Completing 2006 Testing
2006 California Report for Teachers
District Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) coordinators will receive teacher reports prepackaged by school during October. The school packages should be immediately forwarded to the schools to which they are addressed. Each school is receiving grade-level reports for English–language arts and grades two through seven mathematics. Schools are also receiving mathematics end-of-course test reports for grades eight through eleven. If the district had the test answer documents packaged by teacher or teacher names included in the district’s pre-ID file and the district superintendent did not submit a request to not receive the reports by teacher, each school package will also contain reports in sealed envelopes addressed to individual teachers. These envelopes are to be given only to the teachers to whom they are addressed. If teachers have moved and forwarding addresses are available for them, the test site coordinators are to forward the envelopes to the teachers. If teachers have moved and there are no forwarding addresses for them, the envelopes are to be shredded without opening them.
2006 Test Score Verification and Data Corrections
October 13 was the last day for parents to request hand scoring of multiple-choice tests or rescoring of the grades four and seven writing tests. The new deadlines to submit a Request to Correct 2006 STAR CST–CAT/6 Survey and CAPA Demographic Data Form to Educational Testing Service (ETS) are October 25 (by mail) and October 27 (by fax). The new deadline for districts who have submitted purchase orders to submit corrections is November 13. The Parent/Guardian Request for Verification of 2006 Test Score and the Request to Correct 2006 Demographic Data Correction forms are in the appendices of the 2006 Post-Test Guide that is available at STAR Test Web site (Outside Source).
Certification of 2006 Apportionment Information Reports
District superintendents and charter school administrators whose schools tested independent of the district will receive STAR 2006 Apportionment Information Reports in late October. All the information on the reports is taken directly from the district’s or charter’s Student Data File, which was compiled from answer documents submitted for scoring. The STAR district and test site coordinators are responsible for inventory control and returning all test materials at the completion of testing to the contractor within the required time period per California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Education, Division 1, Chapter 2, Subchapter 3.75. The report includes counts of students tested with the California Standards Tests (CSTs); California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey); California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA); Aprenda 3; and students exempted by parent or guardian request or for whom only demographic information was submitted.
To be eligible for apportionment payment for the STAR Program, school districts and charter schools that tested independent of their district must certify the accuracy of the apportionment information report for examinations administered during the calendar year. To ensure prompt payment, the superintendent or charter school administrator must sign the report and return it to the California Department of Education (CDE) by December 31, 2006. Certified reports received after December 31, 2006, must be accompanied by a waiver request as required by Education Code Section 33050. Action by the State Board of Education is required for any late reports.
The 2006 apportionment amounts are as follows:
- $2.52 for each student tested with the CST and CAT/6 Survey
- $5.00 for each student tested with the CAPA
- $2.44 for each student tested with the Aprenda 3
- $0.32 for each student with only demographic information (absent entire testing period, exempt by parent or guardian request, etc.)
If any school(s) within the district or charter school failed edit checks to verify the completeness of student demographic data, the CDE will withhold $1.25 from the district apportionment for each student for whom a demographic edit check was triggered, and the contractor must request missing data for the CST and CAT/6 Survey or CAPA to complete test scoring.
Planning for 2007 Testing
Reminders for 2007 Test Administration
- The World History CST may be taken by students in grades nine, ten, or eleven who will complete the world history course any time between the 2006 summer session and the end of the 2006-07 school year. For this year only, grade ten students who took a world history course in grade nine may take the world history end-of-course test. World history test booklets must be ordered separately for students. The test will no longer be printed in the grade-level test booklets. All grade eleven students are required to take the U.S. History CST that will be printed in the grade eleven test booklets.
- Grade seven students will either take the grade seven Math CST found in the CST test booklet or, if they will complete an algebra I course during the 2006-07 school year, the Algebra I CST. Algebra I test booklets must be ordered separately from the grade seven CST test booklet.
- All CAPA students, except CAPA Level I students, must take the CAPA level tests that are associated with their enrollment grade. If a CAPA student is enrolled in an ungraded program, the student must take the CAPA level test that is associated with the grade level he or she would be enrolled in on the basis of age. (See the table below.)
CAPA Levels |
Grade Ranges |
Age Ranges for Ungraded Programs |
|---|---|---|
I |
2–11 |
7–16 |
II |
2-3 |
7-8 |
III |
4-5 |
9-10 |
IV |
6–8 |
11–13 |
V |
9–11 |
14–16 |
No out-of-level testing is allowed for any of the tests used within the STAR Program.
- Grade two testing will continue in spring 2007. The change in the STAR Program law that eliminated grade two testing will not go into effect until the 2007-08 school year.
2007 Test Administration Setup
District STAR coordinators and testing coordinators for charter schools that will be testing independently of their authorizing agencies should have set up the test administration periods for spring 2007 by using the Test Administration Setup Module of the STAR Management System. If the superintendent or charter school director’s form to designate the 2006-07 STAR coordinator and the coordinator’s security agreement were submitted to the ETS STAR Technical Assistance Center, the coordinator should have received a user name and password to access the STAR Management System.
2006-07 Pre-ID File Layout Posted
The 2006-07 STAR Pre-ID File Layout is available on the Pre-ID Web page (DOC; 1.8MB; 16pp.). ETS will be holding pre-ID workshops during November and will present a pre-ID Webcast on November 8. Complete information and registration forms will be available at STAR Test Web site (Outside Source).
Testing Spanish-speaking English Learners
Spanish-speaking English learners enrolled in grades two through eleven who either receive instruction in Spanish or have been in school in the United States fewer than 12 months at the time of testing will be required to take the Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS) or the Aprenda 3 in addition to taking the CST and CAT/6 Survey (grades three and seven only). In spring 2007, the STS will be administered to these students in grades two, three, and four and the Aprenda 3 will be administered to these students in grades five through eleven.
Spanish-speaking English Learners (See criteria above.)
Tests to be take in 2007
- Grades 2, 3*, and 4 take CSTs and STS
- Grades 5, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 10, and 11 take CSTs and Aprenda 3
*Grades three and seven take the CAT/6 Survey also.
- STS in Grades Two, Three, and Four
The STS is ordered from ETS through the STAR Ordering module of the STAR Management System. Grades two, three, and four STS were field tested during September 2006 and will be operational during spring 2007. These tests are standards-based tests (not norm-referenced tests like the Aprenda 3) and must be administered during the 21-day window for the standards-based tests within the STAR Program. During the 21-day window, school districts are to administer CSTs, CAT/6 Survey, STS (grades two, three, and four), and CAPA.
- Aprenda 3 in Grades Five Through Eleven
The Aprenda 3, the current designated primary language test for grades five through eleven for the STAR Program, is ordered through the Harcourt Customer Support Center. The 2007 window for administering the Aprenda 3 is March 15 through May 14. It is recommended that district STAR coordinators schedule a five- to ten-day period to administer the Aprenda 3.
Testing Students in Nonpublic Nonsectarian Schools
District STAR coordinators are responsible for ensuring that all students enrolled in a nonpublic nonsectarian school (NPS) based on individualized education program (IEP) team recommendations who are in grades two through eleven, or between the ages of seven and sixteen if they are in ungraded programs, are tested and that an answer document is submitted to ETS. There are two major changes related to this requirement that affect the spring 2007 test administration:
- A change in California Education Code Section 56366(a)(8)(B) specifies that beginning with the 2006-07 school year testing cycle, each NPS shall determine its STAR testing period and notify the district of residence of a pupil enrolled in the school of its testing period. The district of residence shall order testing materials for its pupils that have been placed in the NPS. This means that district STAR coordinators need to obtain the testing period dates for every NPS in which the district has enrolled students and to set up test administration periods in the Test Administration Setup module of the STAR Management System that comply with the testing periods for these schools. District STAR coordinators continue to be responsible for ordering all materials, sending them to each NPS, receiving the materials back from the schools, and submitting the scorable documents under School and Grade Identification (SGID) sheets with a school code of 0000001.
- Each NPS has been assigned a unique school code. The school code for the NPS in which each student is enrolled must be entered on student answer documents. The county/district/school (CDS) codes for NPSs are available in the School Directory on the CDE Web site.
Statewide Student Identifiers
A Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) is required for all students. Local educational agencies must acquire new SSIDs for new students and maintain SSIDs for all existing students. School districts are responsible for obtaining SSIDs for all students in the district, including students assigned to a NPS and students receiving their core instruction at a district school under the supervision of the district. County offices of education and state special schools are responsible for obtaining and maintaining SSIDs for students who receive their core instruction under the supervision of a county office school or state special school. If there are any questions about obtaining an SSID for a student, please contact California School Information Services at 916-325-9260 or by e-mail at ssid@csis.k12.ca.us.
2007 Student Reports
Changes are being discussed for the 2007 STAR Student Reports. Please wait for an update on the report format before ordering envelopes for mailing these reports to parents.
Note
Please regularly check the Educational Testing Service (ETS) STAR Test Web site (Outside Source) for updates on test administration set up, ordering materials, pre-ID, and upcoming workshops and Webcasts.
