STAR Program Testing Dates – 2006-07 School Year
- Grade 4 and 7 California Standards Writing Tests
- Tuesday, March 6, 2007 (make up Wednesday, March 7, 2007) –
Schools, programs, and year-round schedules in session - Tuesday, May 1, 2007 (make up Wednesday, May 2, 2007) – Schools, programs, and year-round schedules not in session on March 6, 2007
- Tuesday, March 6, 2007 (make up Wednesday, March 7, 2007) –
- California Standards Tests (CSTs), California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey), California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), and Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS)
- 21-day window (comprised of the ten days before and ten days after the day on which 85 percent of all instructional days for the school, program, or year-round schedule are completed)
Golden State Seal Merit Diploma
District STAR coordinators are reminded that the state law changing eligibility for the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma to the CSTs requires districts to identify students who are eligible to receive the diploma; order diploma insignias; and affix the insignias to students’ high school diplomas. Information about the eligibility requirements and forms for districts to collect eligibility information and order insignias are available on the STAR Web page. Insignias may be ordered at anytime, but should be ordered at least six weeks prior to graduation to ensure that the district will receive the insignias in time to affix to diplomas. Districts should have received insignias for orders placed before the beginning of April.
Please share this information with principals, administrators, counselors, and credit clerks at schools awarding high school diplomas and staff in district curriculum offices and high school offices.
Aprenda 3 Update
In transitioning from the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second Edition (SABE/2) to the Aprenda, La prueba de logros en español, Tercera edición (Aprenda 3) some districts have received incomplete orders, experienced problems with shipments, or slow delivery of their non-contract materials (e.g. immersion program orders). The California Department of Education (CDE) is working with Harcourt Assessment, Inc. to address these issues.
District coordinators should have received two e-mails with information on scoring services for the non-contract orders and a Norms Period Form for Scoring. For districts that have sent in their tests for scoring, this form needs to be faxed back to Harcourt. If districts are still testing, the form should accompany their shipment back to Harcourt. For districts with multiple administrations, one form needs to be completed for each administration. For questions, or to request this form, please contact the Harcourt Customer Support Center at 800-763-2306.
Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS) Field Test
The purpose of the STS is to allow students to demonstrate achievement of the California content standards in reading-language arts and mathematics through primary language tests that are aligned to the California content standards.
Educational Testing Service (ETS) will conduct a census field test September 12 through 14, 2006, in grades three, four, and five to field-test the grades two, three, and four test items. All students who tested with Aprenda 3 at grades two, three, and four in the spring 2006 should take the STS field test this fall at grades three, four, and five.
The decision to field-test in the fall was made in order to ease the amount of testing time for English learners in the spring. To successfully field-test enough items and develop valid and reliable assessments, it is critical that the entire population of students eligible for Aprenda 3 take the STS field tests.
The first operational administration of the STS will occur in spring 2007 in grades two, three, and four. The STS will progressively replace Aprenda 3 as grade-level STS operational tests become available.
Please plan to participate in the development of these important new tests. For further information, please contact your STAR Technical Assistant Center representative.
California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)
The original California alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) was developed under Individual with Disabilities Education Act guidelines and was more of a test of functional skills than academic skills. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation requires that the alternate assessment be linked to grade-level standards.
An Assessment Review Panel (ARP) representing educators from both special education and general education was convened in December 2005 and again in February 2006. The ARP examined how the CSTs could be reduced in complexity and what alternate achievement standards could be developed to promote access to the general curriculum, yet reflect the highest achievement standards possible for the population of students eligible to take the CAPA.
The CAPA ARP reviewed the CST blueprints at grades two through eleven to determine which standards could be made accessible to CAPA students, and it developed alternate achievement standards linked to the content standards assessed by the CSTs. New CAPA blueprints for English-language arts (ELA), math, and science were adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) at its March 2006 meeting. Currently the revised blueprints are available on the SBE Web page and are posted on the STAR Resources Web page.
New CAPA items will be developed and are expected to be field tested in 2007 and operational in 2008. The current CAPA will continue to be used until the new test is operational.
California Modified Assessment
The California Modified Assessment (CMA) ARP has been reviewing the CST blueprints to determine which standards could be made accessible to students with disabilities and has been writing modified achievement standards linked to the content standards. Blueprints for the CMA are being developed for mathematics and ELA in grades two through five and for science in grades five and eight. Next year, blueprints will be developed for the upper grades.
The United States Department of Education (ED) has provided interim flexibility for determining Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for states that submitted information and a timeline for activities to improve their assessments for the full range of students with disabilities, including alternate assessments based on alternate standards and those based on modified achievement standards.
The ED allowed states to develop modified assessments for up to two percent of students who are unable to demonstrate proficiency on the states’ academic content standards.
