Assessment/Accountability Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt)

2008 MCAS-Alt Score Appeal Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal?

A. The MCAS-Alt Score Appeal is a process by which the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education addresses a claim concerning the inaccurate scoring of one or more areas of an MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) portfolio submitted the previous school year, or the incorrect calculation of a student's performance level on the MCAS-Alt. An appeal requesting that the Department review the portfolio and recalculate the student's MCAS-Alt portfolio score may be submitted to the Department by a school, educational collaborative, or approved private special education school.

Q. In which situations may an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal be requested?

A. Prior to the submission of an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal, a copy of the original MCAS-Alt portfolio must be maintained at the school. The MCAS-Alt Score Appeal may be requested once a teacher or school administrator has reviewed the MCAS-Alt Portfolio Feedback Form(s) sent to the school in August and the evidence in the school's copy of the original portfolio. If the teacher or administrator believes a discrepancy exists between the reported score and the actual evidence in the student's portfolio, the score(s) may be appealed in the following rubric area scores only: Level of Complexity, Demonstration of Skills and Concepts, and/or Independence. Scores in the areas of Self-Evaluation and Generalized Performance may not be appealed.

Please note that an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal may be submitted to the Department only after the school has received its shipment of Portfolio Feedback Forms. The Score Appeal must be postmarked no later than Friday, September 5, 2008, and must be faxed to Nancy Hanson at 781-338-3630 by the same deadline. MCAS-Alt Score Appeal requests will not be reviewed if postmarked after the deadline.

Q. Who is eligible for the MCAS-Alt Score Appeal?

A. The MCAS-Alt Score Appeal may be filed for any student provided he or she submitted an MCAS-Alt portfolio in 2008 and provided that the school has kept a copy of the student's portfolio. Teachers must use the copy of the portfolio kept at the school as the basis for their comparison of scores on the Portfolio Feedback Forms with evidence in the student's portfolio. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will keep original student portfolios in a secure location and will use these as the basis for conducting any requested score appeal for a student. In September, the Department will return all original portfolios to the school from which they were submitted, except in cases where the Department has received a request for a score appeal for a student.

NOTE: Schools are strongly encouraged, but not required, to maintain a copy of a student's portfolio at his or her school. If a copy is not kept at the school, an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal cannot be requested for a student. It is advisable for teachers to review all portfolio(s) prior to submission in order to minimize the chance of submitting an incomplete portfolio.

Q. If an "MCAS-Alt EV" (electronic portfolio) is submitted, must a printed copy of the portfolio be maintained at the school?

A. No. The electronic portfolio is already saved to the hard drive of the computer used by the teacher who submitted it. The Department will hold the CD or zip disk until September, after which it will be returned to the school.

Q. Who may authorize a request for an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal?

A. A request for an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal may be filed with the Department only by the

• school principal, or
• superintendent of schools, or
• director of an educational collaborative, or
• director of an approved private special education school in which the student is enrolled.

Q. How is a request made for an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal?

A. In order to request an MCAS-Alt Score Appeal, the appropriate school official must complete and sign the 2008 MCAS-Alt Score Appeal Request Form   , which will be posted to the Department's MCAS-Alt Web page at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/alt after April 1, 2008. Only requests received on this form will be reviewed. A completed 2008 MCAS-Alt Score Appeal Form may be faxed to Nancy Hanson at 781-338-3630 by 5:00 p.m. on September 5, 2008, but must also be mailed by the deadline. Failure to send a printed copy with original signatures will result in the MCAS-Alt Score Appeal not being reviewed.

Mail an original and one copy of a 2008 MCAS-Alt Score Appeal Form to:

Nancy Hanson, MCAS-Alt Coordinator
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148

A school may submit a Score Appeal request only if it has kept a copy of the original portfolio, and only between the dates on which the school was provided their Portfolio Feedback Forms and before the end of business on September 5, 2008. The Department will not accept or review MCAS-Alt Score Appeal requests postmarked after the deadline.

Q. Once the MCAS-Alt Score Appeal request is submitted, who performs the actual portfolio review?

A. Expert portfolio scorers under the supervision of the Department will review, rescore, and make a recommendation regarding the portfolio of a student for whom an appeal was requested. In late September, the Department will send a final written determination and, if necessary, an adjusted Parent/Guardian Report, School Roster, and District Roster to the superintendent (or director) and to the principal of the school or program attended by the student, along with the student's original portfolio.

NOTE: The MCAS-Alt Score Appeal should not be used to report discrepancies on standard MCAS Parent/Guardian Reports, Test Item Analysis Reports, School and District Reports of standard MCAS results, or AYP calculations. Instructions for reporting these discrepancies are included in the information sent to schools each fall with the shipment of standard MCAS test results.

This process should also not be used to file MCAS Performance Appeals.

For additional information, please contact Nancy Hanson in the Student Assessment Services office by e-mail at nhanson@doe.mass.edu.