only certificated staff can administer the Benchmark Examinations and
the HSGQE. Teachers of grades 3, 6, and 8 can administer the Benchmark
Exams for their classes. Teacher aides shall not help proctor the HSGQE.
Teachers of high school mathematics cannot administer the math
portion of the HSGQE. In addition, teachers of high school reading and
writing cannot administer the reading and writing portion of the HSGQE.
Failure to keep all testing material secure, and/or administering to
the tests according the Alaska Department of Education, and CTB
McGraw-Hill’s exact instructions shall be referred to the Professional
Teaching Practices Commission. If you are administering or proctoring
tests and have questions or concerns, contact the Assistant
Superintendent. Parents and guardians are directed to contact the Raven
Correspondence School principal.
4. Who is tested?
All Y-KSD students are tested. To ensure full accountability, the
district must assess all students, including students with disabilities
and those who are limited English proficient. To accomplish this, the
Alaska Department of Education developed a two-tiered Comprehensive
System of Student Assessments:
Regular Assessments: These include criterion-referenced tests at
grades three, six, eight, and HSGQE for the high school level. Regular
assessments also include norm-referenced tests (grades four, five,
seven, and nine) given at selected grade levels and test accommodations
for some students. Any accommodations that students may need, will have
to be in the student’s IEP three months prior to Benchmark and High
School Grade Qualifying Examinations. Check with the Director of Special
Education, to answer any questions regarding students with special
needs.
5. Test on grade level
All Y-KSD students will be tested at grade level.
6. TerraNova Test Grade Levels
Grade K = Level 10
Grade 1 = Level 11
Grade 2 = Level 12
Grade 4 = Level 14
Grade 5 = Level 15
Grade 7 = Level 17
Grade 9 = Level 19
Grade 11 = Level HSGQE or TerraNova 21
Grade 12 = Level HSGQE or TerraNova 22
7. Which tests are to be given?
We will administer the complete TerraNova battery plus.
8. When are the tests due and to whom?
Return the Fall 2002 HSGQE completed and uncompleted tests to the
Assistant Superintendent no later than November 6, 2002.
Return the Spring 2002 Benchmarks, HSGQE, and TerraNova completed and
uncompleted tests to the Assistant Superintendent no later than March
14, 2002.
9. Test Reports and Reporting
Y-KSD provides a variety of test results to schools, parents,
administration and school members. These reports are provided by CTB
McGraw-Hill and generated by the Y-KSD designed student tracking system.
10. CTB McGraw-Hill Scoring Reports
The following scoring services are utilized by Y-KSD: The Home
Report, The Evaluation Summary, Class Record Summary Sheet, The Class
Record Sheet, and Student Interpretative Report.
11. Y-KSD Generated Reports
A variety of reports are generated and provided to schools by the Y-KSD
Student Tracking System. These include school gain/loss reports,
individual student’s longitudinal achievement, and school class cohort
longitudinal achievement. More reports can be requested from the
Assistant Superintendent.
12. Report Distribution
Each fall all school within the school district (including the Raven
Correspondence School) will receive both the CTB McGraw-Hill scores and
the Y-KSD generated reports.
13. Reporting Test Scores to Parents
A copy of the Benchmarks and HSGQE will be sent to each
parent/guardian within three weeks after receiving them from CTB-McGraw/Hill.
Each fall teachers are to share test scores with parents (and
students in grades 6-12) in a face-to-face conference on or before the
end of the first quarter. These procedures may vary for the parents in
the correspondence school. RCS reports will be mailed and conference
with parents will be held face-to-face, or telephonically.
14. Test Results Interpretation
The Home Report is for parents. It is condensed so that it is easy to
read. The Home Report states when the student took the test and gives
the overall performance national percentile scores for Reading,
language, Math and total battery. There are short synapses describing
what objectives the student has mastered or need further help in
Reading, Language, and Math.
CTB-McGraw-Hill provides more information regarding the testing
process and how scores should be read.
National Percentile does not report what percent of test were
correct. A National Percentile score (or rank) of 65 means that the
student’s score is higher than the scores of 65% of the students in the
norming group for that student’s grade at that time of the year.
The Class Record Sheet gives the test results for all students in
grade K-12. The test scores are reported in National Percentile (NP),
National Stanine (NS), Grade Equivalent (GE), and Normal Curve
Equivalent (NCE).
Be aware of how to interpret grade equivalent. If a student in grade
3, has a GE of 6.6, that does not mean that he/she can do 6th grade
work. It means only that this student is scoring well above average for
grade 3. In most cases, intervening instruction must take place when he
or she reaches grade 6.
The National Stanine is a scale that divides the scores of the norm
population into nine groups. Stanines 1, 2, 3, are below average, 4, 5,
6, are average, and 7, 8, & 9 are above average.
Because stanines are single-digit, they are less likely than
percentiles to be confused with the percentage of items answered
correctly. Their major disadvantage is their lack of precision. For
example, a student with a NS score of 5 could have a NP as low as 41 and
as high as 59.
S*T*A*R Test
The STAR Diagnostic Test is available for each student. This shows us
the level of each student’s reading ability. We use these reports to
gauge how well our programs are doing. The information we gather helps
to participate in grants that well help the district meet the needs of
students.
15. Alaska Kindergarten & First Grade Developmental Profile
Improving student achievement requires that educators know at what
level to begin instruction when students first enter school. The Alaska
Department of Education (DEED) requires that all Kindergarten and
students entering first grade during the FY 2003-2004 school year be
given a developmental profile. A certified teacher will administer the
DIAL-3 to each kindergarten and first grade student. The results of this
assessment will be consolidated on a one-page Developmental Profile
Recording Form and sent to the DEED by November 1, 2003.
Upon receiving the kindergarten and first grade developmental profile
results, a Developmental Profile Form will be filled out for each
kindergarten and first grade student.