Assessment Requirements for ESs

Mandated Testing Policy

This Charter School must administer any state mandated assessment test whenever one is required.

Mandated State and School Assessments

STAR--The Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program requires that all public school districts in California administer a single standardized test, designated by the State Board of Education (SBE), to all students in grades 2 through 11. The STAR test consists of three components: The Cat 6 Achievement test for grades 3 and 7, California Content Standards Tests for all grade levels and some specified subject areas, and California Writing Standards Tests (for grades 4 and 7 only).

PFT--The PFT is a state-mandated fitness test to be administered only to 5th, 7th, & 9th grade students, annually.

CAHSEE--The California State Board of Education (SBE) requires that high school students graduating in the 2006 school year and beyond must pass the CAHSEE in order to receive a high school diploma. The CAHSEE consists of English/Language Arts sections 1 and 2 and a Mathematics tests. The state requires that students taking the High School Exit Exam present a photo I.D. on the first day of testing. You may present a California I.D. issued by the DMV office, or a valid driver’s license. The school does not reimburse the I.D. costs. You can also get an I.D. mailing a one inch photo of the student to the school office so that the school can create an ID for you. (See Student ID Card policy).

Scantron/WRAT—Each 3rd to 12th grade student entering an IEM school must take the online Pre-test at the Scantron website within 30 days of their enrollment, proctored by their assigned ES. K-2nd grade students take the WRAT instead. (Note: 2nd grade students can choose to also do SCANTRON). This pre-test data will be used in school reporting to show the progress of our students over time. It can also be used to select appropriate grade level curriculum, predict outcome on the STAR and CSTs, suggest appropriate learning objectives for the student, and provide reteaching materials on selected topics. Each school will conduct post-tests on an individual school timetable.

Additional assessments--Details on each of these specific assessment can be found on the assessment webpage. These assessments are a required part of the charter school experience, since by law, charter schools are required to prove that their students perform as well as other students in their district.

End of year Assessment: OG/SS currently uses the STAR assessment as our end of year assessment exam. Any 2nd to 11th student who does not take this assesment will need to take the school end of year assessment instead.

Graudate Assessment: OG/SS requires a final SCANTRON assessment to be completed prior to their last day of school, whether receiving a diploma or a certificate of completion. The math portion of this assessment should be completed at the end of their last math course with the school.

Mandated Assessment Waiver

For School Assessments: These assessments are required by our school charter and cannot be waived. They are a requirement for the school to stay in business.

For State Assessments: It is mandatory that students either test on the state designated dates or have a parent request on file stating that their child(ren) be waived from the required state testing. The waiver must be parent initiated. It is unlawful for any staff member to encourage a parent to waive their student from testing. A school employee may only explain the mandated assessment policy. If a parent is requesting that their child be waived from testing, then they need to write a letter to the Ed Services Director of the charter school with a request for the waiver. No explanation needs to be given in the letter. The letter must be sent to SS/OG, Assessment Department, 1166 Broadway Ste. Q, Placerville , CA 95667 , Attn: Assessment Department/Waiver. A school administrator will be in contact with the parent to follow up on the requested waiver.

Mandated Assessment Scores

The parent may choose whether or not to include any test scores in their student's cume file when the Student Agreement is signed each semester.

NCLB Participation Assurance

In order to keep our school in good standing with the federal NCLB requirements, we must ensure that 95% of our students in the required grade levels take the STAR and CAHSEE tests each year as mandated. We have an electronic database tracking system for each of our students who are required to take the mandated assessments. As soon as the students complete their testing, a notation is made in the database. Any students that have not completed any of their state mandated tests, as indicated in the database, will be contacted daily and will be followed up until their tests are complete. This database system ensures that we will track and monitor each of our student's testing record. The ES’s must check their e-mail daily to make sure that all of their students have completed their tests. The ESs will be in constant communication with the assessment department during the testing windows to deal with any problems that arise with a student not following through with their mandated assessment obligations.

Proctoring Requirements for ESs

As part of the ES job responsibility, each ES must participate in the proctoring and/or other duties associated with the charter school's state and school mandated assessment tests. Each charter school has individual testing requirements that can affect the length of the local testing cycles. Each ES must participate equitably with the testing duties under the direction of the local testing coordinator to which they are assigned until testing is completed. The ultimate responsibility for test completion for each of your assigned students is you, their ES.

School test site locations and site coordinators are provided by the school to support ESs in testing their students. We encourage all students to take their assessments at these local sites proctored by the ESs sharing proctor duties. If your student does not attend, it is still your responsibility to test them. Any ES serving an active student that did not test at a school site must complete that test individually in a quiet public location (if a home must be used, contact the assessment department for permission). ES’s with special education students may also be required to individually test their students.

Shared Proctor Duty Definition

“Part-time for test purposes” ESs (12 students or less) will work approximately ½ the number of duty days a “full-time for test purposes” (13+ students) ES serves. Each ES must participate equitably with the testing duties under the direction of the local testing coordinator to which they are assigned until testing is completed. Failure to participate as required will result in ES Discipline. If an ES wishes to switch their assigned proctor days or location, it is their responsibility to find another ES to trade with.