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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

89 Washington Avenue

Room 775 EBA

Albany, NY 12234

                  Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education

Steven E. Katz, Director of State Assessment

Office for Standards, Assessment and Reporting

518-474-8220         518-474-2021 (fax)

                                                                                                                        February 2007

TO:                 Principals of Nonpublic Schools

FROM:           Steven E. Katz

SUBJECT:      March 2007 Grades 3–8 Mathematics Tests

GENERAL INFORMATION

This memorandum supplements the information concerning the administration of the March 2007 Grades 3–8 Mathematics Tests included in the enclosed 2007 School Administrator’s Manual for Nonpublic Schools. If you have questions about the information in this memorandum or the manual, you may call 518‑474‑8220. 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 Mathematics Tests must be administered between Monday, March 5 and
Friday, March 9. Administer Grades 3 and 5 Books 1 and 2 in sequence on two consecutive school days. Administer Grade 4 Books 1, 2, and 3 in sequence on three consecutive school days. Schedule makeup tests for any days that remain in that first week and for the week of March 12–16.

The Grades 6, 7, and 8 Mathematics Tests must be administered between Monday, March 12 and
Friday, March 16. Administer Grades 6 and 7, Books 1 and 2 in sequence on two consecutive school days. Administer Grade 8, Books 1 and 2 in one continuous session on the first day and Book 3 on the following school day. Schedule makeup tests for any days that remain in that first week and for the week
of March 19–23.

If adjusting the schedule for school closures due to inclement weather and in administering makeup tests, schools should endeavor to maintain the testing sequence, i.e., administer Book 1 first; followed by Book 2; followed, for Grades 4 and 8, by Book 3. Students must complete all test books to receive an official test score.

SHIPMENT AND CHECKING OF MATHEMATICS TEST MATERIALS

*In addition, nonpublic schools can opt to send all documents to the RICs.

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:

1.      Go to: http://www.ups.com/tracking/tracking.html.

2.      Click “Track by Reference Number.”

3.      In the Reference Number field, type the BEDS code of the school where you indicated you wanted your tests to be shipped.

4.      If you are unable to track your shipment or notice some other irregularity, contact the Office of State Assessment via fax at 518-474-2021.

Nonpublic schools that do not receive their answer sheets for the Grades 4, 6, and 8 Mathematics Tests
by 12:00 noon on the date shown above should contact the Office of Information and Reporting Services
at 518‑474-7965. Nonpublic schools that do not receive their answer sheets for the Grades 3, 5, and 7 Mathematics Tests by 12:00 noon on the date shown above should contact the Regional Information Center from which the school has made arrangements to obtain them.

As soon as each shipment of test and scoring materials arrives at your school or other approved location, check it to verify that you have received all materials indicated on the shipping notice. Do not open shrink-wrapped 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 the regular editions of the test materials 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. As soon as it is determined that additional supplies of these materials are needed, 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 Mathematics 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: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa. You may pick up 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 picture identification and must countersign the authorization letter and leave it with the official in charge of the regional center.

Shipment of Scoring DVDs

CTB/McGraw-Hill will ship scoring DVDs by Federal Express. Grades 3, 4, and 5 will be shipped for delivery on March 14–15. Grades 6, 7, and 8 will be shipped for delivery on March 20–21. DVDs will be shipped to all nonpublic schools that ordered the Mathematics 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 testing period is over.

TEACHER EVALUATIONS

Teachers are encouraged to submit their evaluations of these Mathematics Tests via the Internet by using the Teacher Evaluation Form at www.ctb.com. Full instructions on how to access and use this form can be found at that web site and also on the last page of Mathematics Tests Teacher Directions, which will be shipped to your school with your 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 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.

·       Return tests to the safe or vault after each book has been administered.

·       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 date by which students’ Grades 3, 5, and 7 answer sheets must be returned to the scanning centers and Grades 4, 6, and 8 answer sheets may be returned to the Office of Information and Reporting Services or to the scanning centers, as listed on the next page.

Enclosure