NYS Education Department Seal

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

David Abrams, Assistant Commissioner
Office of Standards, Assessment and Reporting

 

 

  Date:October 2007

To:

District Superintendents
Superintendents of Public Schools
Building Principals
Administrators of Charter Schools
Directors of Approved Private Schools
Superintendents of State-Operated and State-Supported Schools
SETRC Professional Development Specialists
Commissioner’s Advisory Panel for Special Education Services

From:

 David Abrams    Signature

Subject:

Collegial Review Requirement for the New York State Alternate Assessment

This memorandum summarizes the new requirement of collegial review for all student datafolios for the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA).  A collegial review is a facilitated process in which a Lead Special Education Teacher (hereafter referred to as “teacher”) who has compiled a NYSAA datafolio has a colleague, peer, or administrator who is familiar with the requirements for the 2007-08 NYSAA review student datafolio contents for errors, omissions or needed revisions.

Prior to the 2007-08 administration of the assessment, collegial reviews were strongly recommended. Effective with the 2007-08 NYSAA administration, collegial reviews are required for each student datafolio. These reviews must be conducted during the administration period for the assessment. The administration period for the 2007-08 NYSAA is October 1, 2007 to February 8, 2008. The Department strongly recommends the use of the Checklist of Things to Remember (Appendix D of the 2007-08 NYSAA Administration Manual, September 2007) to guide these reviews. 

A collegial review provides feedback to the teacher about whether all NYSAA requirements have been met as indicated in the 2007-08 NYSAA Administration Manual. For example, one requirement is that the appropriate connections are made between the alternate grade level indicators (AGLIs) and the assessment tasks selected or written for a given student. Collegial review helps ensure, but does not guarantee, that a datafolio meets the procedural requirements in order to receive a reportable score. After the collegial review is completed, administrators should ensure that the teacher who compiled the datafolio has made the appropriate changes. These reviews and revisions are a vital part of the administration process for NYSAA.

For more information about the collegial review process or NYSAA, see http://emsc.nysed.gov/osa/nysaa/home.shtml. If you have any questions regarding collegial review or NYSAA, please contact the Office of State Assessment at
(518) 474-5902.

c:      
Jean C. Stevens     
Rebecca H. Cort
Directors of Special Education
Pupil Personnel Directors
Committee on Special Education Chairpersons
NYSAA Advisory Committee
NYSAA Score Site Coordinators
NYSAA Training Network Specialists
NYSAA Regional Lead Trainers
Special Education Quality Assurance Regional Offices