EMSC Banner for Content Pages. The banner reads, "New York State Education Department Back to EMSC Home
SED Home
Disclaimers and Notices

  


 

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                      518-474-1989 (fax)       

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                  May 2007

to:           Principals of Public and Nonpublic Secondary Schools

from:      Steven E. Katz

subject:  Administration of the May 2007 Component Retests

important: The booklets for the May 2007 component retest period will be shipped so as to arrive at schools (or approved storage locations) between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on May 2, 3, or 4. See “Shipment of Component Retest Materials” below for further information.

This memorandum provides essential information about the administration of component retests. Accompanying this memorandum are the schedule for the May 2007 component retest period; directions for administering and scoring component retests; information booklets for the component retests in English and in Mathematics A; and the list of regional centers for the component retest period.

shipment of component retest materials

Each school requesting component retests will receive a single shipment that includes all of the component retests requested. Please be sure that someone in your school or approved storage location is available to accept the component retest shipment between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the days when deliveries are expected. Should any problems occur in connection with the delivery of materials, immediately send a fax with your school name and BEDS Code to Katie Gerhardt at Measurement Incorporated at 866-291-6612. Enclosed in each delivery is a shipping notice listing the materials included. As soon as you receive the cardboard carton(s), use the shipping notice to ensure that all appropriate component retest materials have been received for each subject. Measurement Incorporated will have a helpline available to handle inquiries from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. each school day through May 11, 2007. The toll-free number is 866-783-2281.

emergency supplies of component retest materials

If a shipment for your school does not include all the materials needed, additional materials must be obtained from a nearby regional center. The regional center must be contacted immediately to ensure that sufficient component retest materials will be available when your school’s representative arrives. A list of regional centers is enclosed with this memorandum. Regional centers will have supplies of English editions of all component retest materials. Braille, large-type, and translated editions of component retest materials are
not ordinarily available at regional centers. Schools requiring these special editions must send a fax requesting those materials and the quantity needed to Katie Gerhardt at Measurement Incorporated
at 866-291-6612.


 

Component retest materials are available at regional centers only on the day of the examination. For component retests, all materials for 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. testing sessions may be released by regional centers at any time between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on the day each examination is scheduled to be administered. In order to obtain testing materials at a regional center, an individual must present a letter of authorization written on his or her school’s letterhead stationery and signed by the principal. The letter must identify the person picking up the materials and list the specific materials requested. Anyone obtaining testing materials must provide identification with a photograph and countersign the authorization letter before the materials will be released.

safeguarding component retest materials

The principal of each school requesting component retests must make the necessary arrangements to safeguard the materials requested for the school. Upon delivery, the cardboard cartons must immediately be placed in the Department-approved safe or vault at the storage location designated by the school. Secure test materials may be removed from the safe or vault only for inventory and for administration on the scheduled date. When the safe or vault where State examinations are stored is unlocked, it must be kept under continuous supervision by school personnel.

Department personnel may make unannounced visits to some schools after the testing materials have been delivered in order to verify that the materials are being properly stored. If a violation of storage procedures is found, all component retest materials will immediately be removed from the school and transferred to a location designated by the Department. The school principal will have to arrange to pick up materials from that location each day during the component retest period. The school will then be required to store all examination materials at a location designated by the Department for a period of at least one year. In certain instances, the Department may rescind the school’s authorization to administer examinations.

administering and scoring component retests

The general procedures for administering and scoring component retests are included with this memorandum and may be photocopied for distribution to teachers; they are also posted on the Department’s web site: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/component.html. Please be sure to make these directions available to test proctors in advance of the component retesting period. These directions will also be included with the shipments of component retests in May. The Department will post all of the materials needed for scoring the component retest answer papers on its web site on or about May 14, 2007. Schools should download these materials from the web site and print as many copies as they need. The Department will not be sending paper copies of the scoring materials to schools.

The specific hours during which component retests must be administered are indicated on the test schedule and on the test booklets themselves. For May 2007, the component retests in English are scheduled
for 9:00 a.m.; Mathematics A components are scheduled for either 11:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m., depending on the specific component being tested. To allow sufficient time for giving directions and distributing test materials, students should be instructed to be in their seats at least 15 minutes before the time specified for starting each test.

Schools may, at the discretion of the principal, adjust the start time for the component retests by no more than 15 minutes earlier or later than the specified time. Regardless of the starting time, schools may not permit students to spend more than the allotted 50 minutes working on each component retest booklet and may not permit students, under any circumstances, to leave the test room before the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadlines which are listed on the following page.


 

Uniform Statewide Admission Deadlines

Test Time

Admission Deadline

9:00 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

11:00 a.m.

11:30 a.m.

1:00 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

 

after component retesting

During the component retesting period, schools must maintain the security of all test materials. At the conclusion of the testing period (May 11), schools may retain the test booklets for instructional purposes or otherwise dispose of them as they see fit. Student answer papers must be retained in the school files for at least one year, as any or all of the papers may be called for Department Review during this period.

 

 

 

Enclosures