Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Fall 2011/Winter 2012 MCAS Administrations
(November 2011 ELA and Mathematics Retests, February 2012 Biology Test, March 2012 ELA and Mathematics Retests)
This informational resource provides responses to questions principals frequently ask during MCAS test administrations. It is intended to supplement the Principal's Administration Manual, which contains all the basic information needed for a smooth test administration. Answers to other questions can be found by searching for a keyword in the index of the manual. A PDF version is posted on the Department's website at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testadmin/retest/PAM.pdf.
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 Students Who Are English Language Learners (ELLs)
- Providing Student Information/Using Student ID Labels
- Competency Determination
- Other
- View All
1. Scheduling and Staffing
Q. May a student take a test earlier than the scheduled administration date for that test if he or she plans to be out of school (e.g., on vacation)?
A. No. Students may not be tested before the prescribed dates. Students who are absent may make up the test(s) during the testing window according to instructions in the Principal's Administration Manual. Principals should contact the Department to discuss any unusual situations.
Q. What is the Department's recommendation if the fire department has asked to test fire alarms during MCAS testing?
A. The Department recommends that principals contact their local fire departments to schedule fire alarm testing prior to MCAS test administration to minimize interruptions.
Q. What should schools do if a student arrives late for a session?
A. If a student arrives late to a session, and the test administrator has already begun or has finished reading the script from the Test Administration Manual, the student may not begin work on the test until a test administrator has read the complete script to him or her. The Department suggests that a specific test administrator and room be designated for latecomers so that the script can be read to them without disturbing other students who have already begun the test.
Q. For the Mathematics retest, may schools administer session 2 before session 1, if there are not enough calculators for students?
A. No. Test sessions must be administered in the prescribed order.
Q. May substitute teachers administer MCAS tests?
A. Substitute teachers may administer tests if they are regular school employees and meet other qualifications stated on page 19 of the Principal's Administration Manual.
Q. May students be tested in smaller groups, even if they are not students with disabilities who have the accommodation for a small group setting?
A. Yes. Principals have the flexibility to schedule students in appropriate groups and testing spaces other than regular classrooms, as long as all requirements for testing conditions and staffing are met.
Q. May students request to stay after school to complete their ELA Compositions if the test administrator is willing to stay?
A. The scripts in the Test Administration Manual that are read aloud throughout the session will help remind students how much time they have, so extra time should generally not be needed. However, principals may provide students, upon request, with up to 15 extra minutes to review and complete their work.
2. Student Participation
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.
Q. Are home-schooled students permitted to participate in MCAS?
A. No. Students in approved home education programs are not enrolled in public schools or educated with Massachusetts public funds. Consequently, they are neither required nor entitled to take the MCAS tests.
Q. Do home- or hospital-tutored students participate in MCAS?
A. Yes. Home-tutored students 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 or other 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 principal must contact the Department to determine how the student will participate in MCAS testing. Please refer to page 13 of the Principal's Administration Manual for further instructions.
Q. Must foreign exchange 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 the Department's Student Information Management System (SIMS), foreign exchange students must be coded as "11" under "reason for enrollment."
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 need to be scheduled for a closely-monitored make-up session to complete only the questions they have not yet answered. Students may not change answers or review responses to any questions that were answered before leaving the testing space.
3. Questions Related to Students with Disabilities and Students Who Are English Language Learners (ELLs)
Students with Disabilities
Q. How do principals indicate that a student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan?
A. IEP status is reported to SIMS (Student Information Management System) by districts, so principals do not report this information on answer booklets. For the November 2011 retests, principals must indicate whether a student has a 504 plan by filling in a circle on the answer booklet back cover. Starting with the 2012 February Biology and March retests, and going forward, the circle will be removed and 504 status will be reported to SIMS by districts. (If any students have 504 plans because of a temporary disability, such as a broken arm, remember to report these students to the SIMS contact for their district.)
Q. For the retests and the February Biology test, what special MCAS test editions are available for students with disabilities?
A. The following editions are available for these administrations:
- Braille
- Large-print
- Electronic text reader CD (Kurzweil 3000)
Q. Does the Department post sample reference sheets, graphic organizers, or checklists for students with disabilities using accommodation 20?
A. Sample pre-approved graphic organizers for ELA are posted on the Department's website at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/organizers. For mathematics, 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. If a student is using an ELA graphic organizer in accordance with an IEP or 504 plan that specifies accommodation 20, and the organizer does not contain any text, must it be submitted to the Department in advance for approval?
A. No. Graphic organizers that do not contain any words do not require prior Department approval.
Q. Do schools need to return graphic organizers, checklists, or individualized math reference sheets to the Department in their return shipments of test materials?
A. Yes. All checklists, math reference sheets, or graphic organizers (including those posted on the Department's website) that are provided to students with disabilities who have accommodation 20 specified in their IEPs or 504 plans must be included in the return shipment, even if the material has no student handwriting on it, or students refused the accommodation.
Students Who Are English Language Learners (ELLs)
Q. Does an ELL student have to pass MCAS tests to be eligible for a high school diploma, even if the student recently arrived in this country?
A. Yes. All students, including ELL students who recently arrived in this country, must earn a Competency Determination (CD) and meet all local graduation requirements in order to receive a high school diploma.
Q. Are MCAS tests available in other languages?
A. MCAS tests in languages other than English are limited to the grade 10 Mathematics test and Mathematics retests, which are available in an English/Spanish edition. The use of the English/Spanish edition is limited to Spanish-speaking ELL students who have been enrolled in school in the continental United States for fewer than three years and can read and write in Spanish at or near grade-level.
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 Spanish script from the Test Administrator's Manual 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 students who are no longer reported as LEP, or those who have chosen not to receive English language support services (e.g., students enrolled in sheltered English immersion classes), eligible to use a bilingual word-to-word dictionary?
A. Yes. Any student who is or was ever reported as LEP may use a bilingual word-to-word dictionary. A list of authorized bilingual word-to-word dictionaries and glossaries (updated in fall 2011, including specialized terms for mathematics and science and technology/engineering) is posted at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/participation/?section=lep.
Q. If schools have students who speak a language that does not have a bilingual word-to-word dictionary on the approved list, can they submit a request for an update to the list?
A. Requests for updates can be submitted via email to mcas@doe.mass.edu. Unfortunately, however, bilingual word-to-word dictionaries are not available for all languages.
4. Providing Student Information/Using Student ID Labels
Q. If a regular education student is tested in a smaller group or separate setting (see related question on page 1), but the student does not have these accommodations specified in an IEP or 504 plan, do we need to indicate this on the student's answer booklet?
A. No. Do not fill in accommodation circles on an answer booklet unless a student has a disability and receives accommodations listed in an IEP or 504 plan.
Q. Instead of writing the school and district name on each student's answer booklet or test booklet, can a school print this information on a label?
A. Yes. Labels must fit designated sections (other sections of answer booklets must not be covered) and must be of regular thickness (e.g., Avery labels).
Q. Should schools use a Student ID Label if the SASID is correct, but other information provided on the label is incorrect?
A. Yes. Schools 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. Schools should report the problem to the district contact and request that the information be corrected in SIMS.
Q. Is it possible to obtain an additional Student ID Label for a student who recently transferred to our 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 Manual for instructions.
Q. One of our school's students has moved to another school in our district. May we send his or her Student ID Label to the new school?
A. No. MCAS test materials, including Student ID Labels, must not be moved from one school to another. The student's information needs to be updated in the next SIMS submission. The school that the student has transferred to will need to fill in all information requested on the student's answer booklet. The school the student no longer attends will return the unused Student ID Label according to instructions in the Principal's Administration Manual.
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 in pen on the answer booklet.
5. Competency Determination
Q. Can a student who participates in the February Biology test participate in a June STE test as well?
A. Yes. If a student who participates in the February Biology test does not earn a CD in STE, he or she may participate in any of the STE tests in June. February Biology test results are expected to be posted at DropBox Central in late March.
Q. Is it possible to submit an MCAS-Alt portfolio binder in February for Biology?
A. No. MCAS-Alt portfolios are submitted in the spring only. If a portfolio is completed earlier, it should be securely stored until spring.
Q. May students in grade 9 take the February Biology test and have their results count toward the state STE graduation requirement?
A. Yes. Students in grade 9 may participate in the February Biology test to fulfill the STE requirement for the CD, provided they have completed a high school biology course by the time of testing and have not yet earned their CD in STE.
Q. May students who are not currently enrolled in a biology course participate in the February Biology test administration?
A. Yes. As long as a student has completed a high school biology course at the time of testing, and has not previously earned a CD in STE, he or she may take the February Biology test.
6 Other
Q. How do principals stay informed about upcoming MCAS activities, such as ordering test materials?
A. All testing and reporting activities and test administration dates are announced on the Department's website. It is important that principals familiarize themselves with the Department's website and the testing schedule that is posted at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/cal.html. Notices of upcoming events, including dates for ordering materials and reporting results, are posted in the Commissioner's Update and MCAS News Headlines (www.doe.mass.edu/mcas). Also, since faxes are sent to schools with important updates, the Department requests that principals update contact information with their District-level Directory Administrator (listing posted at www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/diradmin/list.aspx).
Q. Does the Department have suggestions for inventorying packets of secure test booklets, which must remain shrink-wrapped?
A. The Department recommends counting the spines of test booklets in the shrink-wrapped packets. A small box is printed on the spine of each booklet, and the boxes appear in descending order for the booklets in each shrink-wrapped packet to assist in counting.
Q. The Test Administrator's Manual states that students' test booklets will be destroyed following test administration. Students are concerned about this. What does this really mean?
A. Booklets are securely shredded and recycled. Scanned images are retained by the testing contractor for a specified amount of time.
Q. May students write on pages in their test booklets that say "No test materials on this page?"
A. Yes. Students may write or do any pre-writing activities in their test booklets. However, all of their responses for scoring must be marked in the appropriate spaces in their answer booklets.
Q. Must displays that provide information related to the content being assessed or to test-taking strategies be removed from the hallways?
A. No. Such displays must only be removed from classrooms where students are being tested.
Q. Students are requested to write the name of the test administrator on the cover of their test booklets for each MCAS test session. If schools use more than one test administrator to proctor each test session, what should students do?
A. Students may write the names of all test administrators on the appropriate line on the test booklet cover and in the space below that line.
last updated: September 20, 2011
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