February 2003

To: District Superintendents of Schools

Principals of Public and Nonpublic Secondary Schools

From: Gerald E. DeMauro

Subject: Component Retesting in Comprehensive English and Mathematics A in May 2003

In May 2003, the Department will provide component retests in Comprehensive English and Mathematics A to all secondary schools that request them. While the Department had anticipated providing component retests in Global History and Geography and United States History and Government beginning in 2003, serious cost and production constraints have made that impossible. The Department will provide component retests for these examinations as soon as circumstances permit.

Only eligible high school seniors may take the component retests in Comprehensive English and Mathematics A. To enable your school to plan ahead for these tests, we have included in this mailing the following information:

• The schedule for the May 2003 component retests
• A memorandum explaining how to determine seniors’ eligibility for component retesting and which component(s) they should take, along with

• a worksheet for Comprehensive English
• worksheets for Mathematics A

• A request form for component retests, all of which will be available in regular, large-type, and braille editions. Direct translations of the component retests in Mathematics A will be available in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.

All documents in this and subsequent mailings pertaining to component retesting will be distributed statewide and will be posted on the Department’s web site at:

Request materials for the May 2003 component retesting period on the enclosed request form. You must complete and fax the form to Measurement Incorporated at 919-683-5622 or 919-683-1531 by
February 20, 2003. This form must be signed by the principal. After your request has been processed by Measurement Incorporated, you will be sent a confirmation notice indicating the titles and quantities of component retests to be shipped to your school or Department-approved storage site. You must check the information on the confirmation notice carefully for accuracy to ensure that the correct quantities of testing materials will be shipped to your school.

If you determine that you need additional materials after you have submitted your school’s request form, you may fax a supplemental request to Measurement Incorporated. If you request additional materials after February 28, you may have to obtain them from a nearby regional center on the testing date.

Request only those quantities of component retests actually needed for administration to eligible high school seniors during the May 2003 testing period. Do not request sample copies on this form. Your compliance with these procedures will reduce the quantity of materials included in the secure shipment and help to ensure the timely packing of materials actually needed for the May 2003 testing period.

Guidelines for requesting specific materials:

• Regular test booklets: Request the exact quantity needed, plus 5% for unanticipated increases.
  Since these tests will not be shipped in multiples of 25, do not intentionally state your quantities as
  multiples of 25.
• Large-type test booklets: Large-type test booklets are available for the English editions of all of the May 2003 component retests. Request the exact quantity needed for students specifically identified as requiring this accommodation, that is, students who are actually provided with instructional materials (e.g., textbooks, locally developed tests, etc.) in this format.
• Braille test booklets: Braille test booklets are available for all English editions of all of the May 2003 component retests. Request the exact number of booklets needed.
• Answer sheets: Hand-scorable answer sheets are printed as part of the test booklets for both the English and alternative language editions.
• Teacher Dictation Copies and teacher directions: The shipment will include sufficient quantities of these materials, based on the number of test booklets requested.
• Scoring Materials: The Department will post all of the materials needed for scoring the component retest answer papers on its web site, http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/testing/component.html, on or about May 19, 2003. Schools may 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.

Students whose native language is other than English may take the component retests in Mathematics A either in translation or in English, whichever is better for the student. Such students may be provided with copies of the Mathematics A component retests in English as well as in the student’s native language. Translations for the component retests in Mathematics A will be provided in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. Only English-language editions are provided for the component retests for Comprehensive English.

The secure materials for component retesting will be delivered to the same secure location where the school stored its high school-level examinations during the January 2003 Regents Examination period. If you need to make other arrangements for the secure storage of the May 2003 component retests, contact the Office of State Assessment to revise your school’s storage plan.

Every principal requesting these testing materials must sign the affirmation at the bottom of the component retesting request form. Your signature indicates that you understand and agree to comply with the security requirements described in this memorandum and in the School Administrator’s Manual. The vault or safe used for storage of your school’s secure testing materials must have been approved by the Department for this purpose.

All secure materials must be stored in the containers in which they are shipped in the Department-approved safe or Department-approved walk-in vault. Approval of a school’s storage facilities is contingent upon their having met all of the following criteria:

The principal of a school building without a Department-approved safe or vault must store the secure testing materials in an approved safe or vault in another school, school district building, or BOCES building. The test materials may not be stored in a bank or any other noneducational building, because restricting access to them at such locations is often difficult. Also, secure shipments may be delivered at any time between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and such facilities may not be open or able to receive such shipments at all times during those hours. Principals who are unable to make arrangements for secure storage must notify this office at 518-474-5099.

You must inform all school personnel permitted to accept delivery of component retest materials, either during or after school hours, of the procedures to be followed to safeguard the secure shipment. You must restrict access to any vault or safe where the component retests are stored so as to prohibit entry by students and other unauthorized persons. The person in charge of the secure materials must visually inspect the containers of test materials daily to ensure that they have not been tampered with.