NYSAA Score Site Coordinator Meeting November 13-14, 2008 Q&A
1. For students who cannot hold a pencil due to the significance of their disability, can
“answers recorded in any manner” be applied to written assessment tasks under ELA, & if so, where does this need to be documented (not an official accommodation)?
RESPONSE: The student who cannot hold a pencil may need a testing accommodation on his/her Individualized Education Program (IEP) that would address this need. However, “responses recorded in any manner” is not specific enough for a teacher to show how the student is to record responses. The Committee on Special Education (CSE) would recommend the specific type of accommodation needed and would include it as a testing accommodation on the IEP. It would then be provided during all testing, including NYSAA. Some possibilities for documenting this are: use of typewriter, computer, scribe, Brailler, tape recorder, electronic notetaker, handwriting guide, work processor and others, depending on the student. For more information, please see pages 42, 35, 36 and Appendices A and B of Test Access & Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Policy and Tools to Guide Decision-Making and Implementation, May 2006 at: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/testaccess/policyguide.htm
This and all other test accommodations are recorded on the Student Page of the datafolio.
2. Is there a way to give direct and immediate (or within a few weeks) feedback to teachers about scores?
RESPONSE: Feedback and raw score information is available on the Score Worksheet. Copies of these worksheets are returned to Districts following scoring and should be made available to teachers for review.
3. How are the six content AGLI ratings (1-4) put together to derive the overall score for that content area? Is it an average?
RESPONSE: Raw scores are a sum of the ratings for accuracy and independence for each of the three dates across an AGLI. The total of the two AGLIs for each content area determines the raw score for the content area. Information about the performance level scores for each grade and content area can be found on the Department’s website:
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/nysaa/2007/200809.CutScores.NYSAA.PolForumFINAL.pdf For example: Date 1: 11/7/07 Date 2: 12/17/07 Date 3: 1/9/08
Student Performance (record the last three dates of documented data in chronological order) % Rating % Rating % Rating Level of Accuracy 75% 3 100% 4 100% 4
Level of Independence 50% 2 75% 3 100% 4 Level 100% - 80% 79% - 60% Scoring 59% - 30% 29% - 0% Rubric Rating 4 3 2 1
The total raw score for this AGLI would be 20.
4. Will test accommodations impact scores or are we simply taking data on which
accommodations are provided to students?
RESPONSE: Data collected on the testing accommodations used on NYSAA do not affect a student’s score and are for State-level record-keeping only. Data on the six categories of test accommodations listed on the Student Page will be transcribed to the scannable score document at scoring. No other information in this regard will be collected or evaluated during scoring.
