High School Competency Determination Student Status: Data Review
| To: | Superintendents, High School Principals, and Directors of Charter Schools, Educational Collaboratives, Approved Special Education Private Schools, and Institutional Schools |
| From: | Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D. |
| Date: | February 23, 2009 |
Deadline: March 9, 2009In March 2009, the Department plans to publish Progress Report on Students Attaining the Competency Determination Statewide and by School and District: Classes of 2009 and 2010. The purpose of this report is to provide information on the number and percentage of students in grades 11 and 12 who have attained their Competency Determination (CD) on the high school MCAS English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science and Technology/Engineering tests as of the November 2008 retests. As you know, new regulations require that students in the class of 2010 and beyond earn a scaled score of 240 (Proficient) or higher on the grade 10 English Language Arts and Mathematics tests or earn a scaled score of 220 or higher on the English Language Arts and Mathematics tests/ retests and fulfill the requirements of their Educational Proficiency Plans to be eligible to receive a high school diploma. In addition they must earn a scaled score of 220 or higher on one of four high school Science and Technology/Engineering tests. See www.doe.mass.edu/hsreform/epp/ for further information. The requirements related to MCAS scaled scores for the classes of 2009 and 2010 are displayed in the table below. | Class | MCAS Scaled Score |
|---|
| English Language Arts | Mathematics | Science and Technology/Engineering |
|---|
| 2009 | 220 or higher | 220 or higher | N/A | | 2010 | 240 or higher
Or
220-238 plus fulfill requirements of an Educational Proficiency Plan | 240 or higher
Or
220-238 plus fulfill requirements of an Educational Proficiency Plan | 220 or higher |
Review of Your District's Data is RequestedIn preparation for the release of this report, we would like to give you a final opportunity to review the cumulative CD attainment status for students in grades 11 and 12 who were enrolled in your district/school as of October 2008. A file listing these students as reported by your district in the October 2008 SIMS has been posted to the Department's Security Portal at www4.doemass.org/auth/Login/ under Drop Box Central-MCAS File Exchange. The file name for your district will be listed as "CD_xxxx.xls" where xxxx is your four-digit district code. Detailed instructions for submitting corrections are posted on the "Instructions" sheet of the data file. Only individuals with the MCAS Drop Box security role have access to these data. Please contact your district-level Directory Administrator with questions about accessing the data. A list of Directory Administrators is available at www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/diradmin/list.asp. I request that you take a moment to review your data file and submit any necessary corrections regarding your students' CD attainment status by 5:00 pm, Monday, March 9. If you have questions about the CD status data file, please contact Student Assessment Services at mcas@doe.mass.edu or call 781-338-3625. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Last Updated: February 27, 2009
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