2010-11 assessment calendar -...

Assessment Calendar 2010-11 of 16 rev: September 1, 2010

2010-11 Assessment Calendar

Mt. Vernon City School District “Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day”

Dear Students, Parents, Guardians, Educators, and Community Leaders,

The “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” (NCLB at http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml) was written “To close the

achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind.” One of the many

requirements of that act is to measure the progress of all students as they move through their education journey. The

way New York State measures and assures Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is through summative assessments (see

definitions below). Although it seems as if students are always testing, it is instructional to clarify the types and

purposes of tests that students take. Please see the GENERAL DEFINITIONS & PURPOSES of Assessments section below.

You may address any of your questions or concerns to the Mt. Vernon City School District Office of Curriculum and

Instruction at 914.665.5226, or to the NYS Office of State Assessment at [email protected].

Parents and Guardians can do their part by ensuring your child reads, does homework, and respects the educational

process. Developing positive relationships between students, parents, teachers and administrators can be invaluable

in assuring the success of every child. Being active in the PTA, attending school events and functions, and

volunteering to help are all excellent ways to help all of our students succeed. Be part of the solution.

In an effort to give the district’s assessment program meaning, the following information provides an overview of

District- and State-wide assessments. It does not include classroom-based assessments that teachers give on a

regular basis.

IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL STATE TEST RESULTS FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS, CLASSES, TEACHERS, SCHOOLS AND THE DISTRICT

ARE BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN OUR STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (e-school). IT IS IMPORTANT THAT PARENTS

AND GUARDIANS ENSURE THAT THE PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR EACH STUDENT IS ACCURATE AND COMPLETE AT ALL

TIMES. If students change addresses, schools, disability status, etc., PLEASE inform the school so we can have the

proper information for your child!

Results of each student’s performance will be mailed directly to the student’s home address (another reason to keep

your information current). The Individual Student Reports (ISR) come from New York State and usually arrive by

October of the following school year. Please refer all score requests to your child’s school.

http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml

mailto:[email protected]


School and District Report cards are available on the MVCSD website (http://www.mtvernoncsd.org/) and

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/reportcard. As a reminder: Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for schools measures

PARTICIPATION as well as PERFORMANCE of our students. EVERY STUDENT should take the appropriate NYSED exam

for his/her grade level and be encouraged to perform to the best of their abilities. Parent resources can be found at

http://usny.nysed.gov/parents/.

The Big Picture:

NY STATE EXAMS (AKA HIGH STAKES EXAMS) – These assessments are state-mandated to comply with NCLB. They

determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for your school and our district. See also: appropriate School

Administrator’s Manual (SAM) at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/. THESE ARE THE ASSESSMENTS THAT MAKE THE NEWS,

AND OUR RESULTS WILL DETERMINE NCLB STANDARDS ACHIEVEMENT. NYS exams are on this calendar in red print.

NY STATE ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT (NYSAA) – October 4, 2010 – February 11, 2011. This datafolio test is administered to

elementary-, intermediate-, and secondary-level students with severe cognitive disabilities. CSE must make the

determination as to whether any student is eligible for this form of assessment.

NYSESLAT (NYS English as a Second Language Achievement Test – Students whose first language is not English and

have NOT tested “PROFICIENT” should take this exam to determine their English Achievement Level. This includes

NYSAA students.

REGENTS EXAMINATIONS – Students must pass five (5) Regents exams in order to graduate from high school with a

Regents Diploma (8 or 9 for an “Advanced Designation”). These exams are administered in January and June. This

year, high schools will administer the English Regents to all grade 11 students in January and to all grade 10 students

in June.

COLLEGE-BOUND EXAMS – These exams are taken by high school students in order to apply to and gain admittance

to most colleges. These exams, including Regents, SATs, ACTs and AP exams are also entered in red. Students should

plan meet with their guidance counselors to discuss preparation for the future.

PSAT – The Preliminary SAT (and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, NMSQT) is to be offered to all high

school sophomores and juniors on Wednesday, October 13, 2010. The District is paying for this EPP – Early

Participation Program – to enhance each student’s college bound success.

http://www.mtvernoncsd.org/

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/reportcard

http://usny.nysed.gov/parents/

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/


SAT – This pre-college exam should be taken twice by students – once in the spring of their Junior year and

once in the fall of their Senior year. SAT Subject Tests should be taken after the student completes the course of

study that relates to the test to be taken.

ACT – This “Midwest version of the SAT” may be a better test than the SAT for some students because it appears

more straightforward and has a simpler scoring system.

AP Exams – Advanced Placement exams give high school students the opportunity to earn college-level credit

while in high school. Courses are taught by specially trained teachers and help raise the academic awareness

of all high school students.

P.S.E. – Practice State Exam – this is a practice test that is very similar to the real exam. Every course that has a state

exam should provide at least one full-length practice exam before the real thing. These testing dates are in pink.

READING ASSESSMENTS –– The middle and high schools will administer the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic

Evaluation (GRADE) and the elementary schools will use the DRA and DRA II exams. These reading assessments will

be given twice a year – once at the beginning to establish a baseline reading level, and once at the end of the year

to determine growth over the academic year. These tests are listed in sea green.

BENCHMARK/QUARTERLY EXAMS – These district-required tests are scheduled to be given up to four (4) times during

the school year, about two weeks before the end of each marking period. Their purpose is to measure the students’

mastery of the curriculum content delivered in each subject. These will be graded at the school and a summary of

the results will be sent to the Education Center for review. Representative essays will also be submitted to help inform

future instruction. These dates are listed in violet.

Parent-Teacher Days/Nights – Please attend these important opportunities for parents and teachers to meet for the

mutual benefit of students, parents, and teachers. These opportunities are listed in blue.

GENERAL DEFINITIONS & PURPOSES of Assessments:

Summative Assessments are given to determine what students know at a particular point in time. Some examples of

summative assessments:

State assessments


District benchmark assessments

End-of-unit or chapter tests

End-of-term or semester exams

The key is to think of summative assessment as a means to gauge, at a particular point in time, student learning

relative to content standards. Because they are spread out and occur after instruction every few weeks, months, or

once a year, summative assessments are tools to help evaluate the effectiveness of programs, school improvement

goals, alignment of curriculum, or student placement in specific programs. Summative assessments happen too far

down the learning path to provide information at the classroom level and to make instructional adjustments and

interventions during the learning process. It takes formative assessment to accomplish this.

Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process. When incorporated into classroom practice, it provides the

information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. In this sense, formative assessment

informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made.

These adjustments help to ensure students achieve targeted standards-based learning goals within a set time frame.

Formative assessment helps teachers determine next steps during the learning process as the instruction approaches

the summative assessment of student learning.

Research shows that the involvement in and ownership of students’ work increases students' motivation to learn.

Formative Assessments are critical in identifying learning goals, setting clear criteria for success, and designing

assessment tasks that provide evidence of student learning.

Adapted from National Middle School Association website at

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/WebExclusive/Assessment/tabid/1120/Default.aspx

Interim Assessment is the term we suggest for the assessments that fall between formative and summative

assessment. Interim assessments: 1) evaluate students’ knowledge and skills relative to a specific set of academic

goals, typically within a limited time frame, and, 2) are designed to inform decisions at both the classroom and

beyond the classroom level, such as the school or district level.

Adapted from A definition from Perie, Marion, Gong, & Wurtzel (2007) at

http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/AdLitInstitute%20Benchmark%20Interim%20Assessments1.ppt#692,3,Slide 3

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/WebExclusive/Assessment/tabid/1120/Default.aspx


IMPORTANT NOTES for School Administrators:

The two most important items that School Administrators can have are the dates of the exams and School

Administrator’s Manual (SAM). Specific information can be found at the following websites.

Office of State Assessment: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/

SAMs: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/manuals/

All Regents and High-stakes exams should be ordered by the principal online through the portal at

http://portal.nysed.gov/portal/page/pref/PortalApp. Please adhere to all deadlines outlined when you order your

tests.

The following process is for test-ordering illustration purposes only.

ALL test materials (Regular, Foreign Language, Large Print, etc.) for Grades 3-8 exams should be ordered

online by OCTOBER 6th. Combining orders with other schools is NOT allowed.

NYS will confirm your order. You must verify the information on a confirmation form, and make any

changes and order supplementary tests ASAP.

Testing manuals and scoring materials will be provided online only for the 2010-11 school year.

Pre-slugged answer grids will be printed at BOCES, sent to the Education Center and distributed to each

school through Assessment Coordinators. REMINDER: ALL INFORMATION FOR PRINTING ANSWER SHEETS

AND SCORE REPORTING COMES FROM THE E-SCHOOL SYSTEM. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR E-SCHOOL

INFORMATION IS ACCURATE AND COMPLETE AT ALL TIMES.

Test materials will be sent to your school by UPS “just in time” for administration. Shipment tracking will be

available through UPS online.

Test materials must be stored in a secure location with a safe or vault, and may not be opened until the

morning of the actual test.

Some other items to complete: (See also School Administrator’s Manual [SAM])

Ensure Student information in e-school is complete and current. E-school drives answer sheet printing and

accountability statistics.

Prepare testing rosters and prepare for accommodations for Students with Disabilities, Limited English

Proficiency, 504s, etc. before the exam.


http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/manuals/

http://portal.nysed.gov/portal/page/pref/PortalApp


Plan a training of the proctors and support staff. The entire school should be involved in the success of

our students for ALL tests. That includes security, custodians, cafeteria, etc.

Send a note home to parents to help them prepare their students with healthy breakfasts, adequate

sleep, and emotional support. Samples are available in the SAM.

After the test, keep tests and grids in a safe place before, during and after scoring.

Select appropriate teachers to attend scorers’ training & score exams.

Deliver grids and testing rosters to Education Center by deadline date.

Important Websites for Assessments

NYS Department of Education: Office of State Assessment at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/

NYS Department of Education, Office of State Assessment phone number: (518) 474-8220.

nySTART: NYS Testing and Accountability Reporting Tool at www.nystart.gov

Data Warehouse (AKA “Cognos”) has reports that administrators & teachers can access to assess individual

and school-wide data analyses. Log in at http://netreport.lhric.org/cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi

Elementary and Middle School State test general information and samples can be found at

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ei/eigen.html.

High School Regents exam information can be found at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsgen/.

Parent Guides for Grade 3-8 State Exams can be found at

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ei/parentguide/home.html

The College Board website provides information on pre-college exams as well as help in the entire college

admissions process. http://www.collegeboard.com/

Thank you for your commitment to help every child, every chance, every day. If you have questions or

suggestions for making the assessment process smoother, please submit your ideas to the Office of Curriculum &

Instruction at 665-5226.


http://www.nystart.gov/

http://netreport.lhric.org/cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ei/eigen.html

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsgen/


http://www.collegeboard.com/


September 2010 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Welcome back

to the 2010-

2011 School

Year!

Students:

Be prepared

every day!

1 Principals’ Retreat

2 Principals’ Retreat

3 Order NYSED tests

online at http://portal.nysed.gov/portal/page/pref/

PortalApp

4

5 Marking Period 1 Week 1/10

6

Happy Labor Day

7

Superintendent’s Conference Day

8

Schools Open

9

Rosh Hashanah

10

Rosh Hashanah

11 ACT Exam


13

Reading Street Baseline Week

K-6

14 15 16 17 18


20 K-10

Reading Assessment Window Open until

October 8th

21

22

23

24

25


27 HS PSE Week

28 HS PSE Week

29 HS PSE Week

30 HS PSE Week





October 2010 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

MVCSD has an agreement with The College Board to offer the Early Participation Program (EPP) for 8th, 10th, and 11th graders. Students will explore career choices, assess where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and sign up to receive information from post-secondary schools that can help students attain their education and career goals.

1 HS PSE Week

2


4

NYSAA Window open until

February 11, 2011

5 6

Deadline for ordering State Assessments (Grades 3-8)

7

Principals’ Professional Development

8 K-10

Reading Assessment Window Closes

9 SAT Exam


11

Columbus Day (1492)

Schools Closed

12 13 PSAT/NMSQT

Exam for ALL 10th and 11th Graders.

Paid for by MVCSD

14

Asst. Principals’ Professional Development

15

Student Progress Reports

16


18 19 20 21 22

23 ACT Exam


25 26 27 28 29 30


November 2010 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Oct 31 Marking Period 1 Week 9/10

1 7-12 Quarterly Week




Principals’ PD


6 SAT Exam


8 9 10 11 Veterans’ Day Schools Closed

12

End Quarter 1

13


15 16 17 18


19 20


22 Elementary School Parent Conferences

23 High School Parent

Conferences

24 Report Cards Issued

Early Dismissal Drill

(Students & Staff)

25

Happy Thanksgiving

26

Thanksgiving Recess

27


29

Elementary ELA

PSE Week

30

Elementary ELA

PSE Week Middle School

Parent Conferences


December 2010 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Now is a good time to ensure that your e-school data is current and correct. That includes Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient students. Good demographic and enrollment data makes the NYSED testing process much easier in the long run.

Enjoy the Holiday Season!

1

Elementary ELA

PSE Week

2

Elementary ELA

PSE Week

Principals’ P/D

3

Elementary ELA

PSE Week

4 SAT Exam


6

MS ELA PSE Week

Reading Street Interim Week

K-6

7

MS ELA PSE Week

8

MS ELA PSE Week

9

MS ELA PSE Week


10

MS ELA PSE Week

11 ACT Exam


13 14 15 16 17


18


20 21 22 23

Early Dismissal Drill

(Students & Staff)

24

Winter Recess

25

26

27

Winter Recess

28

Winter Recess

29

30

Winter Recess

31

Winter Recess

Jan 1


January 2011 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY


3

HS PSE WEEK Schools Reopen Welcome Back!

4

HS PSE WEEK

5

HS PSE WEEK

6

HS PSE WEEK Principals’

Professional Development

7

HS PSE WEEK

8


10 MS Quarterly Week

Reminder: NYSAA Window closes on

February 11, 2011






15


17 Martin Luther King’s

Birthday

18 HS Quarterly Week




22 SAT Exam


24 25 REGENTS EXAMS

26 REGENTS EXAMS

27 REGENTS EXAMS

28 REGENTS EXAMS

End Quarter 2

29


31 Feb 1 The English Regents exam will be a 1-day exam for the first time in January, 2011. A test “sampler” can be found at: http://www.nysedregents.org/ComprehensiveEnglish/english-sampler-2010.pdf The NYSAA (NYS Alternate Assessment) is a datafolio that assesses students with severe cognitive disabilities. NYSAA datafolios must be completed by February 11, 2011.

http://www.nysedregents.org/ComprehensiveEnglish/english-sampler-2010.pdf


February 2011 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Some tips for success in school: *Ensure that your child has a good night’s sleep; a well-rested brain functions well! * Ensure that your child eats a non-sugary breakfast; a well-fed brain has the energy to perform well! *Make sure your child has been drinking enough water! *Ensure that the early morning hours before school are stress free. *Make sure your child arrives in school on time & prepared to learn!

2 3


4 5


7 8 Elementary School Parent Conferences

9 Middle School

Parent Conferences

10 High School Parent

Conferences


11 NYS Alternate

Assessment (NYSAA) Window

closes.

12


14

15 16 17 18 19

20

21

Mid-Winter Recess

22

Mid-Winter Recess

23

Mid-Winter Recess

24

Mid-Winter Recess

25

Mid-Winter Recess

26


28

ELA 3-8 PSE Week

March 1

ELA 3-8 PSE Week

A “Parents Guide” to ELA & Math state assessments is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ei/parentguide/home.html Additional parent resources are available at: http://usny.nysed.gov/parents/


http://usny.nysed.gov/parents/


March 2011 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

The New York State Exams in ELA & Math for Grades 3-8 are scheduled for the beginning of May. The upcoming Spring Recess is a good time to have the students work on those areas in which they are weak, as determined by Practice State Exams (PSE) and classroom assessments.

2

ELA 3-8 PSE Week

3

ELA 3-8 PSE Week


4

ELA 3-8 PSE Week

5


7

MATH 3-8 PSE

Week

8

MATH 3-8 PSE

Week

9

MATH 3-8 PSE

Week

10

MATH 3-8 PSE

Week

Asst. Principals’ P/D

11

MATH 3-8 PSE

Week


12 SAT Exam

(no subject tests)


14 NYSAA Scoring

begins; ends May 5.

Reading Street Interim Week

K-6

15 16 17

18 19







26


28 29 30 31 Schools are assessed by the Participation and Performance of EVERY student. Parents: & staff: please make sure student records are up-to-date in e-school. THANK YOU for working together to meet the goals for our students, schools & district.


April 2011 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Elementary and Middle School State test general information and samples can be found at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ei/eigen.html. High School Regents exam information can be found at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsgen/.

1

2


4 5 6 7


8

End Quarter 3

9 ACT Exam


11 DRA Window Open

until 6/3

12 13 NYSESLAT

Speaking window open until May 24.

14


15

Report Cards Distributed

16

17

18

Spring Recess

19

Spring Recess

20

Spring Recess

21

Spring Recess

22

Spring Recess

23


25

Spring Recess

26

Science 4 & 8

PSE Week

27

Science 4 & 8

PSE Week

28

Science 4 & 8

PSE Week

29

Science 4 & 8

PSE Week

30

Some tips for High Stakes Assessments: *Ensure that your child has a good night’s sleep the night before the test; a well-rested brain functions well! * Ensure that your child eats a hearty breakfast; a well-fed brain has the energy to perform well! *Make sure your child has been drinking enough water; a hydrated brain is a working brain! *Ensure that the early morning hours before school are stress free. *Make sure your child arrives in school on time. Arriving to school late creates additional stress for children. Now is the time to show the world what you’ve learned!

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ei/eigen.html

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsgen/


May 2011 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY


2

AP Exams

3

AP Exams

4

ELA Exam Grades 3-8

AP Exams

5

ELA Exam Grades 3-8

Principals’ P/D

NYSAA to RIC AP Exams

6

ELA Exam Grades 3-8

AP Exams

7 SAT Exam


9

AP Exams

10

AP Exams

11

MATH Exam Grades 3-8

AP Exams

12


Asst. Principals’ P/D

AP Exams

13


AP Exams

14


16 NYSESLAT

Listening, Reading & Writing Window open until May 24.

17 School Budget Vote

18 19 ELA to RIC

Algebra Readiness

Exams, Gr. 7-8

20


21


23

HS PSE WEEK

DRA Window Open

until June 3.

24

HS PSE WEEK

NYSESLAT ends

25

HS PSE WEEK

26

HS PSE WEEK

MATH to RIC

27

HS PSE WEEK

28


30 Memorial Day Schools Closed

31 After each NYSED exam, there is an opportunity for teachers and administrators to give the state test-makers feedback about the exam. Please take a moment to tell the state education department what you thought about the exam and give them suggestions about how to improve the process. Teacher evaluations at: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/exameval/

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/exameval/


June 2011 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Requests for PSAT/NMSQT exams, information booklets and Fee Waivers are due by the end of this month. High Schools should ensure their orders are in before June 24th.

1

Science Performance Test

Grades 4, 8

2


Grades 4, 8 Principals’ P/D

NYSESLAT to RIC

3


Grades 4, 8

DRA Window Closes

4 SAT Exam


6 Science Written Test

Grades 4, 8 K-12 Finals Week

Reading Street Summative Week K-6

7 K-12 Finals Week

8 K-12 Finals Week

9 K-12 Finals Week

Asst. Principals’

Professional Development

10 K-12 Finals Week

11 ACT Exam


13 14 15 REGENTS EXAMS

16 REGENTS EXAMS Science tests to RIC

17 REGENTS EXAMS

18


20 REGENTS EXAMS

21 REGENTS EXAMS

Elementary Schools: Half Day

22 REGENTS EXAMS


23 REGENTS EXAMS


24 REGENTS EXAMS

End Quarter 4

Student Dismissal at 9:30 a.m.

25

26

27

28

29

30

2010-11 assessment calendar -...

Documents