Spring 2008 MCAS Test Administration Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Listed below are questions frequently asked by principals during MCAS test administration. Please contact the MCAS Service Center at 800-737-5103 for clarification on test administration procedures and with questions about MCAS materials. As always, contact the Department at 781-338-3625 with policy questions.
- Scheduling and Staffing
- Student Participation
- Questions Related to Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficiency
- Providing Student Information/Using Student ID Labels
- High School Tests
- Tests for Other Grades
- (new) Completing Student Information on Answer Booklets and Shipping
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1. Scheduling and Staffing
Q. Do MCAS tests have to be administered in any particular order?
A. Yes. Within each grade, tests must be administered in the order shown in the Principal's Administration Manual on pages 25-26.
Q. May a student take a test earlier than the school's scheduled administration date for that test if he or she plans to be on vacation?
A. No. Students may not be tested outside of the established testing window. Schools must contact the Department to discuss any proposal for a nonstandard test administration schedule (within the established testing window).
Q. For the grades 7, 8, and 10 Mathematics tests, may a school administer session 2 before session 1, if there are not enough calculators for students?
A. No. Tests must be administered in the prescribed order.
Q. Who administers MCAS tests?
A. 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.
Q. May student teachers observe test administration?
A. Yes. Student teachers may observe test administration under the supervision of the test administrator to help them prepare to be test administrators in the future. Student teachers must follow the security requirements in Part I of the Test Administrator's Manuals.
2. Student Participation
Q. Are home-schooled students permitted to participate in MCAS?
A. No. Students in approved home education programs are not enrolled in public school. Consequently, they are neither required nor entitled to take the MCAS tests, which are designed to measure the academic progress of students enrolled in publicly supported schools and the performance of those schools.
Q. Are private school students permitted to participate in MCAS?
A. Only private school students whose tuition is publicly funded are allowed to participate in MCAS. Other private school students are not allowed to take MCAS tests, which are designed to measure the academic progress of students enrolled in publicly supported schools.
Q. Do home- or hospital-tutored students participate in MCAS?
A. Yes. Home-tutored students must participate in MCAS. (A home- or hospital-tutored student is enrolled in a public school but receives instruction in the home or hospital due to a medical condition.) If possible, the student should be tested at the school under normal test administration conditions. When circumstances make it impossible to test the student at the school, the school must contact the Department to determine how the student will participate in MCAS testing. Please refer to pages 20-21 of the Principal's Administration Manual for further instructions.
Q. What procedures should be followed if a student transfers out of my school (e.g., a student in the temporary custody of DSS or DYS)?
(new) A. Contact the Student Assessment Services Office at 781-338-3625 for procedures.
Q. Must visiting foreign students participate in MCAS?
A. No. Foreign exchange students are not required to participate in MCAS unless they are attempting to earn a Massachusetts high school diploma. When reporting student information to SIMS, foreign exchange students must be coded as "11" under "reason for enrollment."
Q. Must migrant students participate in MCAS?
A. Yes. Migrant students who are enrolled in a school temporarily are required to participate in MCAS tests.
Q. If a student is absent for one complete test session, must he or she be scheduled for a make-up session?
A. Yes. If a student is absent for a test session, the school should schedule a make-up session. If the student completes testing through regular and make-up sessions, do not fill in absence bubbles on the student's answer booklet.
If a student is absent for session 1 of a test, he or she should take the remaining sessions of the test according to the school's administration schedule and take session 1 during the make-up period.
For the ELA Composition test, both sessions must be completed in one day. If the student is absent for the scheduled ELA Composition day (March 25, 2008), the scheduled make-up date for both sessions is April 2, 2008.
Q. Are students who miss the scheduled dates for the ELA Composition test and the ELA Composition make-up test allowed to make up the ELA Composition test during the March-April testing window?
A. A student who missed the ELA Composition test and the ELA Composition make-up test due to a documented medical absence may take the ELA Composition make-up test prior to the date for returning test materials. However, for any reason other than a documented medical absence, a school must receive prior approval from the Department to administer the ELA Composition test on a date other than the scheduled Composition test and Composition make-up test dates.
Q. If a student becomes sick during a test session and is unable to complete the session, must he or she be scheduled for a make-up session?
A. Yes. Students who become ill mid-session may be scheduled for a make-up session to complete only the questions they have not yet answered.
Q. Must students who are repeating a grade take that grade's MCAS tests again?
A. Students in grades 3-8 who are repeating the grade must take the MCAS tests scheduled for the grade in which they are currently enrolled. Refer to the Principal's Administration Manual for information regarding the participation of retained tenth grade students for the grade 10 ELA and Mathematics tests (page 17) and the high school Science and Technology/Engineering tests (pages 18-19).
Q. When should schools complete the Change of Enrollment Status section of the answer booklet?
A. The Change of Enrollment Status section of the answer booklet should be completed to indicate that a student's enrollment status changed (i.e., the student transferred into or out of the school) during the testing period for the answer booklet and the student completed at least one but not all of the sessions in the answer booklet. An answer booklet should not be returned for students who transfer out of your school before the first day of testing.
New for 2008, if a standard answer booklet is not submitted for a student, and the student is reported in both March and June/end-of-year SIMS as enrolled in the same grade and school, the student will automatically be reported as absent without medical documentation (exception: repeating grade 10 students who participated in 2007 and not 2008).
3. Questions Related to Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficiency
Students with Disabilities
(new) Q. How do school principals indicate that a student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?
A. Information regarding a student's IEP status is not collected on the answer booklet. Districts report this information through SIMS. Any updates to a student's IEP status from the October SIMS submission must be made in the March and/or June/end-of-year SIMS submissions.
Q. Which students are eligible for test accommodations?
A. Students with disabilities served by either an IEP or 504 plan who have an accommodation listed for statewide assessment in their plan may receive the accommodation during MCAS testing, provided that the accommodation does not alter the test or violate test security. Refer to Appendix B of the Principal's Administration Manual for a list of commonly used accommodations. Principals must consult with the Department prior to test administration to discuss using any accommodations not included on the list.
Students with recently occurring disabilities who do not have an IEP or Section 504 plan must have documentation of a disability on file at the school in order to be considered for test accommodations. In such cases, the principal may authorize the use of necessary accommodations on the test. If the need for the accommodation continues beyond testing, an IEP or 504 plan must be developed, as appropriate.
Non-disabled students may NOT receive test accommodations.
Q. What special MCAS test formats are available to assist in administering the tests to students with disabilities?
(new) A. The following formats are available:
- Braille
- Large-print
- Pre-wrapped class packs of six test booklets each of the same numbered test form for use when providing accommodation 16 or 26 (reading aloud the test to an individual student or to a small group)
- Electronic text reader CD (Kurzweil 3000 format)
- ASL video of grade 10 Mathematics test
- Recording for Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) CD of grade 10 Mathematics and ELA tests
Q. How does a student with a broken arm or similar injury participate in testing?
(new) A. A student with a broken bone or fracture in his or her writing hand or arm (or similar injury) at the time of testing is considered to have a "documented disability." Therefore, he or she is entitled to have a scribe or use a word processor for the test(s). The principal or designee must fill in the circle(s) for the provided accommodation(s) and the "documented disability" circle on the student's answer booklet. The student must be placed on a 504 plan if accommodations will be needed for ongoing instruction after testing is completed.
(new) Q. Does the ESE post sample Mathematics Reference Sheets, graphic organizers, or checklists for students with disabilities using accommodation 20?
A. No. These materials are meant to be individualized for students by their teachers. General guidelines for submitting individualized materials for approval are included in Appendix B of the Principal's Administration Manual.
Q. Can a student participate in the MCAS-Alt for one subject and the standard MCAS paper and pencil test for another? If so, how do principals indicate this?
A. Yes. IEP or 504 plan teams may decide to test the student in one subject and give and alternate assessment in another. The principal should submit an answer booklet containing the student's responses to the standard test, and an MCAS-Alt Student Identification Form (SIF) for the subject in which the student took the alternate assessment. All student information must be completed as requested.
(new) Q. How does a typed response have to be submitted for a student with a disability who is using accommodation 23?
A. Typed responses may be submitted online (recommended) or on paper. The required Typed Response Upload System instructions and required paper copy instructions (e.g., page size, font size, margins, headers) are included in the MCAS Principal's Administration Manual in Appendix C, beginning on page 92.
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Student
Q. Does an LEP student have to pass MCAS tests to be eligible for a high school diploma, even if the student arrived in this country recently?
A. Yes. All students, including LEP students who recently arrived in this country, must earn a Competency Determination and meet all local graduation requirements in order to receive a high school diploma.
Q. May schools translate directions or any portion of the test into other languages for students?
A. No. Test administrators may not translate directions or any portion of an MCAS test into other languages for students. A script written in Spanish must be read verbatim to students taking the English/Spanish edition of the grade 10 Mathematics test by a test administrator who is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Q. Are MCAS tests available in other languages?
A. The only tests available in other languages are the grade 10 Mathematics test and Mathematics retest, which are available in an English/Spanish edition. The use of English/Spanish tests is limited to Spanish-speaking LEP students who have been enrolled in school in the continental U.S. for fewer than three years and can read and write in Spanish at or near grade-level.
Q. How are scores reported for a first-year LEP student who earns his or her Competency Determination on the grade 10 ELA or Mathematics tests or the high school STE test?
A. First-year LEP students are not required to participate in the MCAS ELA test, though they may participate. The student's performance level will be reported as "LEP" on initial reports. However, in the fall, the Department will send a letter to the high school principal to confirm that the student met the CD requirement for the grade 10 ELA and Mathematics tests and for the high school STE test.
(new) Q. Are students who are no longer LEP, (i.e., "formerly LEP" or FLEP), or those who have opted out of sheltered English immersion classes or similar services eligible to use a bilingual word-to-word dictionary?
A. Yes. Any student who is or was ever LEP may use a bilingual word-to-word dictionary. The list of approved bilingual word-to-word dictionaries is posted at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/participation/?section=lep.
(new) Q. My school has a student who speaks a language that is not on the list of approved bilingual word-to-word dictionaries. How can I submit a request for an update to the list?
A. Requests for updates should be submitted via e-mail to MCAS@doe.mass.edu.
(new) Q. My school has a student who attended school in the U.S. for a short time, then returned to her native country for a year. The student has returned to my school and is still LEP. May we classify the student as a first-year LEP student?
A. The student may be classified as LEP but since the student was reported to SIMS in her first year of enrollment in a U.S. school, she is not a first-year LEP student.
4. Providing Student Information/Using Student ID Labels
Q. When do schools receive labels?
A. Labels are included in the shipment of test materials for each test administration window.
Q. What should a school principal do if he or she receives a Student ID Label for a student who is no longer enrolled at the school?
(new) A. If a school receives a label for a student no longer enrolled, the principal should return the label (unaffixed, unused) with the shipment of nonscorable materials. The school should also contact the district SIMS contact to report in SIMS that the student is no longer enrolled in the school.
Q. Is it possible to obtain an additional label for a student who recently transferred to my school?
A. No. If a student does not have a label, schools must provide all of the requested student identification information on the student's answer booklet. See the Test Administrator's Manuals for instructions.
Q. One of our school's students has moved to another school in our district. May the school send his or her label(s) to the new school?
A. No. MCAS test materials, including Student ID Labels, may NOT be moved from one school to another.
Q. If a student with a Student ID Label completes the front cover of his or her answer booklet in pen, may the answer booklet still be used by the student?
A. Yes. If a student has a Student ID Label, the label will override information completed in pen on the answer booklet.
Q. Can a school use a student's Student ID Label from the standard MCAS administration on the student's MCAS Alternate Assessment SIF?
A. Yes. Standard MCAS labels and MCAS-Alt labels are interchangeable.
Q. If I need to correct information for my students in SIMS or review the SIMS data for my school, how do I find out who my SIMS contact is?
A. A list of districts' SIMS contacts is posted on the Department's Web site at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/functions.asp. Select "SIMS Contact" from the dropdown menu.
Q. When can I correct SIMS data for my school?
A. Your district's SIMS contact can update your SIMS data in the March SIMS report, or if that deadline has passed, in the June/end-of-year SIMS submission.
Q. How are labels for each test administration generated?
A. Labels are based on information provided by districts in the October SIMS submission. Labels for the high school Science and Technology/Engineering test are provided for each grade 9 and 10 student in your school reported in October SIMS who has not yet earned his or her Competency Determination in STE, and labels for the high school U.S. History test are provided for each grade 10 and 11 student in your school.
Q. Should a school use a label if the SASID is correct, but other information provided on the label is incorrect?
A. Yes. The school should use the label if the student's SASID is correct. The labels are used to ensure that a student's MCAS results are connected to the state's official SIMS database. If the student's name or date of birth is incorrect, it is likely that this information was incorrectly reported to SIMS. The school should report the problem to the district contact and request that the information be corrected in June/end-of-year SIMS.
October SIMS data are used to generate labels. March SIMS data are the source of demographics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, low-income status) used in final data reports.
(new) Q. Instead of writing by hand the school and district name on each student's answer booklet, can a school print this information on a label?
A. Yes, as long as other sections of the answer booklet are not covered and the label is of regular thickness (e.g., Avery labels).
5. High School Tests
Q. Does a school have to follow the required administration schedule for the grade 10 ELA and Mathematics, high school U.S. History tests, and high school Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) tests?
A. Yes. All schools must follow the Department's published administration schedule. All tests must be administered concurrently within a school.
Q. May grade 11 students take grade 10 MCAS tests in an attempt to qualify for the Adams Scholarship?
A. Only grade 11 students who are new to Massachusetts public schools in grade 11 or who had a medically excused absence for the spring 2007 grade 10 MCAS tests may participate in the spring 2008 MCAS grade 10 tests in an attempt to qualify for the Adams Scholarship. More information is available at www.osfa.mass.edu/default.asp?page=adamsScholarship.
Q. May grade 11 students take grade 10 MCAS tests in an attempt to qualify for the Stanley Z. Koplik Certificate of Mastery Award?
A. All grade 11 students may participate in the spring 2008 tests in an attempt to qualify for the Stanley Z. Koplik Certificate of Mastery Award. No Student ID Labels are generated for these students, and all information needs to be completed according to the instructions in the Test Administrator's Manuals. More information is available at www.osfa.mass.edu/default.asp?page=koplikWaiver.
Q. When will students be notified that they are eligible for an Adams Scholarship?
A. Eligible students will be notified in the fall of their senior year.
Q. Is passing an MCAS STE test a requirement for the Competency Determination?
A. Yes. Science and Technology/Engineering is part of the Competency Determination requirement beginning with the class of 2010 (tenth graders in the 2007-2008 school year).
Q. When will passing the high school U.S. History test become a requirement for the Competency Determination?
A. The Board of Education voted in October 2006 to make the U.S. History test part of the CD requirement beginning with the class of 2012.
Q. Will there be an STE retest?
A. There will not be a focused retest in STE. The next testing opportunity will be in June 2008. There will be two Biology test administrations in 2009: one in February and one in June. For the other STE tests, there will be a test administration each June.
Q. Can a student participate in a spring 2008 STE test if he or she already earned his or her Competency Determination in spring 2007?
A. No. A student is not eligible to participate in an STE test in spring 2008 if he or she already earned his or her Competency Determination. Results will be invalidated for students who are not eligible to participate.
Q. Can my high school administer different content area high school STE tests in the same room (e.g., Biology and Chemistry)?
A. Yes.
6. Tests for Other Grades
Q. May grade 3 students underline in pencil in their test & answer booklets?
A. Yes. Third graders may use a pencil to underline reading passages and test items in both the Grade 3 ELA Reading Comprehension Test & Answer Booklet and the Grade 3 Mathematics Test & Answer Booklet.
Q. May grade 3 students use highlighters in their test & answer booklets?
A. No. Grade 3 students are not allowed to use highlighters because highlighters may interfere with the accurate scanning of answers.
Q. May students in grades 4 and above underline or use highlighters in their test booklets?
A. Yes. Students in grades 4 and above may underline and use highlighters in their test booklets (only).
Q. May students in grades 4 and above use highlighters in their answer booklets?
A. Students in grades 4 and above may only use #2 pencils to mark their answers in their answer booklets.
7. Completing Student Information on Answer Booklets and Shipping
Q. Can you provide more detail on how I should pack my high school STE materials?
A. Scorable materials for each test (Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering) are packed in separate cartons. Nonscorable materials for all of four tests may be packed together according to the order listed in the Principal's Administration Manual. Instructions begin on page 57.
(new) Q. How does a school account for a student who is absent without a medically documented reason?
A. If the school already assigned the student's answer booklet by writing the student's name and SASID on the front cover and by affixing a Student ID Label on the front, the school should mark the booklet void (write void across the front cover and fill in the void circle on the back cover, and return the booklet in the Void Envelope). If the school did not assign a booklet to the student, that is fine. The Department will report the student as absent based on SIMS.
(new) Q. How does a school account for a student who is absent with a medically documented reason?
A. The school should fill in the circle on the answer booklet for each content area test the student is absent for. The school should keep the medical documentation on file (the school does not submit documentation with their test materials).
(new) Q. My school has an alternative program in another location. How can my program receive Student ID Labels and shipments of test materials directly, so that my program does not need to request permission from the Department to transport materials?
A. Contact the Student Assessment Services Office at 781-338-3625 or MCAS@doe.mass.edu to set this up for test administrations for the 2008-2009 school year.
last updated: March 19, 2008
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