Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

Student Assessment Update: January 9, 2018

Contact Information

MCAS Service Center

Email: mcas@measuredprogress.org

Phone: 800-737-5103

for logistical support, including tech support for PearsonAccess Next and TestNav

Student Assessment Services

Email: mcas@doe.mass.edu

Phone: 781-338-3625

for policy questions, including student participation

Latest Updates from Student Assessment Services

MCAS Grade 10 Field Test Assignments

As ESE communicated earlier this school year, groups of 10^th graders from each high school will participate in field tests this spring for the next-generation high school MCAS that is under development. Districts were notified via email last week of their MCAS grade 10 field test assignments. Districts' assignments are also posted in this document

(which is also posted on ESE's MCAS page), and more information can be found in these FAQs

. Students needing the following accommodations who cannot participate using another accommodation may be exempted:

American Sign Language DVD
Braille edition
Kurzweil 3000 edition (Note: text-to-speech will be available.)
Large-print edition (Note that onscreen text can be magnified.)
Paper-based edition
English/Spanish side-by-side edition

Please contact Student Assessment Services at mcas@doe.mass.edu if your school has a special situation that requires consideration for a school-level exemption (e.g., an outplacement that only administers the MCAS Alternate Assessment). Please note that all outplacements, whenever possible, should have students participate in the field test.

2018 MCAS-Alt Enrollment

To receive submission materials for MCAS Alternate Assessment portfolios for students in your school, please complete the MCAS-Alt enrollment verification beginning on January 8 by following the steps shown below:

Log in to the MCAS Service Center; then select MCAS Alternate Assessment.
Click on Enrollment Verification.
Log in with your new MCAS password (mailed to principals in late December).
Confirm contact information and verify your school information by following the onscreen prompts.
Order materials for students in each grade who are participating in the 2018 MCAS-Alt.
Click the Submit button when finished.
After completion, a confirmation page will be shown onscreen for you to print for your records.

Student Registration for the MCAS March Retests

High schools must order student test materials for the MCAS March retest administration between January 8 and January 22 via the Student Registration/Personal Needs Profile (SR/PNP) process in PearsonAccess Next (PAN). Superintendents must ensure that educational collaboratives and approved private special education schools order materials via the SR/PNP process for their students in out-of-district placements. A response is required from each high school by January 22, including from schools that do not have students participating in this administration. Schools with the following two special situations should contact the MCAS Service Center by the January 22 deadline:

If no students will participate in the March retest, email the MCAS Service Center with the school and district name and code. The MCAS Service Center will be calling high schools that do not complete the SR/PNP or do not contact them before the deadline.
Adult/external diploma programs, test sites, DYS/SEIS, and other high schools with a special situation should contact the MCAS Service Center via email or phone (800-737-5103) to place an order for a total number of materials instead of completing the SR/PNP process.

For support in completing the SR/PNP, schools may access the following resources:

Guide to the SR/PNP Process
Training module with step-by-step instructions
Recording of the training session for the November retest SR/PNP (Note that the process for ordering materials for the March retest test is the same process that high schools used for February Biology.)

A table listing common errors that can occur during the SR/PNP import process, as well as solutions to correct them, can be found at the end of the December 5, 2017 Student Assessment Update. If you have questions about ordering test materials, please contact the MCAS Service Center via email or call 800-737-5103. If you have questions about policies or guidelines for participation, contact the Office of Student Assessment Services via email or call 781-338-3625.

MCAS Training Sessions

As a reminder, upcoming training sessions for MCAS are posted. A new session on Infrastructure Trials has been added, to be held on February 15, with a special district presentation by Josh Murphy from Burlington Public Schools. Please note that in order to register for multiple sessions, you must close the web browser completely after each registration is submitted.

Important Dates

January 8-22: SR/PNP initial registration window for March retest
January 8-19: MCAS-Alt enrollment window for schools to order their portfolio submission materials
January 12: November retest scores available in DropBox Central in ESE's Security Portal and composition images available on MCAS Service Center
January 18: November retest rosters available in DropBox Central in ESE's Security Portal
January 22-February 2: SR/PNP initial registration window for Grades 3-8 spring MCAS tests
January 22: November retest reports available in Edwin Analytics
January 29: February Biology test materials arrive in schools
January 31-February 13: SR/PNP initial registration window for Grade 10 MCAS ELA test
February 15: November retest parent/guardian reports arrive in districts

Resources

February 2018 Biology Test Administration Resources

District Testing Mode Decisions for Spring 2018 Administration

Subscriber Information

Principals, MCAS test coordinators, special education directors, and EL program directors automatically receive this Student Assessment Update based on contact information submitted to the Department. To change your email address or to add another staff member who serves in one of these roles, please follow the instructions below:

Public school districts, public schools, charter public schools, educational collaboratives, and approved private special education schools: submit the new email address to your District-Level Directory Administrator.
Test sites, adult education programs, out-of-state schools, SEIS-DYS programs: go online to the EOE Information Technology web page (select "District/School Information Update" as the subject) to submit your update (be sure to include your District and School Code).

For others who wish to subscribe, email imailsrv@list1.doe.mass.edu with the following information in the body of the email: "subscribe SASUpdate Your_Name" (Example: subscribe SASUpdate John_Smith). To unsubscribe, send an email to the same address with the following information in the body: "unsubscribe SASUpdate." In addition, ESE sends occasional communications regarding state policies that affect educators, parents, and other community stakeholders, as well as opportunities for community members to participate in state initiatives. Please visit our newsletter sign-up page if you are interested in receiving other news and information from the Department. We welcome your questions and feedback at mcas@doe.mass.edu. Thank you.

Last Updated: January 9, 2018