Assessment/Accountability MCAS
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

Important Update Regarding the MCAS Retest Program and Instructions for Ordering Materials for the November 2007 Retest

- Deadline to Update Shipping Information: September 14
- Deadline to Order Test Materials: September 21

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information about the November 2007 MCAS retest, including the following:

• Test administration schedule
• Participation guidelines
• Tasks to complete in preparation for testing
• Test accommodations for adult test-takers
• Regional test sites for adult test-takers
• Reporting of results

Additional information about the test administration, including the test administration manuals, will be posted later this fall to the Department's Web site at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/retest.html.

Test Administration Schedule

As you know, the English Language Arts retest will be held November 6-8, and the Mathematics retest will be held November 14 and 15. If your school will be closed on November 6 because it will serve as a polling location, the Department approves the administration of the ELA Composition retest on November 9.

Participation Guidelines

All students educated at public expense, including students enrolled in educational collaboratives and approved and unapproved private special education schools within and outside Massachusetts, who are seeking to obtain a Massachusetts diploma are required to meet the Competency Determination (CD) standard. Therefore, superintendents must ensure that test materials are ordered by schools and programs inside and outside the district that serve their students.

Students repeating grade 10 who previously participated in the grade 10 MCAS tests and students in grades 11 and 12 who have not yet met the CD requirements may participate. Also eligible to participate are adults who have exited high school and are attempting to earn a CD. New for 2007, adult test-takers may participate in testing at their previous high school or at regional test sites. Detailed participation guidelines are posted on the Department's Web site at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/participation/highschool.html.

I recommend that you notify eligible students and adults in writing of their right to participate. As you know, the Massachusetts Education Reform Law states that students who do not meet the CD requirements for graduation have the right to participate in retest administrations. As a reminder, districts are required to provide annual written notice to former students from the previous two years who have not yet earned their CD to inform them of academic support options, including the option to take the retest. Additional information is posted at www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.asp?id=3051.

A letter describing the retest opportunity and a sample non-participation form in English and translations are posted at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/retest.html for principals and other staff to use when meeting with parents/guardians of students who have not yet met their CD requirements. If a student does not wish to participate in the retest opportunity, and the parent/guardian agrees, schools are encouraged to obtain their signatures on this form to document that the opportunity to take the retest was offered and refused.

When contacting adults who have not yet earned their CD, I encourage you to provide them with the following information.

• The schedule for the November retest and for other opportunities to participate in testing throughout the school year
• Procedures for registering to take the retest at your school or at a regional test site (see below)
  Logistical information about testing at regional sites will be provided with registration confirmation.
• Options for test preparation and alternate pathways for earning a high school diploma (More information is posted at www.doe.mass.edu/as/pathways/.)
• The name of a contact person at your high school who can answer questions about the retest and local requirements for earning a diploma
• A letter for employers that will be provided upon request to verify that an adult test-taker was absent from work because they participated in the MCAS retest
  (See sample posted at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/retest.html.)

Principals are also encouraged to follow up with pre-registered adults throughout the fall to support their participation.

Tasks to Complete in Preparation for Testing

To prepare for the retest administration, principals need to complete the following tasks (refer to the attached instructions):
Update shipping information by September 14 (step 1).
Complete the enrollment verification form for ordering test materials by September 21, even if no materials are required (step 2).

Test Accommodations for Adult Test-Takers

New for 2007, in order for an adult with a disability to participate in the retest with test accommodations, prior to testing the individual must produce one of the following pieces of documentation, regardless of where the adult will participate in testing:

• a letter from a diagnostician qualified in the area of the disability (e.g., a speech pathologist for an individual with a speech and/or language disability) describing the nature of the individual's disability
  OR
• an approved IEP from any year from 2003 through 2007
  OR
• an approved Section 504 plan for accommodations from any year from 2003 through 2007

Please refer to the attached Test Accommodations document for the following information:

• accommodations allowed for all adult test-takers
• accommodations that are allowed ONLY with prior approval from the Department
• accommodations not allowed for adult test-takers

Also attached is a form    for high schools to request prior approval for adults to use certain accommodations.

Regional Test Sites for Adult Test-Takers

Facilities in the following cities will serve as regional retest sites for adults who will not participate in the November 2007 retest at the high school they most recently attended:

• Boston
• Lowell
• New Bedford
• Springfield
• Worcester

Adults must register to participate in the retest at regional test sites by submitting the attached registration form    by 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 5, according to the instructions on the attachment. The Department maintains the right to refuse admission to anyone who has not pre-registered.

Registration confirmation will be provided to adults in mid-October. This confirmation will include driving directions, a detailed test administration schedule, and a list of materials that adults must bring with them to testing.

I urge you to post the attached flyer    in your school and community to provide adults with information about the November retest opportunity at regional test sites.

Experienced MCAS test administrators are encouraged to apply to serve as test administrators at regional test sites for the November retest by submitting applications by 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 5. Applications and instructions will be provided under separate cover.

Reporting of Results

Electronic results will be posted for districts, schools, and regional test sites in mid-January. Hard-copy Parent/Guardian Reports will be shipped at the beginning of February to districts and regional test sites. For adults participating in the retest at regional test sites, electronic results will be reported to the last district the adult attended as a student based on SIMS so that districts may use this information in issuing diplomas. Hard-copy Parent/Guardian Reports will be shipped to regional test sites, which will then mail them to test-takers.

Please contact the MCAS Service Center at 800-737-5103 if you have any questions about ordering test materials. As always, please direct questions about policy and guidelines for participation to the Student Assessment Services Unit at 781-338-3625. Questions about the Directory Administration program should be directed to the Data Collection Unit at 781-338-DATA (3282).

Thank you for your assistance.

Attachments

	Instructions for Completing Tasks in Preparation for the November 2007 MCAS Retest
	Test Accommodations for Adults with Disabilities Taking the November 2007 MCAS Retest
	Request for Approval for Test Accommodations for Adults Testing at High Schools
	Registration Form for Adults Participating at Regional Test Sites
	Sample Flyer