GENERAL INFORMATION

This memorandum supplements the information concerning the administration of the January 2008 Grades 3–8 English Language Arts Tests provided in the enclosed 2008 School Administrator’s Manual for Public and Nonpublic Schools. If you have questions about any information appearing in this memorandum or the manual, you may call 518‑474‑8220 for assistance. The School Administrator’s Manual contains the Deputy and Proctor Certificate and the Examination Storage Certificate, both of which must be completed by each school administering these tests and retained in the school’s files.

TESTING SCHEDULE

The Grades 3, 4, and 5 English Language Arts Tests must be administered between Monday, January 7, and Friday, January 11. In Grades 3 and 5, Books 1 and 2 are administered in sequence on two consecutive days. In Grade 4, Books 1, 2, and 3 are administered in sequence on three consecutive days. You may schedule makeup tests for any days that remain in that first week and for the week of January 14-18.

In Grades 6, 7, and 8, English Language Arts Tests must be administered between Monday, January 14, and Friday, January 18. Administer Grade 6 Books 1, 2, and 3 in sequence on three consecutive days. Administer Grade 7 Books 1 and 2 in sequence on two consecutive days. Administer Grade 8 Books 1
and 2 in one continuous session on the first day and Book 3 on the following day. Schedule makeup tests for any days that remain in that first week and for the week of January 22–25.

In adjusting the schedule for school closures due to inclement weather and in administering makeup tests, maintain the same testing sequence whenever possible. As an example, for Grades 4, 6, and 8, administer Book 1 first; followed by Book 2; followed by Book 3. Students must complete all test books to receive a score report.

Test and Scoring Materials

All test materials sent to schools by the Department will be delivered by United Parcel Service. UPS deliveries may occur at any time between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Schools that do not receive their shipments of test materials by 12:00 noon on the last dates indicated in the chart on page 2 should track the shipments of test materials on the Internet:

• Go to: http://www.ups.com/.
• Select your location.
• Select “Track Shipment” under Tracking.
• Click “Track by Reference Number.”
• In the Reference Number field, type the BEDS code of the school where you indicated you wanted your tests to be shipped.
• If you are unable to track your shipment, or if you notice some other irregularity, contact the Office of State Assessment via fax at 518-474-2021.

All schools administering the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests in 2007-08 must have made arrangements to receive their answer sheets and scoring services from a Regional Information Center (RIC) or large-city school district office. RICs are data processing centers operated by twelve BOCES that currently provide answer sheets and scanning services for all public schools outside the five large-city school districts. The RICs will also provide data to the Student Information Repository System for participating schools. Participation in the Grades 3–8 testing program and the repository will allow nonpublic schools access to reports showing longitudinal data for these individual students and for the school as a whole. More information about the repository system is available on the Department’s web site at: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/fieldmemo-datacollection2.htm. Answer sheets will be shipped directly to schools from the RIC or large-city school district office. (The New York State Education Department will no longer ship answer sheets to any school.) If you have made arrangements with a RIC for answer sheets and there is a delay in their delivery, contact your RIC.
As soon as each shipment of test and scoring materials arrives at your school or approved storage location, conduct an inventory to verify that you have received all materials indicated on the shipping notice. Do not open shrink-wrapped packages of secure test materials until the day that part of the test is scheduled to be administered. You must store the test and scoring materials in a burglarproof safe or vault, except while they are being inventoried.
If your school determines that tests are missing from shipments from the Department, you may obtain copies of regular editions from the nearest regional center on the day of the test. Braille and large-type editions of these tests are not ordinarily available at most regional centers, nor are scoring materials. For additional supplies of these materials, contact the Office of State Assessment via fax at 518‑474-2021. Schools that will be asking the regional center to supply 25 or more copies of any one test book must complete the appropriate English Language Arts Test Materials Fax Form in the enclosed School Administrator’s Manual and fax it to the Department at 518‑474‑2021. (This is to ensure that the regional centers will have adequate supplies to accommodate all schools.)
The list of regional centers is available on the Department’s web site at www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ elintela.html. You may obtain test materials from the regional centers only on the scheduled date for the administration of that part of the test. In New York City, nonpublic schools should pick up materials only from the regional centers that have been established to serve them. Contact the official in charge of the regional center before sending a representative to pick up test materials. Please give the regional center as much advance notice of your school’s need as possible. The person sent to pick up an emergency supply of test materials from a regional center must present authorization written on school letterhead stationery and signed by the principal that lists the materials to be picked up and authorizes the person to pick up those materials. The person obtaining test materials must provide photo identification and countersign the authorization letter, leaving it with the official in charge of the regional center.

Shipment of Scoring DVDs

CTB/McGraw-Hill will ship scoring DVDs to public school districts and to nonpublic schools by Federal Express. The DVDs for Grades 3, 4, and 5 will be shipped for delivery on January 17–18. The DVDs for Grades 6, 7, and 8 will be shipped for delivery on January 24–25. DVDs will be shipped to all public school districts and to all nonpublic schools that ordered the English Language Arts Tests. DVDs will not be available at any of the regional centers. Schools that have not received their DVDs by noon on the second day of the delivery window should contact CTB/McGraw-Hill by phone at 888-282-0059, by fax at 866-282-2251, or by e‑mail at nyhelpdesk@ctb.com. You must store the DVDs in a secure location until the makeup period is over.

TEACHER EVALUATIONS

Teachers are encouraged to submit their evaluations of the English Language Arts Tests via the Internet by using the Teacher Evaluation Form at www.ctb.com/nys. Detailed instructions on how to access and use this form can be found at that web site and also on the last page of English Language Arts Tests Teacher Directions, which will be included in your school’s shipment of testing material.

SECURITY OF THE TESTS

The principal of each school ordering tests is responsible for making the necessary arrangements to safeguard all test materials by taking the following actions:

• Place all test books, listening selection booklets, and scoring materials in a safe or vault as soon as they arrive at the storage location.
• Distribute only the Teacher’s Directions as soon as practical after the shipment arrives.
• Ensure that no one opens the sealed packages of secure test materials prior to the day each part of the test is scheduled to be administered.
• Open the packages of test books just early enough to permit distribution of materials for each session. The listening selections for use with Book 2 should be distributed to the teachers up to one hour before test time to give them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the passage.
• Check the safe or vault daily to ensure that the test and scoring materials stored there have not been tampered with and remain secure.
• Safeguard the combination or key to the safe or vault to preclude access to the test materials by unauthorized persons.
• Keep all scoring materials, including DVDs, in a secure location (except when being used for scoring) until the end of the date by which students’ answer sheets must be returned to the scanning centers (February 11, 2008, for Grades 3 – 5 and February 15, 2008, for Grades 6 – 8).

Enclosure