[Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Logo] Principal's Administration Manual Spring 2008 Massachusetts Department of Education [Massachusetts Department of Education Star Logo] This document was prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Education Jeffrey Nellhaus Acting Commissioner of Education The Massachusetts Department of Education, an affirmative action employer, is committed to ensuring that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Inquiries regarding the Department's compliance with Title IX and other civil rights laws may be directed to the Human Resources Director, 350 Main St., Malden, MA 02148 781-338-6105. 2008 Massachusetts Department of Education Permission is hereby granted to copy for non-commercial educational purposes any or all parts of this document. Please credit the "Massachusetts Department of Education." Massachusetts Department of Education 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5023 Phone 781-338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 800-439-2370 www.doe.mass.edu [Massachusetts State Seal] Important Contact Information MCAS Test Administration Information: MCAS Service Center Hours of Operation Monday-Friday: 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Telephone: 800-737-5103 Web: www.mcasservicecenter.com E-mail: mcas@measuredprogress.org Fax: 877-325-4421 MCAS Policy Information: Massachusetts Department of Education Student Assessment Services Unit Web: www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/2008/admin E-mail: mcas@doe.mass.edu Telephone: 781-338-3625 Fax: 781-338-3630 To Access Services Available on the MCAS Service Center Web Site: 1. Go to www.mcasservicecenter.com. 2. Click on "MCAS" and then follow the instructions below (password provided in the Commissioner's January 2, 2008, memorandum is required to access services). * To order additional materials, click on "Order Additional Materials." * To complete the PCPA, click on "Principal Certification." * To arrange UPS pickup of test materials, click on "UPS Pickup Request." *To use the Typed Response Upload System, click on "Upload Typed Responses." MCAS Calendar of Events Spring 2008 Date Event March 10 Deadline for schools to receive ELA Composition and Reading Comprehension test materials March 20 Deadline for schools to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA, to report packing discrepancies, and to order additional materials for ELA tests March 24-April 4 Administration period for grades 3, 5, 6, and 8 ELA Reading Comprehension tests March 25 Administration date for grades 4, 7, and 10 ELA Composition tests March 26-April 4 Administration period for grades 4 and 7 ELA Reading Comprehension tests March 26 Administration date for grade 10 ELA Reading Comprehension test sessions 1 and 2 March 27 Administration date for grade 10 ELA Reading Comprehension test session 3 March 31 Deadline for schools to order additional materials for ELA Composition make-up test April 2 Administration date for grades 4, 7, and 10 ELA Composition make-up tests April 7 Deadline for principals to complete the PCPA and schedule UPS pickup of March-April test materials April 8 Deadline for UPS pickup of March-April test materials April 11 Deadline for schools to order additional MCAS-Alt materials April 18 Deadline for submitting MCAS Alternate Assessment student portfolios for students in grade 12 seeking a Competency Determination April 28 Deadline for schools to receive test materials for grades 3-8 Mathematics, Science and Technology/Engineering, and History and Social Science May 7 Deadline for high schools to receive test materials for Mathematics and U.S. History May 8 Deadline for schools to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA, to report packing discrepancies, and to order additional materials for grades 3-8 tests May 9 Deadline for submitting MCAS Alternate Assessment student portfolios for students in grades 3-11 May 12-May 29 Administration period for the grades 3-8 Mathematics tests May 13-May 29 Administration period for the grades 5 and 8 Science and Technology/Engineering tests May 14-May 29 Administration period for the grades 5 and 7 History and Social Science tests May 16 Deadline for schools to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA, to report packing discrepancies, and to order additional materials for grade 10 Mathematics and U.S. History May 20 Deadline for high schools to receive materials for Science and Technology/ Engineering May 21 Administration date for grade 10 Mathematics test session 1 May 22 Administration date for grade 10 Mathematics test session 2 May 23-May 29 Administration period for U.S. History test May 29 Deadline for principals to complete the PCPA and schedule UPS pickup for grades 3-8, grade 10 Mathematics and U.S. History tests May 30 Deadline for UPS pickup of grades 3-8, grade 10 Mathematics, and U.S. History test materials Deadline for schools to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA, to report any packing discrepancies, and to order additional materials for high school science tests June 3 Administration date for high school Science and Technology/Engineering tests session 1 June 4 Administration date for high school Science and Technology/Engineering tests session 2 June 6 Deadline for principals to complete the PCPA and schedule UPS pickup for high school science tests June 9 Deadline for UPS pickup of high school science test materials For dates related to the grade 10 March retest and the spring MEPA administration, please visit www.doe.mass.edu/mcas. UPDATES FOR THE SPRING 2008 TEST ADMINISTRATION Topic General Information Reference Page(s) Participation * Participation requirements for the spring 2008 high school 18-19 Science and Technology/Engineering tests have been updated. * Students who require an alternate assessment and students who 19-20 require Braille tests, large-print tests, or Kurzweil CD or similar electronic text reader are required to participate in the grades 5 and 7 History and Social Science tests and the high school U.S. History test. Accounting for Students * Districts' SIMS submissions will be used to determine student 14, 31 enrollment. Principals will not report on the PCPA the number of students enrolled. Test Administration Forms and Materials * There are separate test booklets and answer booklets for each high school Science and Technology/Engineering test. Booklets are color-coded by subject (e.g., the Biology test booklets and answer booklets are both light blue, the Chemistry test booklets and answer booklets are both pale pink, etc.). * The Principal's Certification of Proper Test Administration 37, 40-41, (PCPA) has been modified (e.g., before testing, schools will 51, 55 report any discrepancies between materials shipped and received but will not enter counts of all materials received). * A sample PCPA and a sample UPS Return Service label are 114, 119 included in Appendix F. * The inside and outside back covers of the answer booklet have 117-118 been updated. A sample is included in Appendix F. * Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are posted on the Department's Web site at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/2008/admin. They are no longer included in this manual. Returning Test Materials * Answer booklets are no longer submitted for every student enrolled. Important changes include the following: * Do not submit an answer booklet for students who are absent 14, 42, without medical documentation for every test session in the 56-58 answer booklet. * Do not submit a grade 10 ELA and/or Mathematics answer booklet 43, 57 for students who are repeating grade 10 and who did not participate in the grade 10 ELA or Mathematics test because they participated in spring 2007. Procedures for Students with Disabilities * A student with a disability who is not served by an IEP or 73 504 plan may be provided with one or more accommodations on MCAS tests, provided the accommodation is documented in writing by the principal, noted in the student's file, and recorded on the student's answer booklet. In addition, an attempt must be made to notify the student's parents that an accommodation is being given. Following testing, a 504 plan or IEP must be developed, as appropriate. Providing Student Information * An LEP student is considered to be in the first year of 68 enrollment if he or she enrolled in a U.S. school after the March 1, 2007, SIMS submission. Table of Contents MCAS Calendar of Events, Spring 2008 Updates for the Spring 2008 MCAS Test Administration Part I MCAS Test Security Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 A. Responsibilities of Principals to Ensure a Secure Testing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 B. Responsibilities of Principals to Account for All Secure Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 C. Responsibilities of Test Administrators to Ensure the Confidentiality of Test Booklets, Answer Booklets, Test Questions, and Student Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 D. Responsibilities of Test Administrators When Supervising Test Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 E. Responsibilities of Test Administrators When Providing Test Accommodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 F. Examples of Testing Irregularities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 G. Investigations into Testing Irregularities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 H. Establishing and Following a Document Tracking System . . . . . . . . . . . 9 I. Approved and Unapproved Resource Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Part II Student Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 A. General Participation Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 1. Students Not Tested on Standard Tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2. LEP Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3. Students with Disabilities Participating in the MCAS Alternate Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 B. Participation Requirements for Specific Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1. High School Competency Determination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2. Grade 10 ELA and Mathematics Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3. High School Science and Technology/Engineering Tests . . . . . . . . 18 4. History and Social Science Tests (Grades 5 and 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5. High School U.S. History Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 C. Participation Requirements for Students Educated in Alternate Settings . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 1. Home Tutoring and Other Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2. 45-Day Placements and DYS . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Part III MCAS Test Administration Policies and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 A. Coordinating Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 B. Ordering and Returning Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 C. Scheduling Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 1. Policy on Testing Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2. Concurrent Administration Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 3. Test Session Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4. Administration Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 5. Make-Up Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6. Test Administration Interruptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 7. Severe Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 8. Practice Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 9. Student Questionnaires (Grades 8 and 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 D. Designating Qualified Test Administrators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 E. Meeting with Test Administrators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 F. Meeting with Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 G. Providing Accurate Student Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 H. Accounting for Secure Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Part IV The March-April Test Administrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 A. March-April Test Administration Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 B. Principal's Checklist of Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 C. Tasks to Complete BEFORE Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 D. Tasks to Complete DURING Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 E. Tasks to Complete AFTER the Final Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . 42 F. Pack the Scorable March-April Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 G. Pack the Nonscorable March-April Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 H. Schedule and Confirm UPS Pickup of All March-April Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Part V The May-June Test Administrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 A. May-June Test Administration Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 B. Principal's Checklist of Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 C. Tasks to Complete BEFORE Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 D. Tasks to Complete DURING Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 E. Tasks to Complete AFTER the Final Test Administration . . . . . . . . . . . 56 F. Pack the Scorable May-June Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 G. Pack the Nonscorable May-June Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 H. Schedule and Confirm UPS Pickup of All May-June Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Appendix A Procedures for Limited English Proficient Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 1. Overview of Testing Requirements for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 2. Participation of LEP Students in MCAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 3. Recording on the Answer Booklet the Status of LEP Students in Their First Year of Enrollment in U.S. Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Appendix B Procedures for Students with Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 1. Participation of Students with Disabilities in MCAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 2. MCAS Test Accommodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 3. Submitting Answer Booklets or MCAS-Alt Student Identification Forms for Students with Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Appendix C Procedures for Submitting Typed Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 Appendix D Procedures for Submitting Void Answer Booklets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Appendix E Procedures for Providing Student Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 1. Providing Information on the Answer Booklet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 2. Providing Information through SIMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 3. Providing Information on the MCAS-Alt Student Identification Form (SIF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Appendix F Sample Administration Forms and Test Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 1. Test Materials Internal Tracking Form a. Sample Blank Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 b. Sample Completed Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 2. MCAS-Alt Student Identification Form (SIF) Front Cover . . . . . . . . . 112 3. Materials Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113 4. Principal's Certification of Proper Test Administration (PCPA) . . . . . 114 5. Answer Booklet Front Cover a. When Student ID Label Is Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 b. When Student ID Label Is NOT Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 6. Answer Booklet Inside Back Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 7. Answer Booklet Outside Back Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 8. UPS Return Service (RS) Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Part I MCAS Test Security Requirements Principals are responsible for ensuring that all test administrators comply with the requirements and instructions contained in the Test Administrator's Manuals. In addition, other administrators, educators, and staff within the school are responsible for complying with the same requirements. Schools and school staff who violate the test security requirements are subject to the sanctions and penalties outlined in this section, including employment consequences, delays in reporting of test results, the invalidation of test results, the removal of school personnel from future MCAS administrations, and possible license consequences for licensed educators. Each person directly involved in MCAS test administrations is directly responsible for immediately reporting any violation or suspected violation of test security to the school principal, the district superintendent, or the Department of Education. The purpose of the MCAS Test Security Requirements is to protect the validity of Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results. For the purposes of this section and this manual, "secure" test materials refers to a test question, student response, or test that has not been made available to the public by the Department. A . Responsibilities of Principals to Ensure a Secure Testing Environment 1. Principals are responsible for identifying and training school personnel in policies and procedures described throughout this manual and the Test Administrator's Manuals to conduct a proper MCAS test administration. Principals are responsible for ensuring that all test administrators, regardless of any past experience conducting similar testing sessions, receive training prior to each administration during which they will administer any MCAS test. 2. Principals are responsible for ensuring that test administrators who provide test accommodations to students with disabilities are properly trained in the implementation of those accommodations and follow the guidelines in Requirements for the Participation of Students with Disabilities in MCAS. 3. Principals are responsible for providing a copy of the appropriate Test Administrator's Manual to every test administrator. All test administrators must read and study the Test Administrator's Manual prior to each test administration. 4. Principals are responsible for designating the school personnel, including test administrators, who are authorized to have access to secure test materials. Access to test materials refers to handling those materials, but does not include reviewing tests or individual questions. 5. Principals are responsible for developing local policies and procedures to ensure maximum test security at all times in accordance with the requirements of this manual and the Test Administrator's Manuals. 6. Principals are responsible for ensuring that tests are scheduled to avoid conflicts with lunch; however, if a lunch break is required during testing, lunch shall be brought to the students in the testing area. If this is not feasible, test materials must be secured and students must be escorted to the lunchroom, told not to discuss the test, sufficiently monitored to prevent discussion of test questions during the entire lunch period, and escorted back to the testing environment. 7. Principals are responsible for ensuring that visitors to the classroom or testing environment (including other school personnel not designated as test administrators, parents, researchers, and reporters) are prohibited at all times during testing except under extreme circumstances (e.g., emergency conditions). B. Responsibilities of Principals to Account for All Secure Test Materials 1. Principals are responsible for storing all MCAS test materials in a locked storage area at all times when these materials are not in use. Principals must restrict access to this storage area. 2. Principals are responsible for keeping written records of all secure test materials to reflect distribution from and return to the locked storage area. Records should be kept on file for one year. 3. Principals are responsible for ensuring that test administrators count, reconcile, and return to the locked storage area all secure test materials, including test and answer booklets (used and unused), at the end of each day of testing. 4. Principals are responsible for ensuring that no school personnel remove any secure test materials from school premises at any time. The only exception is for principals who receive prior written approval from the Department to test a student in an alternate setting. 5. Principals are responsible for ensuring that no school personnel share any test or answer booklets with other schools and/or test sites, even if another test site is located within the same physical building. 6. Principals are responsible for ensuring that no test administrator or other school personnel leave any test materials unattended at any time when these materials are not stored in the locked storage area. 7. Principals are responsible for ensuring that all secure test materials are returned to the testing contractor according to the prescribed deadlines in this Principal's Administration Manual. C . Responsibilities of Test Administrators to Ensure the Confidentiality of Test Booklets, Answer Booklets, Test Questions, and Student Responses 1. All test questions and student responses to those questions are confidential and must be kept secure at all times. Prior to the reporting of student results, the Department releases to the public those questions on which student results are based. School personnel may use those released items for instructional or professional development purposes. 2. No test administrator or other school personnel may view the contents of test or answer booklets before, during, or after a test administration (except when necessary for specified accommodations) unless specifically directed to do so by the instructions in the Test Administrator's Manual. 3. No test administrator or other school personnel may reveal the secure contents of test booklets or answer verbally or nonverbally any question that relates to the secure content of a test before, during, or after a test administration unless specifically authorized to do so by the instructions in the Test Administrator's Manual. 4. No test administrator or other school personnel may provide students access to secure test items prior to testing. 5. No test administrator or other school personnel may duplicate any portion of test or answer booklets, including but not limited to audiotaping, videotaping, photographing, photocopying, and copying by hand. The only exceptions are for test administrators who must transcribe student responses into answer booklets for students with disabilities receiving certain accommodations or for students who did some or all of their work in damaged, defective, or void booklets. 6. No test administrator or other school personnel may retain, discard, recycle, remove, or destroy test materials of any kind without the prior approval of the Department or unless instructed to do so according to the instructions in this Principal's Administration Manual. 7. If a test booklet or answer booklet becomes contaminated, the principal or other school personnel must contact the Department of Education immediately. The Department will provide a list of information that the school must record (including the student's name, grade level and content area, and the booklet's serial number) before the booklet can be properly destroyed at the school site. 8. No test administrator or other school personnel may review student responses during or after a test administration. 9. No test administrator or other school personnel shall disclose any portion of secure test materials or discuss the contents of secure questions with students (except during testing when necessary for specified accommodations), parents, teachers, other educators, or community members before, during, or after testing. D. Responsibilities of Test Administrators When Supervising Test Sessions 1. Test administrators are responsible for administering all tests according to the directions in the Test Administrator's Manuals and any subsequent updates provided to principals by the Department. 2. Test administrators are responsible for removing or covering any classroom displays that provide information related to the content being assessed or to test- taking strategies. Examples include but are not limited to alphabet charts, posters, maps, charts, graphic organizers, word lists, number lines, multiplication tables, definitions, writing formulas, and mathematical formulas/theorems. 3. Test administrators are responsible for focusing their full attention on the testing environment at all times during the test administration. Test administrators should continually monitor the testing process by moving unobtrusively about the room. 4. No test administrator may leave students unsupervised during testing. 5. No test administrator or other school personnel may permit the use of any supplemental or reference sheet that is not specifically allowed by the Department. 6. Test administrators are responsible for ensuring that students provide answers that are strictly their own; do not participate in any form of cheating; do not consult notes, textbooks, or other teaching materials; do not share test questions with other students; and do not consult other students, staff, or anyone else accessible to them during the test administration. 7. No test administrator or other school personnel may provide a student with the answer to any unreleased test question or make any suggestion as to how to respond to a test question at any time, whether before, during, or after a test administration. This prohibition includes provisions of clues, hints, and/or actual answers in any written, printed, verbal, and/or nonverbal form (including chalkboards, charts, and bulletin boards). 8. No test administrator or other school personnel may coach a student during testing or alter or interfere with a student's responses in any way. Examples of coaching include, but are not limited to, the following: providing answers to a student; changing a student's responses; providing synonyms for unknown words; influencing a student's responses by offering hints, clues, cues, facial expressions, nods, voice inflections; or providing any other manner of assistance that could impact a student's answers. Suggesting to a student that he/she write more on an open-response question or reconsider or review a question constitutes coaching. 9. No test administrator or other school personnel may make answer keys available to students. 10. A student's responses to test questions must represent the student's own independent and unaided thinking and must not be read, reviewed, or changed during testing by anyone other than the student being tested. A student's responses may not be reviewed or changed by anyone after testing. A student may not be asked or permitted to go back to any test session after his or her test and answer booklets have been collected. 11. No test administrator or other school personnel may change a student's answers to test questions whether by providing hints or clues during a test administration, correcting wrong answers during a test administration, or erasing or correcting answers or responses recorded/selected by the student. 12. No test administrator or other school personnel may attempt to score unreleased test questions formally or informally for any purpose. 13. No test administrator or other school personnel may participate in, direct, aid, counsel, assist in, encourage, or fail to report any of the acts prohibited in this section. E. Responsibilities of Test Administrators When Providing Test Accommodations 1. Test administrators must follow proper procedures for providing testing accommodations as prescribed in Appendix B of the Principal's Administration Manual and in Requirements for the Participation of Students with Disabilities in MCAS . 2. Test administrators who provide accommodations to students may not alter, explain, simplify, paraphrase, or eliminate any test question, reading passage, writing prompt, or multiple-choice answer option. 3. Test administrators who provide accommodations to students may not provide verbal or other clues or suggestions that hint at or give away the correct response to the students. 4. Test administrators are prohibited from providing students with accommodations that were not approved by the student's IEP or 504 team or that are not listed as approved in Appendix B. Test administrators must provide required accommodations as listed in IEPs and 504 plans. F. Examples of Testing Irregularities Testing irregularities are incidents that represent a deviation from prescribed testing procedures. Testing irregularities may include student impropriety, test violations, educator misconduct, or the mishandling of secure test materials. The following lists are not exhaustive, but provide examples of irregularities, and are offered as guidance to help school personnel ensure that appropriate testing procedures are followed. 1. Student Impropriety * A student communicates or collaborates in any manner with another student. This includes written, electronic, verbal, or gestured forms of communication. * A student copies another student's answers, or requests or accepts any help from another person. * A student uses any material or equipment (such as notes, a textbook, or other reference material) that is not expressly permitted by the Test Administrator's Manual. * A student answers a test question for another student, or provides assistance to another student before or while that student is taking the test. * A student returns to a previously administered session of a test after that test session was completed. * A student uses an unauthorized calculator or a communication or information storage device (e.g., pager, cell phone, PDA). * A student engages in any practice to artificially affect his or her score or the score of another student. 2 . Test Violations * A principal does not train all test administrators in proper MCAS procedures as identified in this Principal's Administration Manual and in Test Administrator's Manuals. * A test administrator leaves a room unsupervised when secure materials and students are present. * Students or secure materials are left unsupervised during a lunch break, a break taken in the testing room, or a restroom break. * A student is allowed to use a dictionary (except during the ELA Composition test sessions) or a calculator during the noncalculator sessions of the Mathematics tests. * A student is permitted to use a cell phone for any purpose during a test administration. * A student is allowed to leave the test area with secure materials. * A test administrator neglects to remove classroom displays related to the content area being tested prior to testing. * A test administrator or other school personnel does not return secure test materials to the locked storage area at the end of each testing day. * A test administrator does not issue the correct materials (e.g., reference sheets, dictionaries, calculators), or allows students to use unauthorized materials. * Students are administered a test on the wrong day. * A test administrator fails to read test administration scripts verbatim as required by the Test Administrator's Manual. * A student is tested with an incorrect assessment. For example: -A grade 6 student is administered a grade 3 MCAS test. -A student who should participate in the MCAS Alternate Assessment is administered the standard MCAS test with or without accommodations. * A test administrator who scribes or transcribes a student's response corrects student errors and/or fails to scribe or transcribe the response verbatim without editing. * A test administrator fails to provide a student with required accommodation(s) as listed in his or her IEP and 504 plan. * A test administrator provides unapproved accommodations to students. 3 . Educator Misconduct * A test administrator or other school personnel views a test before, during, or after testing (unless he or she is specifically authorized to do so by the instructions in the Test Administrator's Manual). * A test administrator or other school personnel discusses secure test content or student responses. * A test administrator or other school personnel makes copies of secure materials without written permission from the Department. * A test administrator or other school personnel directly or indirectly assists students with responses to test questions. * A test administrator or other school personnel tampers with or alters student responses. * A test administrator removes secure materials from the school. 4. Mishandling of Secure Test Materials * A test administrator or other school personnel loses or misplaces completed answer booklet(s). * A test administrator or other school personnel loses or does not return all secure materials. * An unauthorized individual (e.g., a student) transports secure test materials. * A principal returns secure test materials to the contractor after the deadline. G. Investigations into Testing Irregularities To report testing irregularities, principals or superintendents must contact the Department of Education at 781-338-3625. In cases where it is alleged that an MCAS administration was compromised, the Commissioner will write to the superintendent, ask that he or she conduct a local fact- finding investigation into the alleged irregularity, and require that he or she submit a written report to the Department based on the results of the investigation within an established timeline. After receiving the superintendent's written investigative report, the Commissioner may request that the superintendent provide additional information or documentation prior to making a final determination on the matter and notifying the superintendent of this determination. All such correspondence is subject to disclosure under Massachusetts public records law. If misconduct by a licensed educator is found, as the Massachusetts educator licensing authority, the Commissioner may open a further investigation into possible license consequences. Penalties for testing irregularities and/or misconduct could include the following: * Delay in reporting of district, school, and/or student results * Invalidation of district, school, and/or student results * Removal of school personnel from any future role in MCAS test administrations * Possible employment and/or license consequences for licensed educators On occasion, the Department receives allegations of testing irregularities from individuals who do not wish to identify themselves. If the individual provides sufficient information related to the matter-including a description of the alleged incident, the name of the school involved, the name of the individual(s) committing the inappropriate practices, and the grade level(s) and specific test(s) affected-the Department will expect school district personnel to cooperate and to investigate the allegations to determine whether they can be supported. H. Establishing and Following a Document Tracking System Principals must establish and follow document tracking procedures so that they can determine at all times the location of materials not in secure storage. Document tracking procedures must also make it possible for principals to trace the movement of materials from the time they were removed from secure storage until they are returned to secure storage. Principals may use the Test Materials Internal Tracking Form in Appendix F as is, or create their own tracking document. Immediately investigate any irregularity in the use of tracking documents or in the information recorded on them. Call the Department immediately at 781-338-3625 if any situation occurs that could compromise test security. I. Approved and Unapproved Resource Materials During testing, students are permitted to use only those resource materials and tools identified as approved in this manual. Approved Resource Materials The following are approved for student use: * #2 pencils* * pens and highlighters in grades 4-10 test booklets only* * printed copies of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries for current and former limited English proficient (LEP) students only (see Appendix A for more information) * printed copies of English-language dictionaries for ELA Composition only * calculators for designated test sessions only (see below for further information) * No writing instruments other than #2 pencils may be used in answer booklets and grade 3 test & answer booklets. Calculators Each student must have sole access to at least a four-function calculator with a square- root key during the following test sessions: * Grade 7 Mathematics session 2 only * Grade 8 Mathematics session 2 only * Grade 10 Mathematics session 2 only * High School Chemistry * High School Introductory Physics * High School Technology/Engineering Students may provide their own calculators. Schools must provide at least a four- function calculator with a square-root key for each student who does not provide his or her own calculator. More sophisticated calculators are allowed, but are not required. The high school Biology test was designed to be taken without the aid of a calculator. Students may have calculators with them for the Biology test, but schools are not required to provide calculators. Unapproved Resource Materials Unapproved materials include, but are not limited to, the following: * extra paper (e.g., blank sheets, handwritten notes) * notebooks * textbooks * cell phones * electronic devices (e.g., music players, PDAs, pocket translators) * computers * editing devices (e.g., spelling or grammar checkers) * graphic organizers * thesauruses * encyclopedias * books (for the grade 10 ELA Composition only) NOTE: Students with disabilities may be allowed, under certain circumstances, to use as test accommodations certain tools and materials that are otherwise prohibited. See Appendix B for details. Part II Student Participation A. General Participation Requirements In spring 2008, students educated with Massachusetts public funds are required by state and federal laws to participate in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests according to the tables on pages 36 and 50. The 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Law mandates that all students in the tested grades who are educated with Massachusetts public funds participate in MCAS, including the following groups of students: * students enrolled in public schools * students enrolled in charter schools * students enrolled in educational collaboratives * students enrolled in private schools receiving special education that is publicly funded by the Commonwealth, including approved and unapproved private special education schools within and outside Massachusetts * students enrolled in institutional settings receiving educational services * students in mobile military families * students in the custody of either the Department of Social Services or the Department of Youth Services (DYS) (see pages 20-21) * students with disabilities, including students with temporary disabilities such as broken arms (see Appendix B for detailed participation requirements) * students with limited English proficiency (LEP) (see exception in section 2 on the next page) Students must participate in MCAS tests only for the grade in which they are enrolled and reported in SIMS (with the exception of grades 11 and 12 students participating in the grade 10 ELA and Mathematics tests). Ensuring All Students Are Tested It is the responsibility of the principal to ensure that all enrolled students participate in testing as mandated by state and federal laws. To certify that all students participate in testing as required, principals must complete the online Principal's Certification of Proper Test Administration (PCPA) following each test administration. New for 2008 Principals must also return standard MCAS answer booklets* and MCAS-Alt Student Information Forms (SIFs) as instructed to account for students. Because the Department uses SIMS to confirm student enrollment, principals should not submit an answer booklet for a student who is absent without medical documentation for all test sessions in the answer booklet. * Throughout this manual, the term "answer booklet" also refers to the test & answer booklet used at grade 3. 1. Students Not Tested on Standard Tests A very small number of students educated with Massachusetts public funds are not required to take the standard MCAS tests. These students are strictly limited to the following categories: * LEP students in their first year of enrollment in U.S. schools who are not required to participate in certain tests (see section 2 below for more information) * students with significant disabilities who participate in the MCAS Alternate Assessment (see section 3 on the next page for more information) * students with a medically documented absence who are unable to participate in make-up testing (see page 26 for more information regarding make-up testing) - A student must provide a written statement from a licensed medical professional specifying the verifiable medical condition that prevents him or her from taking the test and the date(s) of the student's absence due to this condition. This statement must be kept on file at the school. 2. LEP Students LEP students must participate in all MCAS tests scheduled for their grades regardless of the program and services they are receiving, with the exception of LEP students who are in their first year of enrollment in U.S. schools (i.e., students enrolled after the March 1, 2007 SIMS submission). Schools have the option of testing first-year LEP students in English Language Arts and History and Social Science/U.S. History, as shown in the table below. Participation Requirements for LEP Students Content Area of Test English Science and History and Language Technology/ Social Science/ Arts Mathematics Engineering U.S. History First-Year LEP Students Optional Required Required Optional All Other LEP Students Required Required Required Required See Appendix A for complete details on how LEP students participate in the spring 2008 tests. For each LEP student in his or her first year of enrollment in U.S. schools, a standard MCAS answer booklet must be submitted whether or not the student participates in ELA, History and Social Science, or U.S. History testing. During both the March-April and the May-June administrations, the principal or designee must complete the information on the front and inside back covers of a standard MCAS answer booklet for these students. See Appendix E for more information regarding the submission of answer booklets for LEP students in their first year of the enrollment in U.S. schools. 3. Students with Disabilities Participating in the MCAS Alternate Assessment The MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) is available for students with significant disabilities who, due to the nature and severity of their disabilities, are unable to participate in the standard paper-and-pencil MCAS tests, even with accommodations. IEP Teams or Section 504 teams must determine whether a student requires an alternate assessment. Students in grades 4, 7, and 10 who are designated for participation in the Alternate Assessment for English Language Arts must take both the ELA Composition and ELA Reading Comprehension tests through the alternate assessment. For each student taking the MCAS-Alt, a Student Identification Form (SIF) must be submitted instead of a standard MCAS answer booklet. See Appendix E for more information regarding the submission of SIFs for students participating in the MCAS-Alt. For more information, refer to the Department's Web site at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/alt. B. Participation Requirements for Specific Tests 1. High School Competency Determination In order to graduate from high school, students are required to earn a Competency Determination (CD) by: * meeting or exceeding the Needs Improvement level on the grade 10 MCAS tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics, * meeting or exceeding the Needs Improvement level on one of the four Science and Technology/Engineering content area tests (Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering), and * meeting all local graduation requirements. Students who fail one or more tests are offered multiple opportunities to participate in MCAS retests. 2. Grade 10 ELA and Mathematics Tests The table on the following page provides participation guidelines and requirements for the spring 2008 grade 10 ELA and Mathematics tests. See Appendix E for instructions regarding the submission of answer booklets for students participating in the grade 10 tests and for information regarding the reporting of MCAS and AYP results for these students. Participation Guidelines for Spring 2008 Grade 10 ELA and Mathematics Tests Enrollment Status Participation in Grade 10 ELA and Mathematics Tests Class of 2011 Grade 9 students Not Eligible For repeating grade 9 students to be eligible to participate, their status must be changed from grade 9 to grade 10 in the March 2008 SIMS submission. Class of 2010 First-time grade 10 students and repeating grade 10 Participation students who have never participated in the grade 10 Required tests Repeating grade 10 students who previously Eligible participated in the grade 10 tests (i.e., a grade 10 answer booklet was submitted for the student) Class of 2009 Grade 11 students who were in grade 9 during the Participation 2006-2007 school year and who did not participate in Required the grade 10 tests in spring 2007 Grade 11 students who were in grade 10 during the 2006-2007 school year, were enrolled in Massachusetts Not Eligible schools before the March 2008 retest administration, and are attempting to earn a CD Grade 11 students who were in grade 10 during the Eligible 2006-2007 school year, were enrolled in Massachusetts schools after the March 2008 retest administration, and are attempting to earn a CD Grade 11 students who earned a CD by participating in Eligible the 2007 grade 10 tests and would like to qualify for the Certificate of Mastery Grade 11 students who earned a CD by participating in Not Eligible the 2007 grade 10 tests and would like to qualify for the Adams Scholarship Grade 11 students who are new to Massachusetts Eligible to public schools in grade 11 or were reported as having participate and a medically documented absence on the grade 10 qualify for the MCAS tests Adams Scholarship Class of 2008 Grade 12 students attempting to earn a CD Not Eligible A request to participate may be submitted for these students. For written approval and instructions, contact Student Assessment Services at 781-338-3625 or via e-mail at mcas@doe.mass.edu. Classes of 2003-2007 Adults who have exited high school and are Not Eligible attempting to earn a CD 3. High School Science and Technology/Engineering Tests Schools must offer a high school Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) test (Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering) to all eligible students. The following are general participation requirements for spring 2008: * All students must participate in a high school STE test by the end of grade 10. * Only students in grades 9 and 10 (based on the grade designation reported in March 2008 SIMS) are eligible to participate. * Students may not participate in more than one STE test per administration. * Once a student has earned his or her Competency Determination (CD) in STE, he or she is not eligible to participate in another STE test. Additional guidelines are provided below. Enrollment/Test Participation Status June 2008 Participation Requirements Class of 2011 First-time and repeating grade 9 students who are Eligible enrolled in an STE course during the 2007-2008 school year and who have not earned their CD in STE First-time grade 9 students who are not enrolled in an STE Not Eligible^1 course during the 2007-2008 school year Class of 2010 First-time and repeating grade 10 students who did not Participation participate in an STE test in spring 2007 (regardless of Required course enrollment or the reason for their nonparticipation in spring 2007) Grade 10 students who participated in an STE test in Eligible spring 2007 but did not earn their CD in STE Grade 10 students who have earned their CD in STE Not Eligible^1 Classes of 2003-2009 Grade 11 students, grade 12 students, and adults who Not Eligible have exited high school for Testing (not required to earn a CD in STE)^1,2 ^1 Scores will not be generated for students who are not eligible to participate. ^2 Students in grades 11 and 12 and adults from previous classes who expect to graduate with the class of 2010 or beyond are eligible to participate and must earn their CD in STE to receive a diploma. The Department encourages grade 9 students to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in testing if they are enrolled in a course that corresponds with one of the tests. Parents/guardians, in consultation with principals and other school staff, have the option to request that their child participate in testing at grade 10 only. A sample of a nonparticipation form and letter are available at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/2008/ admin. High School Science and Technology/Engineering Retesting Information Students in the class of 2010 or beyond who fail a high school STE test have the right to participate in additional testing opportunities . The Department encourages grade 10 students who failed an STE test in spring 2007 to participate in testing in spring 2008. For students who choose not to participate, it is recommended that parents or guardians sign an acknowledgement of their child's nonparticipation. See the sample letter and nonparticipation form at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/2008/ admin. Spring 2008 is the first retesting opportunity for students who took and failed a high school STE test in spring 2007. There will be no "focused" retests (focused retests measure student performance at the Failing and Needs Improvement levels only) for the high school STE tests, as is currently the case for MCAS English Language Arts and Mathematics tests. Students who are taking a test as a "retest" will be taking the same test as first-time test-takers. The list below provides important information regarding retesting opportunities for students in the class of 2010 and beyond. * Students may participate in an STE test in the same content area in which they first tested. For example, students who fail the Biology test they take in grade 9 may take the Biology test the following spring, regardless of the STE course in which they are currently enrolled. * Students may participate in an STE test in a content area different from that in which they previously tested, provided they are completing a course that corresponds with that test. For example, students who fail the Introductory Physics test in grade 9 may take the Chemistry test in grade 10 if they have already completed or are completing a high school chemistry course. Starting in 2009, the Biology test will be offered twice a year, in February and in June, to accommodate students on semester block schedules and to provide an additional retesting opportunity. 4. History and Social Science Tests (Grades 5 and 7) All students in grades 5 and 7 must participate in the tests in History and Social Science. These tests are designed to provide information to the Department about the performance of test questions. No school, district, or state scores from these 2008 tests will be reported. Student test item analysis results will be reported for selected test items. New for 2008, students who require an alternate assessment and students who require Braille tests, large-print tests, or Kurzweil CD or similar electronic text reader are required to participate in the grades 5 and 7 History and Social Science tests. 5. High School U.S. History Test Students in grades 10 and 11 must participate in the U.S. History test if they have been enrolled during the 2007-2008 school year in the second year (or its equivalent) of a U.S. History sequence (U.S. History II) aligned to the 2003 Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework. No school, district, or state results will be reported from the 2008 U.S. History test. Student test item analysis results will be reported for selected test items. New for 2008, students who require an alternate assessment and students who require Braille tests, large-print tests, or Kurzweil CD or similar electronic text reader are required to participate in the high school U.S. History test. C. Participation Requirements for Students Educated in Alternate Settings 1. Home Tutoring and Other Settings For the small number of students who are enrolled in a school but are unable to physically attend school, and who therefore receive tutoring services from the district, every effort must be made to administer the MCAS tests in school. If this is not possible, school principals must obtain permission to test the student in an alternate setting at least two weeks prior to testing. To receive permission to test a student in an alternate setting, the following information must be sent via e-mail to mcas@doe.mass.edu or via fax to 781-338-3630 (subject: alternate setting request): * student's name * student's 10-digit State-Assigned Student Identifier (SASID) * student's grade * reason the student is unable to attend school * name of the student's proposed test administrator * test administrator's position in the school or district (teacher, administrator, other) * confirmation that the test administrator is an education professional (see page 27) * confirmation that the test administrator received training in administering the MCAS tests (see page 2) * description of plans for ensuring secure testing conditions and secure transport of test materials 2. 45-Day Placements and DYS For the small number of students who are enrolled at a school and are attending a temporary 45-day placement outside the district or are in DYS facilities, every effort must be made to administer the MCAS tests at the student's placement. The principal of the sending school is responsible for the following: * Submitting an answer booklet with the front cover and inside and outside back covers completed for any student removed from your school during the testing window. * Completing the Change of Enrollment Status section according to the instructions in Appendix E. * Contacting the placement/DYS facility to notify the director of MCAS test participation requirements. * Confirming that the placement facility has been established as a site for testing and has a district and school code from the Department (if not, refer the placement's director to the Student Assessment Services Unit at 781-338-3625). * Requesting that the placement facility order test materials by calling the MCAS Service Center at 800-737-5103. If it is determined that the student is not well enough to participate in testing, the placement/DYS facility must complete the student's answer booklet cover to indicate that the student has a medically documented absence. The results of students in this category will be aggregated with those of the sending school, based on the March SIMS submission. Part III MCAS Test Administration Policies and Procedures A. Coordinating Test Administration It is the principal's responsibility to coordinate the school's MCAS test administration. This coordination responsibility includes the following: * understanding and enforcing the test security requirements (see Part I) * ensuring that all enrolled students participate in testing at their grade level (see Part II) * coordinating the school's test administration schedule * ensuring that accommodations are properly administered and that transcriptions, if required for any accommodation, are done appropriately (see Appendix B) * monitoring the Department's Web site (www.doe.mass.edu/mcas) throughout the school year for important updates B. Ordering and Returning Test Materials It is the principal's responsibility to order a sufficient quantity of test materials for each student enrolled in the school. Materials must have been ordered by using the online form posted at www.mcasservicecenter.com in January 2008. Upon receipt of test materials, it is the responsibility of the principal to do an immediate and complete inventory of the materials received. Additional materials should be ordered only if necessary. In order to maintain a standard test administration schedule across all schools, additional materials must be ordered according to the schedule below. The Department will not allow materials to be shipped to schools that order additional materials after the deadlines. Test Administration Deadline to Order Additional Materials Window March-April 12:00 p.m., March 20 for ELA 12:00 p.m., March 31 for ELA Composition make-up May-June 12:00 p.m., May 8 (grades 3-8 tests) 12:00 p.m., May 16 (grade 10 Mathematics and high school U.S. History) 12:00 p.m., May 30 (high school Science and Technology/ Engineering) Ongoing 12:00 p.m., April 11 for MCAS-Alt materials For more information about ordering additional materials, see pages 41 and 55. It is also the principal's responsibility to return all test materials as described in this manual. C. Scheduling Test Administration 1. Policy on Testing Time All MCAS test administrations are untimed. While individual test sessions are designed to be completed within 45 or 60 minutes, some students may need more time to finish. The Department suggests that schools schedule a two-hour block for each test session. For example, if the first test session is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., the second test session should be scheduled to begin no earlier than 10:30 a.m. Students who require time beyond two hours may take it; however, no session may extend beyond the end of the regular school day, and any individual test session must be completed the same day on which it begins. Both ELA Composition test sessions A and B must be completed on the same day. 2. Concurrent Administration Requirement Each test session must be administered simultaneously to all students taking that test in your school. The only exceptions to this concurrent testing requirement are the administration of make-up sessions and the administration of tests to students whose IEPs and 504 plans specify that they must test at a different time of day or take frequent breaks (see Appendix B). For the administration of the ELA Composition test, the Department suggests that test administrators give directions for Session B to all students together following the supervised break. After the directions are given, students who need more time for their first drafts may continue to work in their test booklets while students who are ready to start Session B may write their final compositions in their answer booklets. The Science and Technology/Engineering test sessions must be administered on the specified dates, but it is not necessary for high school principals to schedule concurrent sessions for the different content areas (e.g., the Biology test may begin at 8:00 a.m. and the Chemistry test at 10:00 a.m.). 3. Test Session Limitations It is recommended that students take no more than two sessions on a single day. 4. Administration Sequence Within each grade level, tests must be administered in the following sequences: March-April * ELA Composition * ELA Reading Comprehension May-June (grades 3-8) * Mathematics * Science and Technology/Engineering * History and Social Science May-June (high school) * Mathematics * U.S. History * Science and Technology/Engineering 5. Make-Up Testing Students who are absent on the date scheduled for testing of their grade for any reason (including illness or other medical condition) should be scheduled for make-up testing. Make-up tests may be administered at any time after the scheduled testing date and before the end of the test administration window (see the MCAS Calendar of Events at the beginning of this manual for test administration window dates). The only exception to the make-up testing policy above is for the ELA Composition tests at grades 4, 7, and 10. Principals may allow a student in grade 4, 7, or 10 who missed the March 25 ELA Composition test, and also missed the April 2 ELA Composition make-up test due to a documented medical absence, to take the ELA Composition make-up test during the period for make-up sessions. However, for any reason other than a documented medical absence, a school must receive prior written approval from the Department to administer the ELA Composition make-up test on a date other than April 2. 6. Test Administration Interruptions Circumstances over which you have no control (including fire drills or power failures) may interrupt testing. The Test Administrator's Manuals include specific instructions for test administrators to follow if an interruption occurs. When normal conditions are restored, test administrators should resume testing. No interruption should reduce the total amount of time that students are given to complete the interrupted test session. Principals must report any major disruptions to the Department by calling 781-338-3625. 7. Severe Weather If severe weather forces the closure of a school for one day during the test administration window, the school should continue testing on the day it reopens. In this case, the school must obtain prior written approval from the Department if it wishes to delay the return of materials by one day to make up for the missed day of testing. If a school is affected by severe weather for multiple days during test administration, principals should check the Department's Web site (www.doe.mass.edu/mcas) for instructions, or call the Student Assessment Services unit at 781-338-3625. 8. Practice Tests Standard practice tests are only available online at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/2008/ admin. From this Web page, principals may print copies of the practice tests for use in their school. An English/Spanish edition of the grade 10 Mathematics practice test is also available on this page. Large-print, Braille, and Kurzweil editions of the practice tests are available and will arrive with the school's shipment of test materials if they are ordered. While the administration of practice tests is optional, the Department of Education recommends their use for students who need to be familiarized with the following: * how to fill in multiple-choice answer circles completely * where and how to respond to short-answer questions (for the Mathematics practice test) * how to answer open-response questions completely, including how to respond to open-response questions that have more than one part Practice test sessions are the only sessions during which test administrators may help students while they are answering test questions. If practice tests are used, they may be administered to students before the beginning of the testing window for that subject area test or at the beginning of the first test session. Each practice test requires approximately 20 minutes to administer. 9. Student Questionnaires (Grades 8 and 10) The student questionnaire is administered during the May-June testing window only. The questionnaire should be administered during the practice test administration session or at a convenient time before the first test session. It will take approximately 10 minutes to administer the student questionnaire. Students will mark their responses to the student questionnaire at the top of the inside back cover of their answer booklets. Schools may choose to add locally developed questions to the questionnaire. Five locally developed questions may be added to the questionnaire at each grade. Responses to the student questionnaire are included in the data file provided to districts following test administration. D. Designating Qualified Test Administrators It is the responsibility of the principal to designate test administrators. To the extent possible, test administrators should be licensed classroom teachers working in the school. When necessary, other education professionals, such as administrators employed by the school or district, may be designated to serve as test administrators. Individuals prohibited from being test administrators include anyone not employed by the district and anyone who is not an education professional. E. Meeting with Test Administrators It is the responsibility of the principal to meet with designated test administrators before each test administration to explain the testing procedures that will be followed at the school. It is recommended that principals distribute a copy of the appropriate Test Administrator's Manual to each test administrator for review before the meeting. Following is a list of essential topics that must be covered at these meetings. (This is not an exhaustive list of topics.) Test Security * MCAS test security requirements, including the school's procedures for distribution and tracking of secure test materials before, during, between, and following test sessions * the need to closely monitor students during testing to ensure that they are not using cell phones for any purpose, including text messaging, accessing the calculator function or Internet, and photographing test questions * supervision of test sessions and breaks Administration Schedule and Logistics * the requirement that test administrators read the scripts in the Test Administrator's Manuals verbatim to students, including students taking make-up sessions * the school's MCAS testing schedules, including the administration of practice tests and student questionnaires, if applicable * assignment of a specific testing space and a specific group of students to each test administrator * standard and nonstandard MCAS test accommodations for students with disabilities * logistics for test completion sessions when students require additional time to complete a test session * instructions for dismissing students after they have completed each test session * the requirement that students may not return to a test session once it has been completed * the collection and return of books that students may bring to test administrations to read if they finish their tests before the end of a test session (Exception: Grade 10 students may not read books if they complete ELA Composition test session A early.) * the requirement that, after the administration of each test, test administrators return to the principal lists of all students assigned to them who were not tested so that they can be scheduled to take make-up tests * new policies and procedures for 2008 (see the Updates table at the beginning of this manual) Test Administration Materials * the use of Mathematics Tool Kits for grades 3 and 4, MCAS rulers for grades 3-8 Mathematics and high school Science and Technology/Engineering, and Mathematics Reference Sheets for grades 5-8 and 10 * the use of formula sheets for the Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering tests * Student ID Labels to be applied to answer booklets * the design of the Grade 10 ELA Composition/Reading Comprehension Combined Answer Booklet: the interior sections of the answer booklet are printed in alternating colors in order to help test administrators ensure that students are working in the correct section of their answer booklets * the design of the grade 3 test & answer booklets (students in grade 3 write their answers in test & answer booklets) Approved Resource Materials * Writing instruments other than #2 pencils may be used only in test booklets for students in grades 4-10. Emphasize that students may use only #2 pencils in grades 4-10 answer booklets and grade 3 test & answer booklets. * Students use English-language dictionaries for the ELA Composition tests and calculators for session 2 of the grades 7, 8, and 10 Mathematics tests, and for the high school Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering tests. * Printed copies of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries that contain no handwriting are allowed for current and former LEP students. Unapproved Materials * The use of cell phones during testing for any purpose is prohibited and must be reported to the Department. * The use of electronic translators is prohibited. F. Meeting with Students Feedback from principals and teachers indicates that a serious, yet supportive, testing environment has a positive impact on student performance. The principal and/or test administrators should meet with students before each test administration to give them information about testing procedures at the school. If there are significant numbers of LEP students in the school, it is particularly important to hold student meetings, in small groups if preferable, to explain the participation guidelines for LEP students (see Appendix A). During the general meeting, provide students with the following information: * They should try their best to answer all of the questions on these tests. * Any form of cheating is strictly forbidden. * Cell phones are strictly prohibited. Any use of cell phones for any purpose will result in the invalidation of test results. * If needed, they will be allowed additional time to finish any test session; however, no session may extend beyond the end of the regular school day (see "Policy on Testing Time" on page 25 of this manual). * They need to read all questions carefully; for open-response questions they need to label each part of their answers. * They will need to use #2 pencils to mark their responses in their answer booklets because responses written with any other writing instrument cannot be scored. * March-April only: For students in grades 4, 7, and 10, English-language dictionaries will be available for them to use during the ELA Composition test only. * They may bring a book to each test administration session to read in the event they finish a test session early (exception: grade 10 students may not read a book if they finish ELA Composition test session A early). * May-June only: Students in grades 7, 8, and 10 will need at least a four-function calculator with a square-root key for session 2 of the Mathematics test, and for the high school Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering tests. Such a calculator will be provided to any student who does not have one. High Schools only: * They are required to pass both the grade 10 ELA test and the grade 10 Mathematics test as one condition for receiving a high school diploma (students must also meet all local graduation requirements). * If they fail either or both grade 10 tests, they will be given multiple opportunities before the end of their senior year to retake the test(s) they did not pass. * Students in the class of 2010 and beyond are also required to pass one of the high school Science and Technology/Engineering tests. During the special meeting with LEP students, communicate the following to them: * They will be participating in tests that they may find difficult because they are just beginning to learn English. * The purpose of having them participate at this time is to establish a "starting point" from which their progress over time can be measured. * During testing, they may use approved bilingual word-to-word dictionaries that do not include definitions and do not have handwriting in them. They may provide their own word-to-word dictionaries, but these dictionaries must be approved in advance. G. Providing Accurate Student Information It is the responsibility of the principal or designee to ensure the accuracy of student information provided through SIMS and through the submission of student answer booklets and MCAS-Alt SIFs. 1. Student Information Management System (SIMS) New for 2008, the Department will use districts' Student Information Management System (SIMS) submissions to determine student enrollment. If a standard answer booklet is not submitted for a student, and the student is reported in both March and June SIMS as being enrolled in the same grade and school, the student will automatically be reported as absent without medical documentation. The only exception is for repeating grade 10 students who already participated in MCAS (i.e., an answer booklet was submitted for the student in spring 2007 and no answer booklet will be submitted in spring 2008). Therefore, it is critical that each principal ensures the accuracy of his or her school's SIMS enrollment data that the district submits to the Department in March and June. Any questions regarding SIMS submissions should be directed to the district SIMS contact. 2. Answer Booklets Applying Student ID Labels Student ID Labels are applied to the front covers of standard answer booklets. The labels may be applied either by test administrators prior to the first test session or by students at the beginning of the first test session. However, to ensure the proper application of labels, the Department strongly recommends that labels be applied by test administrators, especially for younger students. Student ID Labels link to information critical for reporting MCAS tests results for individual students, schools, and districts. Therefore, principals must ensure that the State-Assigned Student Identifiers (SASIDs) on the labels are correct for each student. (If a student does not have a label, the principal must ensure that the SASID is filled in correctly on the answer booklet.) If there is a question about a SASID for a student, contact the District-Level Directory Administrator (listed at www.doe.mass.edu/ infoservices/data/diradmin/list.asp). Completing Answer Booklet Front Covers If a student has a Student ID Label, fill in only the following information: school name, district name, student's first name, and student's last name. Corresponding circles do not need to be filled in. If the SASID on a Student ID Label is correct, but other information is incorrect, use the label as is; do not cross out any information on the label. Update the student's information in the next SIMS submission. If a student does not have a Student ID Label, all the information requested on the front cover of the answer booklet must be completed, and the corresponding circles must be filled in. For the grades 4, 7, and 10 ELA Composition Make-up test only, the "Participation in April Composition Make-up Test" circle on the front cover of the answer booklet must also be filled in. Appendix F provides samples of a completed answer booklet front cover with and without a Student ID Label. Completing Answer Booklet Back Covers To maintain the confidentiality of information provided, the inside and outside back covers of the answer booklet should be completed after students have completed testing. Refer to Appendix E for more information. 3. MCAS-Alt SIFs Instructions for completing and returning MCAS-Alt SIFs, which are submitted for students who participate in the MCAS Alternate Assessment, are included with a school's shipment of MCAS-Alt materials. A sample front cover of a SIF appears in Appendix F. H. Accounting for Secure Materials It is the responsibility of the principal to account for secure test materials by inventorying materials immediately upon receipt, tracking the location of materials throughout test administration, and ensuring that all materials are returned. The principal must use the forms listed below to maintain the security of test materials. 1. Materials Summary The Materials Summary arrives with the shipment of test materials and is used to inventory materials immediately upon receipt and to reconcile secure materials returned at the end of testing. The information recorded on the Materials Summary will help principals when they complete the online PCPA. More information regarding the Materials Summary can be found on page 40 and page 54, and a sample Materials Summary is provided in Appendix F. 2. Packing Slips A packing slip is included with each box of test materials. Each packing slip for secure materials provides the identification number for each secure material shipped. If the principal discovers a discrepancy between the amount of materials listed as shipped and the amount received at the school, he or she can use the identification numbers to determine the specific material(s) missing. 3. Internal Tracking Forms Internal tracking forms document the location of secure materials throughout test administration. More information regarding establishing and following a document tracking system can be found on page 9, and a sample form is provided in Appendix F. 4. Principal's Certification of Proper Test Administration The online Principal's Certification of Proper Test Administration (PCPA) is used to certify that proper test administration procedures described in this manual are followed, including procedures to maintain the security of test materials. The PCPA documents that all secure materials are received and returned. The principal must go online to complete the PCPA before testing to certify the receipt of secure materials and after testing to record the amount of secure materials returned. Before Testing: Accounting for Materials Received Upon receipt of materials, the principal, using information from the Materials Summary if necessary, must go online to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA. If there is a discrepancy between the materials listed as shipped on the Materials Summary and the materials received by the school, the principal must indicate this discrepancy on the PCPA. If packing discrepancies are not reported as requested, the district and school will be responsible for any secure materials that cannot be accounted for. Principals must go online to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA and report packing discrepancies according to the deadlines in the table below. Test Deadline to Complete the "Materials Received" Administration Section of the PCPA AND Deadline to Report Packing Window Discrepancies March-April 12:00 p.m., March 20 May-June 12:00 p.m., May 8 (grades 3-8 tests) 12:00 p.m., May 16 (grade 10 Mathematics and high school U.S. History tests) 12:00 p.m., May 30 (high school Science and Technology/ Engineering tests) Principals who order additional materials must report discrepancies in additional materials orders within two business days of receipt. After Testing: Accounting for Materials Returned After testing, the principal must go online to record the amount of secure materials returned. The school and district will be held responsible for any secure materials that were received at the school but are not returned. Part IV The March-April Test Administrations A. March-April Test Administration Schedule Grade Test Administration Number of Date(s)^1 Sessions^2 Grade 3 ELA Reading Comprehension March 24-April 4^3 3 Grade 4 ELA Composition March 25 2 ELA Reading Comprehension March 26-April 4 3 ELA Composition Make-Up April 2 2 Grade 5 ELA Reading Comprehension March 24-April 4 3 Grade 6 ELA Reading Comprehension March 24-April 4 3 Grade 7 ELA Composition March 25 2 ELA Reading Comprehension March 26-April 4 3 ELA Composition Make-Up April 2 2 Grade 8 ELA Reading Comprehension March 24-April 4 3 Grade 10 ELA Composition March 25 2 ELA Reading Comprehension, Sessions 1 and 2 March 26 2 ELA Reading Comprehension, Session 3 March 27 1 ELA Composition Make-Up April 2 2 Grade 12 MCAS Alternate Assessment portfolios due for students seeking a Competency Determination April 18 ^1 For each grade, each test session must be administered simultaneously to students at your school. ^2 Individual test sessions are designed to be completed in 45 minutes, except for grade 3 ELA Reading Comprehension session 1 (60 minutes). ^3 Make-up tests may be administered at any time after the scheduled testing date and before the end of the test administration window. See page 26 for the policy on administering a make-up session for the ELA Composition. B. Principal's Checklist of Responsibilities Use the following checklist to help you keep track of your responsibilities during MCAS testing. The right-hand column provides a page number reference where you can find more information in this manual about a topic. Note that some items on the list apply only to specific tests and/or grades, as indicated. Further details regarding some of the activities on the checklist begin on page 40. Reference Page(s) Receiving Test Materials Designate a locked facility for secure storage of test materials. 3, 41 Verify receipt of test materials. 40 Inventory test materials immediately upon receipt. 40 Complete "Qty Received" column of the Materials Summary for each grade. 40 Go online to www.mcasservicecenter.com to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA and report packing discrepancies no later than March 20. 40-41 If necessary, order additional materials for Reading Comprehension and Composition tests by March 20. 24, 41 Store materials in a secure, locked storage space. 3, 41 Before Test Administration Review MCAS Test Security Requirements. 2-11 Identify students participating in each grade's tests, including students who will be tested in alternate settings. 14-21 Identify any required accommodations to be used by students with disabilities (including a student with a broken bone or fracture in his or her writing hand or arm). Appendix B If necessary, submit requests for approval for testing students who are home tutored or will be tested in an alternate setting and/or approval for materials for students using accommodation 20. 20 Schedule test administration sessions and locations. 25-27 Designate test administrators. 27 Assign students and testing locations to test administrators. 28 Train test administrators in test security requirements and test administration, including the use of your school's document tracking system. 28-29 Distribute Test Administrator's Manuals to test administrators. 28 Meet with students. 29- 30 Optional: Apply Student ID Labels to answer booklets. 31-32 Using your school's document tracking system, organize test materials for distribution. 41 Optional: Print practice tests (available at www.doe.mass.edu/ mcas/2008/admin). 41 Gather school-supplied testing materials. 41 Distribute test materials early to test administrators with students using accommodations 12, 17, and/or 27. 41 During Each Day of Test Administration Enforce test security requirements. 2-11 Make #2 pencils available for students who do not bring them. 41 ELA Composition and Composition make-up only: Have English-language dictionaries available. 41 Using your document tracking system, distribute test materials. 42, Appendix F Distribute lists of SASIDs to test administrators if they will be entering SASIDs on student answer booklets. 31-32 Ensure that your school's document tracking system is used each time test materials are moved. 42 Collect lists of students who were not tested and schedule them for make-up testing. 26, 28 If necessary, order additional Composition make-up materials by March 31. 24, 42 Securely store test materials between sessions and at the end of each day of testing. 42 After the Final Test Administration Verify that all test materials have been returned to you. 42 Verify that you have a standard answer booklet for students enrolled in the tested grade(s) at your school, according to the guidelines on pages 42-43. 14, 42-43 Verify completion of transcriptions, if necessary. 43 For students using accommodation 23, verify that responses have been submitted online or have been printed and inserted in answer booklets prior to packing scorable material for return. 43 Verify that SASIDs have been entered correctly on answer booklets for all students who do not have Student ID Labels. 31-32 Complete confidential student information on the inside and outside back covers of answer booklets. 43, Appendix E Composition make-up only: Verify that the "Participation in April Composition Make-Up Test" circle on the front covers of the answer booklets is filled in. 32, 116 Count the number of used standard answer booklets you are returning. 43 Verify that the "void answer booklet" bubble on the outside back cover of each void answer booklet is filled in, and count the number of void answer booklets you are returning. Appendix D Complete the "Qty Returned" column of the Materials Summary for each grade. 43, Appendix F Go online to complete the Principal's Certification of Proper Test Administration (PCPA) for each grade administered at your school. Print and retain the confirmation page. 44 Place special materials in the appropriate envelopes. 44 Place remaining used standard answer booklets in the Return Envelope(s). 44 Pack scorable materials for return to Measured Progress. 44-45 Pack nonscorable materials for return to Measured Progress. 46-47 Retain specified materials for school files. 46 Recycle or discard certain materials. 47 Schedule UPS pickup of test materials no later than April 7. 48 Confirm UPS pickup of all test materials no later than April 8. 48 C. Tasks to Complete BEFORE Test Administration 1. Verify receipt of test materials immediately upon their delivery to your school. Materials will arrive by March 10. Each grade's materials are shipped separately. Call the MCAS Service Center if you do not receive materials by March 10. 2. Using your Materials Summary, inventory test materials immediately and completely upon receipt. To inventory test materials, complete the "Qty Received" column of the Materials Summary for each grade according to the "Before Testing" directions on the form. Most test booklets and answer booklets are shrink-wrapped in groups of 5, 10, or 20. Your school's enrollment determines how many of each grouping of booklets you receive. For each type of booklet included in your shipment, the Materials Summary lists the total quantity of booklets included. For example, if the Materials Summary lists 75 answer booklets, you should receive three packages of 20 booklets, one package of 10 booklets, and one package of 5 booklets. Shrink-wrapped materials must remain unopened until either this manual or the Test Administrator's Manual states that they may be opened. Therefore, to inventory your materials, count the spines of the booklets in each shrink-wrapped package. Materials used by students with disabilities who have certain accommodations are shipped as individual booklets or packets of materials or, for accommodations 16 and 26, as packages of 6 booklets. Your Materials Summary lists only the materials shipped to your school. Complete lists of test materials available for each grade are posted online at www.doe.mass. edu/mcas/materials_list.html. A sample Materials Summary is provided in Appendix F. 3. No later than March 20, go online to www.mcasservicecenter.com to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA for each grade tested at your school, according to the following instructions: a. Go online to www.mcasservicecenter.com. b. Select MCAS from the menu. c. Select Principal Certification from the list of options. d. At the login screen, select your district and school from the dropdown menus. e. Enter your school's secure password (provided in the Commissioner's January 2, 2008 memo). If you do not know your password, or if you need assistance with accessing or completing the online PCPA, please call the MCAS Service Center at 800-737-5103. f. If the quantity of materials received by your school is accurate, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click I Completed Section 2: Materials Received. If there were any discrepancies between the materials listed as shipped on the Materials Summary and the materials received by your school, provide a brief explanation in the Comments about Materials Received box and then click I Completed Section 2: Materials Received. 4. Report packing discrepancies by March 20. It is imperative that you report any discrepancy between the totals listed as shipped on the Materials Summary and your inventory of the materials by indicating this discrepancy on the PCPA. 5. Only if necessary, order additional materials by the deadline dates on page 24. Locate your MP Ship Code on the Materials Summary, and have that available when you go online to order additional materials at www.mcasservicecenter.com. Materials ordered online will be shipped for receipt on the following business day if the order is received before 12:00 p.m. and before the deadline date; orders received after 12:00 p.m. and before the deadline date will be shipped for receipt on the second business day. Packing discrepancies in additional orders must be reported within two business days of receipt of the order. 6. Using your school's document tracking system, organize test materials for distribution. See page 9 for more information on establishing and following a document tracking system. Each test administrator should receive extra test materials to replace possible defective booklets. If you did not receive enough materials to distribute extra shrink- wrapped materials to each test administrator, you may open the minimum number of packages necessary to distribute extra materials. 7. Optional: Print practice tests if they will be administered at the school. 8. Store materials in a secure, locked storage space. Retain all original shipping cartons for the return of nonscorable test materials following testing. Scorable materials will be returned in the pre-labeled, folded cartons included in the shipment. 9. Gather school-supplied testing materials. * Prepare to provide a #2 pencil to any student who does not bring one. * For the ELA Composition and Composition make-up tests only, at least one English-language dictionary must be provided in each testing space for student use. You may choose to provide more than one dictionary per testing space. 10. If necessary, distribute test materials early to test administrators with students using accommodations 12, 17, and/or 27 . The early review must occur under supervision of the principal or designee. See Appendix B for more information. D. Tasks to Complete DURING Test Administration 1. Using your document tracking system, distribute test materials. Immediately before test administration, distribute the necessary test materials for that day to each test administrator. See Test Administrator's Manuals for the specific list of test materials necessary for each test. 2. Monitor/coordinate your school's test administration. 3. Securely store test materials between sessions and after each day of testing. Use your document tracking system to verify that all test materials are secure between sessions and are returned to you after each day of testing. 4. Only if necessary, order additional Composition make-up materials by March 31. Your school's shipment of ELA materials automatically includes Composition make- up materials in the amount of 10% of your regular ELA shipment. Order additional materials only if the quantity you received is not sufficient. E. Tasks to Complete AFTER the Final Test Administration 1. Verify that ALL test materials have been returned to you. Use your document tracking system to verify that test administrators have returned All test materials to you. You must be able to account for and return ALL secure materials (e.g., test booklets) that were shipped to you. If necessary, investigate any discrepancies in the amounts of materials that were distributed to test administrators and the amounts returned to you. Schools that do not return materials according to instructions will be subject to the sanctions described in Part I: MCAS Test Security Requirements. 2. Make sure that you have a standard answer booklet for the following students: * Students who participated in one or more test sessions * Students who were absent with medical documentation for one or more test sessions * First-year LEP students New for 2008 3. Do NOT submit an answer booklet for the following students: * Students who were absent without medical documentation for all ELA test sessions * Students who transferred into or out of your school during the testing window and who did not participate in any ELA test sessions * Students who participated in the MCAS Alternate Assessment in ELA (NOTE: An MCAS-Alt SIF must instead be submitted for each student who participates in the MCAS-Alt.) * Students in a 45-day placement who were removed from your school's enrollment and did not participate in any ELA test sessions * Students who are repeating grade 10 and did not participate in the grade 10 ELA test because they participated in spring 2007 4. Verify that you have standard answer booklets with transcribed responses for * students who had void answer booklets (see Appendix D) * students who took the Braille edition of the test (accommodation 12; see Appendix B) * students who used large-print answer booklets (accommodation 11; see Appendix B) * students in grades 4-10 who recorded their answers directly in their test booklets (accommodation 24; see Appendix B) 5. Verify that typed responses for students using accommodation 23 (word processor) have either been submitted online OR been inserted as paper copies in the answer booklet. 6. Complete confidential student information on the inside and outside back covers of answer booklets. See Appendix E for instructions and sample covers. 7. Count the number of used standard answer booklets you are returning. Count the used standard answer booklets separately for each grade. In your counts, make sure to include the following answer booklets: * standard answer booklets containing hard copy pages of typed responses (see Appendix C) * standard answer booklets that are transcriptions from void answer booklets, large-print answer booklets, Braille responses, or test booklets (for students using accommodation 24) As you count, arrange the answer booklets so that the student name grids on the front covers are facing up (the booklets do not need to be alphabetized). Ensure that used answer booklets are free of extra materials, including rubber bands, paper clips, binder clips, staples, and extraneous paper. You will enter the number of used standard answer booklets on the PCPA. 8. Count the number of void booklets you are returning. Count the void answer booklets separately for each grade. You will enter the number of void answer booklets you are returning on the PCPA. 9. Complete the "Qty Returned" column of the Materials Summary for each grade. Record on the Materials Summary the quantities of test booklets and answer booklets being returned for each grade according to the "After Testing" instructions on the form. All test booklets, including ELA Composition and Composition make-up test booklets, Braille test booklets, and large-print test booklets, are secure materials and must be returned. (A sample Materials Summary appears in Appendix F.) Make a copy of the completed form(s) for your records. You will need to use the information from your completed Materials Summary when you go online to complete the PCPA. 10. No later than April 7, go online to complete sections 3 and 4 of the PCPA for each grade tested at your school, according to the following instructions: a. Follow steps a-e on page 40 to access the online PCPA. b. For each grade tested at your school, you will provide information regarding the materials being returned, including the following: * the number of used standard answer booklets being returned * the number of void answer booklets being returned * quantities of secure, nonscorable test materials being returned c. As principal, certify that your school followed test security requirements. d. Print the confirmation page for your school files. 11. Place special materials in the appropriate envelopes. a. Place the materials listed below in the Special Handling Envelope for each grade: * large-print answer booklets (folded in half) with corresponding transcribed standard answer booklets * standard answer booklets containing hard copy pages of typed responses (Note: Do not print copies of typed responses that were submitted online.) b. Place void answer booklets in the Void Envelope for each grade. Void booklets will not be scored (see Appendix D for more information). 12. Place remaining used standard answer booklets in the Return Envelope(s) for that grade. Be sure to include answer booklets for students for whom typed responses were submitted online. F. Pack the Scorable March-April Test Materials 1. Make sure that all envelopes (Special Handling, Void, and Return) are sealed. 2. Locate the pre-labeled, folded Return Cartons you received in your school's shipment of test materials. The labels on the Return Cartons are color-coded by grade. 3. Using the diagram on page 45 as a guide, pack each grade's scorable materials in the Return Carton(s) for that grade in the following order: * Return Envelope(s) (on the bottom) * Special Handling Envelope(s) * Void Envelope(s) (on the top) 4. Repeat step 3 above for each grade tested at your school, making sure to pack materials in the Return Carton(s) specified for that grade. 5. Fill any empty spaces at the top of the carton(s) with crumpled paper to keep items from shifting during shipping. Do not use plastic peanuts or shredded paper. 6. Before sealing your cartons, verify that all scorable materials have been packed in the shipment. 7. Seal each packed carton using heavy-duty packing tape. 8. Make a list of the UPS tracking numbers that were used on the cartons you are returning to retain in your school files. [Packing Diagram for SCORABLE Materials Return Shipment Packing Diagram for Grade 3 Void Envelope(s) containing void test & answer booklets Special Handling Envelope(s) containing large-print test & answer booklets (with corresponding standard test & answer booklets) and standard test & answer booklets containing typed responses Return Envelope(s) containing scorable test & answer booklets Packing Diagram for Each Grade, Grades 4 and Above Void Envelope(s) containing void answer booklets Special Handling Envelope(s) containing large-print answer booklets (with corresponding standard answer booklets) and standard answer booklets containing typed responses Return Envelope(s) containing scorable answer booklets] G. Pack the Nonscorable March-April Test Materials 1. Locate the original shipping carton(s) in which you received your test materials. 2. Using the diagram on page 47 and the list below, pack the nonscorable test materials. Start by packing the materials for the highest grade on the bottom of the first carton, and continue by packing materials for each sequentially lower grade. You may pack multiple grades in a carton. For example, pack all materials listed below for grade 8, followed by all materials for grade 7, followed by all materials for grade 6, and so on. Pack the Materials Summary(ies) for all grades together on the top of the last carton. For a list of materials specific to grade 3, see the packing diagram. * unused answer booklets for the highest grade tested at your school (on the bottom of first carton) * used and unused standard test booklets * used and unused large-print test booklets, if any * used and unused Braille test booklets, if any * accommodation materials, if any (e.g., graphic organizers, templates, checklists, Kurzweil CDs, RFB&D CDs, Braille Administrator's Copies, typed response drafts) * unused large-print answer booklets, if any * unused UPS labels (Note: Make sure to save a label for each carton of nonscorable materials you are returning.) * unused scorable Return Cartons * unused Student ID Labels, if any * completed Materials Summary(ies) for all grades (on top of last carton) 3. Affix a UPS Return Service label with a return address for Measured Progress where indicated on the top of each carton. 4. Make a list of the UPS tracking numbers to retain in your school files. 5. Retain the following materials in your school files: * packing slips from your school's shipment * photocopy of Materials Summary(ies) * printout of PCPA confirmation * Test Materials Internal Tracking Forms * documentation for medically excused absences * printout of UPS pickup request confirmation * UPS tracking numbers, used 6. Recycle or discard the following materials: * Test Administrator's Manuals * practice tests * unused Return Envelopes * unused Special Handling Envelopes * unused Void Envelopes 7. Save your Principal's Administration Manual for the May-June test administrations. You will not receive another manual in the May-June shipment. [Packing Diagram for NONSCORABLE Materials Return Shipment Packing Diagram for Grade 3 Completed Materials Summary* Unused Student ID Labels Unused UPS labels Unused scorable Return Cartons Unused large-print test & answer booklets Accommodation materials Used and unused Braille test booklets Unused standard test & answer booklets Packing Diagram for Each Grade, Grades 4 and Above Completed Materials Summary(ies) for all grades and subjects Unused Student ID Labels Unused UPS labels Unused scorable Return Cartons Unused large-print answer booklets Accommodation materials Used and unused Braille test booklets Used and unused large-print test booklets Used and unused standard test booklets Unused answer booklets] * If grade 3 materials are returned with other grades in the same shipment, pack the grade 3 Materials Summary with the Materials Summary(ies) for the other grades in the shipment, as shown in the diagram for grades 4 and above. H. Schedule and Confirm UPS Pickup of All March-April Test Materials 1. Schedule pickup of test materials no later than 3:00 p .m., Monday, April 7. If your materials are ready for return earlier than the deadline, you are encouraged to schedule a UPS pickup as soon as the materials are ready for shipment. Do not take your test materials to UPS yourself or otherwise remove materials from your school. To schedule your pickup, locate the Return Service (RS) tracking number from one of your RS labels and have that number available when you contact UPS through one of the methods listed below. Do not schedule a separate pickup for each box. See Appendix F for a sample RS label. You should specify a six-hour window for UPS pickup. Web Go online to www.mcasservicecenter.com. Select MCAS from the menu and then select UPS Pickup Request from the list of options. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete your request. Telephone Call the MCAS Service Center at 800-737-5103 and staff will place your request for pickup for you. 2. Confirm that all scorable and nonscorable test materials are picked up by UPS no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8. You may also want to use your UPS tracking numbers to confirm delivery of your boxes to Measured Progress by calling the MCAS Service Center or by tracking via UPS (online at www.ups.com or by phone at 800-PICK-UPS [742-5877]). Part V The May-June Test Administrations A. May-June Test Administration Schedule Grade Test Administration Number of Date(s)^1 Sessions^2 Grade 3 Mathematics May 12-29^3 2 Grade 4 Mathematics May 12-29 2 Grade 5 Mathematics May 12-29 2 Science and Technology/Engineering May 13-29 2 History and Social Science May 14-29 2 Grade 6 Mathematics May 12-29 2 Grade 7 Mathematics May 12-29 2 History and Social Science May 14-29 2 Grade 8 Mathematics May 12-29 2 Science and Technology/Engineering May 13-29 2 Grade 10 Mathematics, Session 1 May 21 1 Mathematics, Session 2 May 22 1 High School U.S. History May 23-29 2 High School Biology June 3 (Session 1) June 4 (Session 2) 2 Chemistry June 3 (Session 1) June 4 (Session 2) 2 Introductory Physics June 3 (Session 1) June 4 (Session 2) 2 Technology/Engineering June 3 (Session 1) June 4 (Session 2) 2 Grades 3-11 MCAS Alternate Assessment portfolios due May 9 ^1 For each grade, each test session must be administered simultaneously to students at your school. ^2 Each test session is designed to be completed in 60 minutes. ^3 Make-up tests may be administered at any time after the scheduled testing date and before the end of the test administration window. See page 26 for further information. B. Principal's Checklist of Responsibilities Use the following checklist to help you keep track of your responsibilities during MCAS testing. The right-hand column provides a page number reference where you can find more information in this manual about a topic. Note that some items on the list apply only to specific tests and/or grades, as indicated. Further details regarding some of the activities on the checklist begin on page 54. Reference Page(s) Receiving Test Materials Designate a locked facility for secure storage of test materials. 3, 55 Verify receipt of test materials. 54 Inventory test materials immediately upon receipt. 54-55 Complete "Qty Received" column of the Materials Summary for each grade. 54 Go online to www.mcasservicecenter.com to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA and report packing discrepancies no later than May 8 (grades 3-8 tests), May 16 (grade 10 Mathematics and U.S. History), or May 30 (high school sciences). 55 If necessary, order additional materials. 24, 55 Store materials in a secure, locked storage space. 3, 55 High schools: Repeat the steps above for each separate shipment (grade 10 Mathematics and U.S. History, and Science and Technology/Engineering). Before Test Administration Review MCAS Test Security Requirements. 2-11 Identify students participating in each test, including students who will be tested in alternate settings. 14-21 Identify any required accommodations to be used by students with disabilities (including a student with a broken bone or fracture in his or her writing hand or arm). Appendix B If necessary, submit requests for approval for testing students who are home tutored or will be tested in an alternate setting and/or approval for materials for students using accommodation 20. 20 Schedule test administration sessions and locations. 25-27 Designate test administrators. 27 Assign students and testing locations to test administrators. 28 Train test administrators in test security requirements and test administration, including the use of your school's document tracking system. 28-29 Distribute Test Administrator's Manuals to test administrators. 28 Meet with students. 29-30 Optional: Apply Student ID Labels to answer booklets. 31-32 Using your school's document tracking system, organize test materials for distribution. 55 Optional: Print practice tests (available at www.doe.mass.edu/ mcas/2008/admin). 55 Optional, grades 8 and 10 only: Collect locally developed questions to be administered on the student questionnaire. 27 Gather school-supplied testing materials. 55-56 Distribute test materials early to test administrators with students using accommodation 12 or 17. 56 During Each Day of Test Administration Enforce test security requirements. 2-11 Make #2 pencils available for students who do not bring them. 55 Using your document tracking system, distribute test materials. 56, Appendix F Distribute lists of SASIDs to test administrators if they will be entering SASIDs on any students' answer booklets. 31-32 Ensure that your school's document tracking system is used each time test materials are moved. 56 Collect lists of students who were not tested and schedule them for make-up testing. 26, 28 Securely store test materials between sessions and at the end of each day of testing. 56 Note: For high schools, the steps that follow must be completed after the end of each testing period (May and June). After the Final Test Administration Verify that all test materials have been returned to you. 56 Verify that you have a standard answer booklet for students enrolled in the tested grade(s) at your school, according to the guidelines on pages 56-58. 14, 56-58 Verify completion of transcriptions, if necessary. 58 For students using accommodation 23, verify that responses have been submitted online or have been printed and inserted in answer booklets prior to packing scorable material for return. 59 Verify SASIDs have been entered correctly on answer booklets for all students who do not have Student ID Labels. 31-32 Complete confidential student information on the inside and outside back covers of answer booklets. 59, Appendix E Count the number of used standard answer booklets you are returning. 59 Verify that the "void answer booklet" bubble on the outside back cover of each void answer booklet is filled in, and count the number of void booklets you are returning. Appendix D Complete the "Qty Returned" column of the Materials Summary for each grade. 59, Appendix F Go online to complete the Principal's Certification of Proper Test Administration (PCPA) for each test administered at your school. Print and retain the confirmation page. 60 Place special materials in the appropriate envelopes. 60 Place remaining used standard answer booklets in the Return Envelope(s). 60 Pack scorable materials for return to Measured Progress. 60-61 Pack nonscorable materials for return to Measured Progress. 62-64 Retain specified materials for school files. 62 After the Final Test Administration (continued) Recycle or discard specified materials. 63 Schedule UPS pickup of test materials no later than May 29 for grades 3-8, grade 10 Mathematics, and U.S. History. 65 Confirm that these materials are picked up by May 30. 65 Schedule UPS pickup of test materials for high school Science and Technology/Engineering no later than June 6. 65 Confirm that these materials are picked up by June 9. 65 C. Tasks to Complete BEFORE Test Administration 1. Verify receipt of test materials immediately upon their delivery to your school. Materials for grades 3-8 tests will arrive by April 28. Materials for high school Mathematics and U.S. History will arrive by May 7. Materials for high school Science and Technology/Engineering will arrive by May 20. Call the MCAS Service Center if materials do not arrive by the specified dates. 2. Using your Materials Summary, inventory test materials immediately and completely upon receipt. To inventory test materials, complete the "Qty Received" column of the Materials Summary for each grade or subject according to the "Before Testing" directions on the form. Most test booklets and answer booklets are shrink-wrapped in groups of 5, 10, or 20. Your school's enrollment determines how many of each grouping of booklets you receive. For each type of booklet included in your shipment, the Materials Summary lists the total quantity of booklets included. For example, if the Materials Summary lists 75 answer booklets, you should receive three packages of 20 booklets, one package of 10 booklets, and one package of 5 booklets. Shrink-wrapped materials must remain unopened until either this manual or the Test Administrator's Manual states that they may be opened. Therefore, to inventory your materials, count the spines of the booklets in each shrink-wrapped package. Materials used by students with disabilities who have certain accommodations are shipped as individual booklets or packets of materials or, for accommodations 16 and 26, as packages of 6 booklets. Your Materials Summary lists only the materials shipped to your school. Complete lists of test materials available for each grade and subject are posted online at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/materials_list.html. A sample Materials Summary is provided in Appendix F. 3. No later than May 8 (grades 3-8 tests), May 16 (high school Mathematics and U.S. History tests), or May 30 (high school Science and Technology/Engineering tests), go online to www.mcasservicecenter .com to complete the "Materials Received" section of the PCPA for each grade (or subject, for high schools) according to the instructions on page 40. 4. Report packing discrepancies by May 8 (grades 3-8 tests), May 16 (high school Mathematics and U.S. History), or May 30 (high school Science and Technology/ Engineering tests). It is imperative that you report any discrepancy between the totals listed as shipped on the Materials Summary and your inventory of the materials by indicating this discrepancy on the PCPA. 5. Only if necessary, order additional materials by the deadline dates on page 24. Locate your MP Ship Code on the Materials Summary, and have that available when you go online to order additional materials at www.mcasservicecenter.com. Materials ordered online will be shipped for receipt on the following business day if the order is received before 12:00 p.m. and before the deadline date; orders received after 12:00 p.m. and before the deadline date will be shipped for receipt on the second business day. Packing discrepancies in additional orders must be reported within two business days of receipt of the order. 6. Using your school's document tracking system, organize test materials for distribution. See page 9 for more information on establishing and following a document tracking system. Each test administrator should receive extra test materials to replace possible defective booklets. If you did not receive enough materials to distribute extra shrink- wrapped materials to each test administrator, you may open the minimum number of packages necessary to distribute extra materials. Prepare to distribute student questionnaires (grades 8 and 10 only), if applicable. 7. Optional: Print practice tests if they will be administered at the school. 8. Store materials in a secure, locked storage space. Retain all original shipping cartons for the return of nonscorable test materials following testing. Scorable materials will be returned in the pre-labeled, folded cartons included in the shipment. 9. Gather school-supplied testing materials. * Prepare to provide a #2 pencil to any student who does not bring one. * Prepare to provide a four-function calculator with a square-root key to students in grades 7-10 who do not provide their own calculators for use during session 2 of the Mathematics test and for the high school Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering tests. 10. If necessary, distribute test materials early to test administrators with students using accommodation 12 or 17. The early review must occur under supervision of the principal or designee. See Appendix B for more information. D. Tasks to Complete DURING Test Administration 1. Using your document tracking system, distribute test materials. Immediately before test administration, distribute the necessary test materials for that day to each test administrator. See Test Administrator's Manuals for the specific list of test materials necessary for each test. 2. Monitor/coordinate your school's test administration. 3. Securely store test materials between sessions and after each day of testing. Use your document tracking system to verify that all test materials are secure between sessions and are returned to you after each day of testing. E. Tasks to Complete AFTER the Final Test Administration 1. Verify that ALL test materials have been returned to you. Use your document tracking system to verify that test administrators have returned all test materials to you. You must be able to account for and return all secure materials (e.g., test booklets) that were shipped to you. If necessary, investigate any discrepancies in the amounts of materials that were distributed to test administrators and the amounts returned to you. Schools that do not return materials according to instructions will be subject to the sanctions described in Part I: MCAS Test Security Requirements. 2. Make sure that you have a standard answer booklet for the following students for the GRADES 3-8 TESTS: * Students who participated in one or more test sessions * Students who were absent with medical documentation (documentation on file at the school) for one or more test sessions * First-year LEP students 3. Do NOT submit an answer booklet for the following students for the GRADES 3-8 TESTS: New for 2008 * Students who were absent without medical documentation for all test sessions in the answer booklet * Students who transferred into or out of your school during the testing window and who did not participate in any test sessions in the answer booklet * Students who participated in the MCAS Alternate Assessment for every subject in the answer booklet (NOTE: An MCAS-Alt SIF must instead be submitted for each student who participates in the MCAS-Alt.) * Students in a 45-day placement who were removed from your school's enrollment and did not participate in any testing in May 4. Make sure that you have a standard answer booklet for the following students for the GRADE 10 MATHEMATICS TEST: * Students who participated in one or both test sessions (see page 17 for participation requirements) * Students who were absent with medical documentation (documentation on file at the school) for one or both test sessions * First-year LEP students 5. Do NOT submit an answer booklet for the following students for the GRADE 10 MATHEMATICS TEST: New for 2008 * Students who were absent without medical documentation for both test sessions * Students who transferred into or out of your school during the testing window and who did not participate in either Mathematics test session * Students who participated in the MCAS Alternate Assessment in Mathematics (NOTE: An MCAS-Alt SIF must instead be submitted for each student who participates in the MCAS-Alt.) * Students in a 45-day placement who were removed from your school's enrollment and did not participate in either Mathematics test session * Students who are repeating grade 10 and did not participate in the grade 10 Mathematics test because they participated in spring 2007 6. Make sure that you have a standard answer booklet for the following students for the HIGH SCHOOL STE TESTS: * Grade 9 students who participated in one or both test sessions (see page 18 for participation requirements) * Grade 10 students who participated in one or both test sessions * Grade 10 students who were absent with medical documentation (documentation on file at the school) for one or both test sessions * First-year grade 10 LEP students 7. Do NOT submit an answer booklet for the following students for the HIGH SCHOOL STE TESTS: New for 2008 * Students who were absent without medical documentation for both STE test sessions * Students who transferred into or out of your school during the testing window and who did not participate in either STE test session * Students who participated in the MCAS Alternate Assessment in STE (NOTE: An MCAS-Alt SIF must instead be submitted for each student who participates in the MCAS-Alt.) * Students in a 45-day placement who were removed from your school's enrollment and did not participate in HS STE testing * Students who are repeating grade 10 and did not participate in an STE test because they participated in spring 2007 8. Make sure that you have a standard answer booklet for the following students for the HIGH SCHOOL U.S. HISTORY TEST: * Students who participated in one or both test sessions (see page 19 for participation requirements) * Students who were absent with medical documentation (documentation on file at the school) for one or both test sessions * First-year LEP students 9. Do NOT submit an answer booklet for the following students for the HIGH SCHOOL U.S. HISTORY TEST: New for 2008 * Students who were absent without medical documentation for both U.S. History test sessions * Students who transferred into or out of your school during the testing window and who did not participate in either U.S. History test session * Students who participated in the MCAS Alternate Assessment in U.S. History (NOTE: An MCAS-Alt SIF must instead be submitted for each student who participates in the MCAS-Alt.) * Students in a 45-day placement who were removed from your school's enrollment and did not participate in U.S. History testing * Students who are repeating grade 10 or 11 and did not participate in the U.S. History test because they participated in spring 2007 * Students in grades 10 or 11 who are not enrolled in the second year or its equivalent of a U.S. History sequence (U.S. History II) 10. Verify that you have standard answer booklets with transcribed responses for * students who had void booklets (see Appendix D) * students who took the Braille edition of the test (accommodation 12; see Appendix B) * students who used large-print answer booklets (accommodation 11; see Appendix B) * students in grades 4 and above who recorded their answers directly in their test booklets (accommodation 24; see Appendix B) 11. Verify that typed responses for students using accommodation 23 (word processor) have either been submitted online OR been inserted as paper copies in the answer booklet. 12. Complete confidential student information on the inside and outside back covers of answer booklets. See Appendix E for instructions and sample covers. 13. Count the number of used standard answer booklets you are returning. For grades 3-8, count the number of answer booklets for each grade. For high schools, separately count the number of answer booklets for grade 10 Mathematics, Science and Technology/Engineering, and U.S. History. Count the used standard answer booklets separately for each grade. In your counts, make sure to include the following booklets: * standard answer booklets containing hard copy pages of typed responses (see Appendix C) * standard answer booklets that are transcriptions from void answer booklets, large-print answer booklets, Braille responses, or test booklets (for students using accommodation 24) As you count, arrange the answer booklets so that the student name grids on the front covers are facing up (the booklets do not need to be alphabetized). Ensure that used answer booklets are free of extra materials, including rubber bands, paper clips, binder clips, staples, and extraneous paper. You will enter the number of used standard answer booklets on the PCPA. 14. Count the number of void booklets you are returning. Count the void answer booklets separately for each grade. You will enter the number of void answer booklets you are returning on the PCPA. 15. Complete the "Qty Returned" column of the Materials Summary for each grade (and subject, for high schools). Record on the Materials Summary the quantities of test booklets and answer booklets being returned for each grade according to the "After Testing" instructions on the form. All test booklets, including Braille test booklets and large-print test booklets, are secure materials and must be returned. (A sample Materials Summary appears in Appendix F.) Make a copy of the completed form(s) for your records. High schools will have six Materials Summaries: one for grade 10 Mathematics, one for Biology, one for Chemistry, one for Introductory Physics, one for Technology/ Engineering, and one for U.S. History. You will need to use the information from your completed Materials Summary(ies) when you go online to complete the PCPA. 16. Go online to complete sections 3 and 4 of the PCPA, according to the instructions on pages 40 and 44. You must complete the PCPA by May 29 (and separately by June 6