The Assist: March 2007

Thank you for everything you have done to ensure that each MI-Access assessment cycle runs smoothly. This task is becoming increasingly significant as new assessments are developed, piloted, and administered in an effort to comply with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. We understand that it takes a lot of your time and effort, and we truly appreciate your continued support of the program.

Assessment Administration Information
In this issue of The Assist, we have included an article called “Notes from the Contractor to District MI-Access Coordinators,” which provides information that should be helpful as you administer the spring MI-Access assessments and begin returning materials to the MI-Access contractor. Most of the information can be found in the coordinator and assessment administrator manuals, but we thought it would be helpful to repeat some of the key tasks in this newsletter.

There also is an article discussing ethical assessment administration, why it is important, and what to do when an unethical practice occurs. Since we are currently in the midst of a MI-Access assessment cycle, this information may prove valuable to districts and schools.

Information for IEP Team Deliberation
On another front, we know that many of you are, or will soon be, engaged in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process, developing programming for your students for next year. To help you in your efforts, we have included information designed to guide important decisions related to participation in statewide assessment. For example, the article called “Accommodations Decisions for IEP Teams” should help with the selection and evaluation of accommodations for statewide assessment. It contains general information on the types of accommodations that are allowed, as well as a list of questions to ask around the IEP table when selecting them for instruction and assessment. We recommend that this article be used in conjunction with the article on the Michigan Merit Exam ination (MME), which deals with accommodations specific to that assessment.

We also have an article that describes the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) and its test cycles, inclusion practices, and strategies for selecting assessment accommodations so that more students with disabilities can participate.

And, as always, we have included a section called “Tools for Determining Participation in State Assessment,” which contains a table showing which grades and content areas are assessed at the state level, an age-to-grade conversion chart, an updated student characteristic table, an updated flow chart, and an updated checklist. All of these tools can be used by IEP Teams as they consider important factors related to selecting the appropriate state-level assessment for their students.

Additional Assessment Information
In this issue of The Assist you will also find important information that is not directly related to IEP Team decisions but does impact the statewide assessment of students with disabilities. For example, there are articles on

We hope you find all of the information of interest and use. Again, thank you for staying current with MI-Access and working to ensure that our students with disabilities are appropriately and meaningfully assessed.

Peggy Dutcher
Manager, Assessment for Students with Disabilities Program dutcherp@mi.gov

Greetings from the MI-Access assessment contractor! We look forward to a very busy spring and welcome the opportunity to continue working with Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability (OEAA) staff and Michigan educators on this important assessment program.

MI-Access Spring 2007 Assessment Windows
The MI-Access spring 2007 assessment window for the grade 11 Functional Independence and grades 3 through 8 and 11 Participation and Supported Independence Version 1.5 (P/SI v1.5) English language arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments began on February 19 and will continue through April 6, 2007. The assessment window for the MI-Access science pilot assessments started on February 27—a little later—and will end on the same day, April 6.

Grade 11 Functional Independence and Grades 3 through 8 and 11 Participation and Supported Independence Version 1.5 (P/SI v1.5) English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Assessments
The first shipment of ELA and mathematics assessment materials was sent to districts in late January and included district materials (such as manuals, reference booklets, return packets, and so forth) and boxes of assessment materials (such as assessment booklets, accommodated version packets, and so forth) organized by school. These boxes had fluorescent yellow labels on them. An overage of about ten percent was provided for some materials to help reduce the need for ordering additional materials.

The second shipment of ELA and mathematics assessment materials—which were also packaged in boxes with fluorescent yellow labels—were shipped in early February. This shipment contained District, School, and Teacher Identification Sheets, Teacher Return Envelopes, and student scan documents and labels. The preprinted student scan documents and labels in this shipment were provided only for districts that completed the full Pre-ID process in the OEAA Secure Site (www.mi.gov/oeaa-secure) by the January 19, 2007 deadline.

After the first and second shipments of MI-Access Functional Independence and P/SI v1.5 ELA and mathematics materials arrive and are inventoried, District MI-Access Coordinators may place orders for additional materials, if necessary, by using the MI-Access Online System. Keep in mind, however, that additional materials orders should not be placed to rectify discrepancies (i.e., a packing slip indicates that eight booklets were shipped, but only six were included). If any discrepancies are found, or if there are questions regarding a shipment, district coordinators should call the MI-Access Toll-free Hotline immediately at 1-888-382-4246, or send an e-mail message to mi-access@tasa.com so the discrepancy can be corrected or the question addressed.

Grades 5, 8, and 11 Participation, Supported Independence, and Functional Independence Science Pilot Assessments
All of the MI-Access Science Pilot assessment materials were sent in one shipment on February 22. The boxes had fluorescent pink labels on them. This is the only shipment of science pilot materials that districts will receive. Note that the quantity of materials for the science pilot was based on the counts entered in the MI-Access Online System and DOES NOT include any overage. Ordering additional materials will not be permitted for this assessment.

Pre-Identification Required
Regardless of the content area being assessed—ELA, mathematics, or science—student scan documents NO LONGER include bubbles for filling in student demographic information; therefore, all students were supposed to have been pre-identified in the OEAA Secure Site. District MI-Access Coordinators who did not complete the Pre-ID process for a student by the January 19 deadline, must locally print barcode labels for that student. Whenever possible, a laser printer should be used to generate the barcode labels. This process is critical since student answer documents that are returned without labels will not be scored.

Tracking Shipments Using the MI-Access Online System
The MI-Access Online System allows District MI-Access Coordinators to view shipment histories. This is a useful tool for tracking a shipment of any kind from the MI-Access contractor, but particularly for tracking shipments of assessment materials.

Once an order for assessment materials is placed, coordinators can click on “View MI-Access Shipment History” in the main menu, and then click on the order number to find the date the materials were shipped and the UPS tracking number assigned to the shipment. By clicking on the UPS tracking number, District MI-Access Coordinators can see a complete shipping history, including when materials were delivered (or the expected delivery date), who signed for them and at what time, the number of packages shipped, and other relevant tracking information.

Please note that if no one at the district is available to accept a shipment (because the district is closed due to inclement weather or on vacation, for example), UPS will make two more delivery attempts before returning the package(s) to the contractor. If a package is returned, the attempted delivery dates and other pertinent information can be obtained by clicking on the tracking number and “View Package Progress.”

Returning Spring 2007 Assessment Materials
Please note that all assessment booklets, (including the District Coordinator Reference Booklets) are secure, barcoded materials that MUST be returned to the MI-Access contractor along with all of the other assessment materials after the assessment window closes. (Only coordinator and assessment administrator manuals and rulers are not secure and, thus, should NOT be returned.)

When returning spring MI-Access assessment materials, please keep in mind that the science pilot assessment materials MUST BE RETURNED SEPARATELY from the grade 11 Functional Independence and/or grades 3 through 8 and 11 P/SI v1.5 ELA and mathematics assessment materials. District coordinators must be sure to use the UPS RS labels included in each assessment-specific Return of Materials Packet. (The ELA and mathematics operational packet is yellow and the science pilot packet is green.)

Early Returns
While District MI-Access Coordinators are required to return assessment materials to the MI-Access contractor by no later than April 16, districts are strongly encouraged to return their materials earlier if at all possible. Returning assessment materials early helps OEAA and contractor staff collect data that are used to verify the accuracy and performance of the scoring system.

In addition, early return materials will be used this spring for the P/SI v1.5 standard-setting process. In order for your data to be included in this process, materials must be received by no later than April 2, 2007. Once the standards are set and approved, they will be applied to all P/SI v1.5 assessments and will be used by the state to calculate No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress for each school and district in the state. A detailed letter outlining the purpose of the Early Returns Program was sent to all districts in February, along with a confirmation form, which, if completed and faxed back, commits the district to early returns.

On March 22, 2007, BETA/TASA, the MI-Access assessment contractor, announced that it had officially changed its name to Questar Assessment, Inc. The change was intended to unify several of the company's operating units under a single, recognizable brand. In a press release announcing the name change, CEO Andrew L. Simon explained that the company had been working hard to enhance its ability across the entire spectrum of assessment services. "We have accomplished that goal," he said, “through a series of acquisitions in recent years and now offer one of the most comprehensive suites of assessment services in our industry.” Simon went on to explain that he believes the new name “better reflects the true nature of the company as an integrated, self-contained, and resourceful provider of assessment services.”

The goal of MI-Access is to accurately measure what students with disabilities know and are able to do in specific grades. In order to achieve that goal and ensure equity for all students, the MI-Access assessments must be administered in as standardized a manner as possible.

As noted in the MI-Access 2006/2007 Functional Independence Coordinator and Assessment Administrator Manual, district and school staff can assist with standardized, ethical administration by (1) maintaining the security of ALL assessment materials, (2) administering the assessments in a manner consistent with established assessment procedures, (3) establishing assessment conditions that prevent opportunities for students to engage in irregular behaviors, (4) reviewing student information on completed scan documents, and (5) following the communication procedures established for asking and answering questions.

In August 2005, the Michigan State Board of Education (SBE) approved a document called Professional Assessment and Accountability Practices for Educators (or “the ethics document”) to help schools and districts meet the goal of ethical, standardized assessment administration. The document was developed by the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability (OEAA) using professional guidelines outlining best practices in assessment. The ethics document has sections describing (1) the roles and responsibilities of those involved with assessment administration, (2) general issues of security and preparation, and (3) what to do if an irregularity or unethical practice is suspected. In addition, it includes flow charts that depict the investigation process and a glossary that defines commonly used terms. Everyone involved with the Michigan Educational Assessment System (MEAS) should read this document and understand the “ground rules” by which all state assessments should be administered. The ethics document is available at www.mi.gov/oeaa and at www.mi.gov/mi-access.

If irregularities are discovered during assessment administration, it is best to follow the procedures outlined in the Professional Assessment and Accountability Practices for Educators, including calling the OEAA toll free number at 1-877-560-8378 to talk with someone. The situation can sometimes be remedied or Emergency Tests may need to be ordered and administered (at a cost to the district of $50 per student per subject) to prevent the school from failing to make AYP as a result of having invalid scores. The expense of emergency tests and the time required to re-administer the assessment are two good reasons for having high quality, thorough training and careful monitoring of assessment administrators and proctors. The figure below shows the OEAA staff person with whom districts should talk (as well as their direct phone number) when an unethical practice occurs. The contact will vary depending on the type of assessment that was being administered.

Making the best possible decisions regarding accommodations for individual students with disabilities is a critical but difficult task. As the statewide assessment system continues to evolve, Individualized Education Program (IEP) Teams and teams making these decisions for Section 504 students are faced with the corresponding tasks of determining which assessment is most appropriate for a given student, as well as how to administer the assessment with accommodations that mirror those used in classroom instruction. The purpose of this article is to provide some reminders about what accommodations are, the goal of providing them, and recommended questions that IEP and Section 504 Teams should ask during the accommodations selection process. It also provides guidance on how teams might attempt to determine the effectiveness of accommodations for individual students. Much of the information in this article comes from documents prepared by the Council of Chief State School Officers Assessing Special Education Students State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (CCSSO-ASES-SCASS), in which Michigan is an active member.

Accommodations in General
Many special education service providers are exceedingly familiar with what accommodations are and how students should use them. However, since the use of accommodations in statewide assessment has potentially serious consequences for students and districts, it is useful to revisit their definitions and the thought processes behind providing them. It also is important to remember that (1) many assessment accommodations, such as having a mathematics assessment read aloud to a student, need to be provided in one-on-one assessment situations; and (2) assessment accommodations should only be used if the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan indicates that they are appropriate for the student, and reflect what he or she routinely uses (or how he or she routinely responds) during instruction.

Fundamentally, accommodations are tools and procedures in the areas of presentation, response, timing/scheduling, and setting that help students with disabilities access content, instruction, and assessment. It is important to bear in mind that while accommodations help minimize the effects of a student’s disability and gain access to the content and instruction being provided, they do not reduce learning expectations.

Michigan used these four categories to develop its Office of Eductional Assessment and Accommodation (OEAA) Assessment Accommodation Summary Table, and will continue using them to develop other materials related to assessment accommodations.

Modifications are different than accommodations. Instead of providing access to content, instruction, or assessment, modifications actually alter learning or assessment expectations. For example, a modification might require a student to learn less material or revise assessments to make them easier. In Michigan, modifications are considered nonstandard accommodations because they change either the scope or content being measured; therefore, modifications should be considered carefully for use on statewide assessments. If a student uses a modification, or a nonstandard accommodation, on any of Michigan's state-level assessments, he or she will count as not participating in the assessment, which impacts No Child Left Behind (NCLB) participation rates.

Goals of Accommodations Provision
The primary driving force behind accommodations is providing access. In the case of students with disabilities, that means access to grade-level content to the greatest extent possible based on the nature of the student's disability. To ensure greater access, every IEP and Section 504 Team member must (1) be familiar with the state’s content standards and local curricula, and (2) work collaboratively with general and special educators to effectively reach decisions that have the maximum benefit for students. In addition, accommodations must be used consistently and appropriately. As illustrated below, the use of accommodations should not be random, but instead should be linked across instruction and assessment, and constitute a fundamental part of each student’s ecology.

Selecting Accommodations
Making accommodations a part of a student’s academic experience is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. IEP Teams need to consider several issues before making any decisions. For example, IEP Teams should never check off every accommodation available in the OEAA Assessment Accommodation Summary Table or employ as many standard accommodations as possible on an assessment hoping that “something” will work. Instead, they should strive to match a student’s particular needs with the accommodations that will best help him or her address them. Furthermore, IEP Teams need to know, ahead of time, that there are additional procedures involved with selecting accommodations for certain assessments, such as the Michigan Merit Examination (MME), which means that teams will need to work closely with their district’s designated MME Test Accommodations Coordinator (TAC) to make informed decisions.

Following are four lists of questions that IEP Teams may want to use to guide their discussions about selecting accommodations for students with newly identified disabilities or reviewing accommodations for students who are already using them.

Involving students in the process of selecting accommodations can greatly increase the chance that they will be used and that the student will benefit from their use. In addition, it can help students start seeing accommodations as a part of everyday life and lead to discussions about how they might be used outside of school.

The Assessment Accommodation Summary Table
While the questions listed above should prove useful in guiding discussions about accommodations, it also is helpful to have a list of commonly used accommodations as a reminder of what can be considered for statewide assessment. To that end, Michigan developed its OEAA Assessment Accommodation Summary Table, which provides educators, parents, and other interested parties with a summary of the standard and nonstandard accommodations that are available for use on each state-level assessment in the State Board of Education-adopted Michigan Educational Assessment System (MEAS). The MEAS includes the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), MI-Access (Michigan’s Alternate Assessment Program), and the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA). The table also describes permitted and not permitted accommodations for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). (The accommodations available for the spring 2007 administration of the Michigan Merit Examination are available in a separate table, which is discussed in detail in the article called “IEP Team and Section 504 Decision-Making for the Michigan Merit Examination.”)

IEP Teams need to keep in mind that the OEAA's summary table should not be used as a checklist for determining what assessment accommodations should be used for a student, but to make sure that appropriate ones are selected and that the consequences of using them are considered. The introductory pages of the summary table should be read carefully, as they outline the impact of using standard or nonstandard accommodations on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculations and student eligibility for Michigan Promise. The summary table is posted on the MI-Access Web page at www.mi.gov/mi-access under “Resources” and on the MME Web page at www.mi.gov/mme.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Accommodations
Following are some additional questions that IEP Teams may find useful when deliberating about accommodations. Answering these questions together—as teams are preparing to hold IEPs or following the administration of classroom or statewide assessments—can help ensure that each student is being allowed the greatest possible access to content that is appropriate for him or her.

IEP and Section 504 Team Decision-Making for the Michigan Merit Examination

In a letter from the U.S. Education Department (USED) dated November 1, 2006, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) received feedback indicating that the Michigan Merit Examination (MME) is likely to be fully compliant with the assessment requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). While the USED did request some additional evidence, the overall tone of the letter was quite positive, which led Michigan to administer it in spring 2007 in place of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) High School Test (HST). Since the MDE anticipates that the MME will receive full approval as a component of the Michigan Educational Assessment System (MEAS), Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Section 504 Teams will need to continue making accommodations decisions for high school students who are eligible to participate in the MME.

Beyond accommodations decisions, IEP Teams will need to decide whether the MME is appropriate for their student, or if he or she should take MI-Access, which will continue to be available as an alternate. (Please note that students with Section 504 plans are not eligible for MI-Access.) However, IEP Teams must keep in mind that the percentage of students who should participate in MI-Access will continue to be very small, since those assessments are designed only for students who have, or function as if they have, a cognitive impairment.

Components of the MME
Table 1 below shows how the MME will be organized. There will be three assessment booklets and three corresponding answer documents. Schools will administer a particular set of assessments in each of three test sessions when they are administered using standard time.

In addition to showing the MME’s organization, the table includes information on the number of multiple choice (MC) items and prompts that will appear in each part of the assessment; the actual testing time; and the estimated time for administration, including check in, instruction, testing, breaks, and the collection of materials. All parts of each assessment will be timed and must be administered at the same time of day to all students in a given high school. These assessment organization parameters are designed to provide consistent and high levels of test security, increase test validity, and minimize the interruption of instruction.

IEP and Section 504 Teams should be aware that students are not allowed to take just one component of the MME or to be assessed in only one content area (e.g., mathematics, ELA, science, or social studies). Therefore, if they decide that the MME is appropriate for a student, he or she must participate in ALL portions of the assessment. This is an important consideration since the student may require different accommodations for different content areas. Table 2 below shows the components of the MME that contribute to each content-area MME score. It emphasizes the importance of considering appropriate accommodations for each content area so that students can access the assessments in order to show what they know and are able to do.

Accommodations on the MME
There are two categories of accommodations for the MME. The first is ACT-approved accommodations (for Day 1 only), which can be used by a student and will result in (1) college reportable ACT scores, (2) scores that can be used for making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Education YES! calculations, and (3) scores that can be used to determine a student's eligibility for a Michigan Promise scholarship. ACT-approved accommodations apply to students with IEPs and students with Section 504 plans.

The second category is state-allowed accommodations, which will result in scores that count for a Michigan Promise scholarship, Education YES!, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) AYP, but may not result in college reportable ACT scores. The differences come primarily from the fact that ACT, in an effort to be consistent across all states, uses only the Americans with Disabilities Act to approve accommodations for college reportable ACT scores. Individual states like Michigan, however, must comply with many federal and state regulations and requirements, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, NCLB, Michigan State Board of Education (SBE) policies, and state laws requiring the provision of appropriate accommodations that enable students to access all state assessments. (State-allowed accommodations are available for students with IEPs, students with Section 504 plans, and English language learners.)

MME Accommodations Summary Table
In order to facilitate the provision of appropriate accommodations, the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability (OEAA) has worked closely with ACT to develop an MME Assessment Accommodation Summary Table. This helpful document contains information on the MME component scores (for example, it lists all the pieces of the MME that contribute to the overall score for mathematics). The table also contains directions on how it should be read, details on requesting accommodations from ACT, a summary of the ACT review process, and information about local decisions for WorkKeys and the Michigan components of the examination. The table then lists all the accommodations in the same order as the State Board-approved OEAA Assessment Accommodation Summary Table for MEAP and MI-Access. In that document, each accommodation contains comments from ACT and fields indicating whether it (1) is standard or nonstandard for MME scores; (2) may be requested for use on the ACT; and (3) will result in college reportable ACT scores. It is important to remember that only standard assessment accommodations will result in valid MME scores. If a student uses nonstandard accommodations, he or she will count as “not assessed.” The MME summary table is available on the MME Web page (www.michigan.gov/mme) under “MME Assessment of Special Populations,” and on the MI-Access Web page (www.mi.gov/mi-access).

Planning for 2007/2008
There are two MME test cycles scheduled for the 2007/2008 school year: one in fall 2007 and another in spring 2008. Each test cycle has unique specifications that will impact IEP and Section 504 Team decisions related to accommodations. Table 3 below shows the accommodation options that were available in spring 2007, and those that will be available in fall 2007 and spring 2008. The information that follows the table explains major similarities and differences between the cycles.

Spring 2008 Assessment Cycle: Requesting Accommodations for MME Day 1
If it is determined that a student needs accommodations for Day 1 of the MME (when ACT Plus Writing is administered), the accommodations must be officially requested. Each district is responsible for assigning a Test Accommodations Coordinator (TAC) to work with ACT to ensure that accommodations decisions and approvals are resolved before the assessment window opens. Prior to the window, ACT will send a mailing to each TAC (or school principal if no TAC has been designated) that includes two application forms customized for Michigan—one for ACT-approved accommodations and one for state-allowed accommodations. The TAC is responsible for obtaining information from IEPs or Section 504 plans regarding which students need which types of accommodations and submitting supporting documentation for ACT-approved accommodations. Differentiating between the types of accommodations that will be used (ACT-approved vs. state-allowed) is important because students receiving one type of approved accommodation will have different materials and be tested in a different room than students receiving the other.

The accommodations requesting process for MME Day 1 contains deadlines for application submission to ensure that ample time exists for each TAC to appeal any ACT-denied accommodations requests, and to request state-allowed accommodation materials if the appeal is denied. ACT will send information along with any denial indicating why the request was turned down. Reasons may include insufficient documentation, no justification for the accommodation documented in the student’s IEP/Section 504 plan, or no history of the accommodation being used prior to planning for the ACT. Specific requirements for ACT-approved accommodations include documentation of initial diagnosis, reconfirmation of disability within the last three years, and a copy of the accommodations page from the student’s current IEP or Section 504 plan. Sample spring 2007 accommodation request forms are currently posted on the MME and MI-Access Web pages under “MME Assessment of Special Populations.” These forms will be revised slightly for fall 2007 and spring 2008, but they still should prove helpful to IEP and Section 504 Teams as they begin to plan for the next school year.

Spring 2008 Assessment Cycle: Local Accommodation Decisions and Ordering for MME Day 2 and Day 2 and 3
There is no form to request accommodations for the WorkKeys assessments or the Michigan components of the MME. ACT’s approval of accommodations applies only to the administration of ACT Plus Writing. However, school personnel are advised to use ACT’s approval as a guideline for ordering assessment materials related to accommodations, such as accommodated formats (e.g., audio or large print), reader scripts, or materials necessary for extended time. These materials must be ordered through the OEAA Secure Site (www.mi.gov/oeaa-secure), because they are not automatically ordered, even if a student has the same accommodation for MME Day 1. Since there is no issue of reporting scores to colleges, schools may provide accommodations on the WorkKeys and Michigan components of the MME consistent with the accommodations listed in the “Michigan Components” columns of the MME Assessment Accommodation Summary Table (even if the student tests without the accommodations used on the ACT).

Special Notes on Accommodations
For the MME, a reader is considered a standard assessment accommodation because ACT Plus Writing and WorkKeys both measure reading comprehension as opposed to decoding. If an IEP or Section 504 Team determines that a reader is an appropriate accommodation, scripts must be specially ordered from ACT and be used as directed during assessment administration. There are also scripts for the Michigan components of the MME and WorkKeys, which districts must order from the OEAA Secure Site (www.mi.gov/oeaa-secure). Please refer to accommodations 42 and 61 on the Spring 2007 Michigan Merit Examination Assessment Accommodation Summary Table (at www.michigan.gov/mme) when making decisions regarding reading the assessment aloud and/or using audio versions.

Fall 2007 MME Assessment Cycle: Retesting
Students are allowed two opportunities to take the MME to ensure that they have more than one chance to qualify for a Michigan Promise scholarship. Therefore, if they took the MME in spring 2007 and they want to retest, they may do so in fall 2007. (This also applies to new twelfth-grade students who are interested in qualifying for a Michigan Promise scholarship.) The Fall 2007 Testing Cycle is not available to eleventh-grade students.

Fall 2007: MME Day 1 (ACT Plus Writing)
In fall 2007, MME Day 1 (ACT Plus Writing) is scheduled for Saturday, October 27, which is a national ACT test date. Students will be administered the MME Day 1 assessments at a national test center, not at the student’s school building (unless, of course, the building is designated as a national test center). This is important to know since only ACT-approved accommodations will be allowed for MME Day 1. If a student has previously been approved to use ACT-approved accommodations, only the ACT approval letter, the MME Request for ACT-Approved Test Accommodations form, and documentation stating that the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan is current will need to be sent to ACT when scheduling the student for MME Day 1. However, if the accommodations in the student’s current IEP have changed, the school should consider applying for ACT approval of the new accommodations.

If a student has either a new IEP or Section 504 plan or is new to the district and has not previously been approved to use ACT-approved accommodations, the entire application will need to be completed. More details about the application process for fall will be sent to MME TACs in sufficient time to submit applications and appeal if needed. However, if the appeal is denied, the student will need to be scheduled for the Spring 2008 MME Testing Cycle since state-allowed accommodations are not permitted for MME Day 1 for fall 2007.

Fall 2007 MME Day 2 and Day 3
Accommodations for WorkKeys and the Michigan mathematics, science, and social studies components are locally determined by IEP and Section 504 Teams. State-allowed accommodations can be considered for MME Day 2 and Day 3. The dates for administering these assessments are listed in Table 4 below. All Day 2 and Day 3 assessments for students using accommodation(s) must be ordered through the OEAA Secure Site (www.mi.gov/oeaa-secure). The accommodated materials are not automatically ordered if a student has ACT-approved accommodations for MME Day 1.

Resources
For more information on the MME, please go to the MME Web page (www.michigan.gov/mme). There you will find the information and tools described in this article as well as more details on assessing special populations and updates on other issues related to the administration of the MME.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an ongoing national assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas, including (but not limited to) reading, writing, mathematics, science, world geography, U.S. history, civics, and art. Since 1969, NAEP assessments have been administered to students across the nation—including students with disabilities—in an effort to generate data showing what they are learning at critical junctures in their school experience.

The NAEP has two primary goals: (1) to measure student achievement in the context of instructional experiences, and (2) to track change in the achievement of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students over time in selected content areas. Unlike many standardized assessments, NAEP results are not reported by individual students or schools, but instead by populations of students (e.g., fourth- or eighth-graders) and subgroups of those populations (e.g., female or Hispanic fourth- or eighth-grade students). The results are based on representative samples of students pulled from across the country or from across a specific state.

This year in Michigan, the NAEP assessments in reading, writing, and mathematics were administered from January 22 through March 1, 2007. Stratified random samples of schools from across the state were chosen, with considerable emphasis on encouraging more seniors and students with disabilities to take part.

While full participation in the NAEP has always been voluntary for every student, the Michigan School Code requires that districts participate in NAEP administration if selected. Therefore, it is assumed that students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) will participate unless they specifically “opt out.” They can do that by (1) participating in the notification/opt out process, (2) indicating in the IEP that the student will not take part, or (3) showing that the accommodations required by a student’s IEP do not match accommodations allowed for the NAEP. (See the OEAA Assessment Accommodation Summary Table at www.mi.gov/mi-access for more information on permitted and not permitted NAEP accommodations.)

IEP Teams that have students who are in grades 4, 8, and 12 (or who will be in those grades in the next school year) need to be aware of the NAEP and specifically address if and how their students will participate. By doing so, they can prevent having to hold an additional meeting or amending a student’s IEP if a district learns it has been selected to participate after the student’s IEP is written. This year (2006/2007) a number of schools incorrectly assumed it was not a NAEP testing year and, therefore, did not address the national assessment during the IEP process, which made it extremely difficult to go back and obtain parental permission so that students could participate. To prevent this from happening in the future, districts and schools need to inform IEP Teams about the NAEP test cycles, its inclusion practices, and its accommodation procedures; that way, decisions can be made as a standard part of the IEP process.

Another step IEP Teams can take to further encourage the participation of students with disabilities in the national assessment is to be more open-minded and flexible when considering accommodations. For example, many IEPs call for the use of audio CDs but the NAEP is not available in that form. Instead of opting out, however, IEP Teams could require that, for the NAEP, a student will use a reader instead of an audio CD, which is allowed.

Along the same lines, this year, for the first time ever, the NAEP was made available in Spanish, which allowed a greater number of students who receive a significant portion of their instruction in Spanish, and/or who take the Spanish version of the MEAP, to participate in the NAEP. These are the kinds of choices and changes that IEP Teams need to be aware of to encourage greater participation of students with disabilities in the national assessment.

If you would like more information about the NAEP and how students with disabilities can participate, please go to www.michigan.gov/naep, or contact Paul Stemmer, Michigan’s NAEP coordinator, at stemmerp@michigan.gov.

If you are looking for teaching and learning resources from the federal government, Federal Resource for Educational Excellence (FREE) makes it easy. FREE was originally conceived in 1997 by a federal working group and launched a year later. Then it was re-designed and re-launched in November 2006. FREE (http://free.ed.gov) is among the most popular K-12 Web sites maintained by the U.S. Education Department because of the many great resources being offered by participating federal agencies. More than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of federal agencies and new sites are added regularly. In addition, educators or parents can have new resources delivered to them several times a week by signing up for the FREE RSS, which sends summaries of new and featured sites directly to their e-mail box. Activities, ideas for lesson plans, and online professional development programs are available for science, history, language arts, mathematics, and other content areas.

Each year, the spring issue of The Assist is designed, in large part, to help Individualized Education Program (IEP) Teams make decisions regarding participation in statewide assessment. To help with those decisions, the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability (OEAA) has developed a number of tools, which are provided below, including

The MI-Access team has continued to engage in the assessment development process throughout the 2006/2007 school year. A major step forward for all three content areas (English language arts, mathematics, and science) was the statewide field review of the Draft Extended Grade Level Content Expectations (EGLCEs) and Extended Benchmarks (EBs). The Draft EGLCE and EB documents were posted on the MI-Access Web page from October 2, 2006 through January 17, 2007. During that window, many educators and other stakeholders downloaded them and provided the MI-Access team with valuable comments. The field input will be considered in the compilation of the final EGLCE/EB documents, which should be available late this spring. (The EGLCE/EB documents for Functional Independence can also be downloaded from the MI-Access Web page.) Following are additional updates on the two main areas of development—science for all three MI-Access populations, and English language arts and mathematics for the Participation and Supported Independence (P/SI) populations.

MI-Access Science
According to plan, the MI-Access science pilot assessments for Functional Independence (FI), Supported Independence (SI), and Participation (P) were ready for administration in spring 2007. The FI pilot assessments use a traditional multiple-choice item format with three answer choices; the SI assessments use a multiple-choice item format with three picture answer choices; and the P assessments use both a multiple-choice item format with two picture answer choices and an activity-based observation item format. Examples of each format are presented in Figures 4 and 5 below.

When reviewing item types, keep in mind that the items for each population are presented quite differently. The Spring 2007 MI-Access Science Pilot Coordinator and Assessment Administrator Manual, and Module 6 of the MI-Access Participation and Supported Independence Scoring Rubrics Online Learning Program (www.mi-access.info) contain detailed instructions on and examples of how to present each item type.

Piloting assessment items is a crucial step in the assessment development process because it yields valuable data on how actual students perform on them. Following the science pilot, Content Advisory Committees (CACs) and Sensitivity Review Committees (SRCs) will meet to review the items in light of the data and will recommend which items (1) are viable to appear on operational forms, (2) need revision, or (3) should not be used.

Pilot Administration Input Needed!

If you would like to provide feedback on the MI-Access science assessment development process, please complete the MI-Access Science Pilot Online Assessment Feedback Survey at www.michigan.gov/mi-access (under “Survey Information”). The MDE will use the results of this survey to help with the statewide implementation of the operational science assessments in fall 2007.

MI-Access P/SI English Language Arts and Mathematics
After a great deal of work, the Participation and Supported Independence Version 1.5 (P/SI v1.5) English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments are up and running! To get the assessments ready, two important activities took place during fall 2006. First, while the pilot assessments were being administered, the P/SI ELA and Mathematics Assessment Plan Writing Team (APWT) was reconvened, in part, to develop Draft Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs), which explain what students need to do to achieve each MI-Access performance level (Emerging, Attained, and Surpassed the Performance Standard). The APWT was divided into several groups, each of which was responsible for developing specific draft PLDs (e.g., elementary mathematics or middle school ELA) for the P/SI populations. Following is an example of a draft PLD from a MI-Access Functional Independence ELA group. It lists what a fourth grade student needs to demonstrate on the Word Recognition portion of the assessment in order to “Attain the Performance Standard.”

The draft PLDs will be reviewed and finalized by standard-setting panels this spring. In addition to being used on the P/SI v1.5 reports, the PLDs can be used by educators and parents to help them better understand what to focus on during instruction.

Second, immediately following the pilot administration, CACs and SRCs were brought together to review all of the P/SI v1.5 pilot assessment items in light of the data showing how students performed. A presentation by the MI-Access contractor informed committee members about how to use data in their analysis and its implications for each item. The CACs and SRCs then made recommendations for the items, which were considered when assembling the spring 2007 operational booklets.

Based on feedback received after the fall 2006 pilot administration, the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability (OEAA) and Michigan educators revised many of the activities, made a slight modification to the scoring rubric, and added examples to several items before they were made available for inclusion in the spring operational assessments. The OEAA will continue to look at additional item formats and make necessary adjustments as it works with Michigan educators to develop the new P/SI v2.0 ELA and mathematics assessments, which will replace the v1.5 assessments in about three years.

Remember: The operational P/SI v1.5 English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments are being administered to students in grades 3 through 8 AND 11 during the spring assessment window (February 19-April 6, 2007). These assessment results will be the official ones used for accountability purposes (Education YES! and NCLB).

The Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability (OEAA) has been working with the Office of School Improvement (OSI) to develop new School Performance Indicators based on the School Improvement Framework. The School Performance Indicators—which account for one-third of a school’s Education YES! letter grade—measure investments that schools are making in improved student achievement using indicators that come from research and studies of best practices.

Part of the joint work involved developing School Improvement Framework Rubrics for Self Assessment that represent five strands, or areas of focus. These rubrics are available at www.michigan.gov/documents/ OSI_FW_Rubrics_v_157013_7.3.pdf. Based on a review of research on school improvement, the rubrics were chosen to measure 39 specific characteristics that were identified as having the greatest effect on student achievement. Staff presented these characteristics to the Michigan State Board of Education in December 2006 and recommended using them as Michigan’s new School Performance Indicators. The Board accepted that recommendation and added an additional characteristic—related to the mentoring and coaching of new teachers—bringing the total number of characteristics, or indicators, to 40. These characteristics will now be part of the statewide collection of data on School Performance Indicators through MI-Plan. A list of the 40 characteristics that comprise the new Education YES! School Performance Indicators is available on the Web at www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/ 40_Key_Characteristics_183149_7.pdf.

The MI-Plan data collection window was expected to open in early March and to remain open for at least one month. During that time, schools will log into MI-Plan to complete a self-assessment on the 40 School Performance Indicators and provide evidence of their self-rating. This process is similar to that used in previous years, where the self-assessment was completed at the building level and then submitted to the district superintendent for final approval. The self-assessment will be scored and, as mentioned above, account for one-third of the school’s Education YES! letter grade.

One strategy some schools are using for self-assessment is to select the 40 indicators from the 90-rubric document now, print the indicators and corresponding rubrics, distribute them to the school improvement team, have conversations about where the school falls on each of the indicators, and begin thinking about the evidence the school has to support the self-rating. Using this strategy is allowing schools to get a “head start” on the self-assessment process instead of waiting until the MI-Plan collection window opens.

If you have questions about the indicators, rubrics, or any other part of the Education YES! process, please send an e-mail message to Paul Bielawski at bielawp@michigan.gov and Linda Howley at howleyl@michigan.gov.

ASWDP Anticipates 2% Regulations

Officials from the U.S. Education Department have indicated that the regulations and accompanying guidance regarding the 2% assessment based on modified achievement standards will be released in April 2007. Upon review of the regulations, Michigan will decide whether or not to develop this optional assessment, which would be called the "MI-Access Modified Full Independence Assessment." Stay tuned to future editions of The Assist for updates on this important topic.

Spring 2007 MI-Access Assessment Window (Grade 11 Functional Independence and Grades 3-8 and 11 Participation and Supported Independence v1.5 English Language Arts and Mathematics)
February 19 – April 6, 2007

Spring 2007 Science Pilot Assessment Window (Grades 5, 8, and 11)
February 27 – April 6, 2007

Spring 2007 MI-Access Assessment Materials Return Date (English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science)
Ship to TASA no later than April 16

www.mistreamnet.org
View the Archived Fall and/or Spring MI-Access and MME Training Webcasts

This online newsletter related to the assessment of students with disabilities is available to local and intermediate superintendents, directors of special education, MI-Access Coordinators, MEAP Coordinators, SEAC, Special Education monitors, MDE staff, school principals, Parent Advisory Committees, and institutes of higher education.