Updated Information about the 2009-2010 MCAS and MEPA Test Administration Schedules
| To: | Superintendents, Principals, and Directors of Charter Schools, Approved Private Special Education Schools, Educational Collaboratives, and Special Education in Institutional Settings |
| Copy: | MCAS Test Coordinators |
| From: | Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education |
| Date: | June 30, 2009 |
I am writing to provide updated information about the test administration schedule for the 2009-2010 school year. As you may recall from my April 22, 2009, memorandum, in response to your feedback, I announced a reduction in testing time beginning in 2010. The attached testing schedule   provides details about how testing time will be reduced. Please note the following changes from the previously released schedule: MEPA- Kindergartners will not participate in the fall 2009 MEPA (MEPA-R/W and MELA-O).
- Grade span 1-2 will participate in one Reading and one Writing session in the fall 2009 MEPA-R/W, and grade span K-2 will participate in one Reading and one Writing session in the spring 2010 MEPA-R/W.
MCAS- The English Language Arts (ELA) Reading Comprehension tests for grades 3-8 will be reduced from three 45-minute sessions to two 60-minute sessions.
- Mathematics (grades 3-6) and Science and Technology/Engineering (grades 5 and 8) test sessions will be reduced from 60 to 45 minutes, and grades 7 and 8 Mathematics from 60 to 50 minutes.
- The deadline for submitting MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) portfolios has been changed to April 2, 2010. This change is necessary so that students participating in the MCAS-Alt in ELA will receive results according to the accelerated schedule along with students participating in the standard MCAS ELA test.
While no dates for the standard test administration window have changed since the schedule was last updated, I recommend that you consider how the flexibility in the schedule and the reductions in testing time can be used to further reduce your school's test administration burden. For example, the allowable ELA test administration window is 16 weekdays, of which some days are religious observances. For an elementary school testing students in grades 3-5, we estimate that all testing could be completed in one week. See the attached test administration schedules for guidance  . Thank you, in advance, for reviewing the updated test administration schedule with your staff. Please direct questions about the test administration schedules to the Student Assessment Services Unit at 781-338-3625.
Last Updated: June 30, 2009
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