Portfolio Appeals
| To: | Superintendents and Principals, and Directors of Charter Schools, Educational Collaboratives, Private Special Education Schools, and Institutional Schools |
| From: | Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education |
| Date: | September 2008 |
In a small number of cases, it will not be possible to use a student's course grades for the purpose of filing a standard MCAS Performance Appeal. For example, there may be fewer than 6 students in a school who have taken the same sequence of courses as the student for whom an MCAS Performance Appeal is being filed. In such cases, the superintendent or school director may submit a portfolio of the student's current and/or cumulative work in the content area of the appeal. The portfolio will include work collected during one or more years in high school, according to the attached guidelines, that meets a comparable level of performance to a student who has earned a score of Needs Improvement or above in the subject of the appeal. .
A portfolio appeal may be filed for students either with or without disabilities when a cohort does not exist for the student. The guidelines for preparing a portfolio appeal are similar to those used to submit a "competency portfolio" for a student with a disability participating in the MCAS Alternate Assessment. Please follow these guidelines when submitting portfolios. When evidence in the portfolio does not closely follow the guidelines, it will most likely be insufficient to show that the student has met the required standard. For a student in special education, the Department strongly encourages collaboration between general and special educators to develop the portfolio. I urge schools to begin collecting work samples as soon as possible for students in high school for whom a portfolio appeal may be needed.
Portfolio appeals for the 2008-2009 school year must be submitted according to the timetable shown below. Portfolios received after the listed deadlines may not be reviewed. A completed 2008–2009 MCAS Appeals Application must be submitted with each portfolio appeal. Students who have not yet earned a scaled score of 220 in all high school MCAS tests required to earn a Competency Determination should also be encouraged to participate in MCAS retest opportunities, even if an appeal has been filed.
| Portfolios are due at the Department by 5:00 p.m.: | Results will be reported to schools by: |
| November 14, 2008 | December 19, 2008 |
| April 15, 2009 | May 15, 2009 |
| June 12, 2009 | August 14, 2009 |
Attached are guidelines for filing portfolio appeals.
last updated: October 21, 2008
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