Message: FW: EOC Information

FW: EOC Information
FW: EOC Information

From | Chappelow, Marsha | Date Saturday, September 2, 2017 8:21 PM

To | Marshachappelow@gmail.com
Cc |
Subject | FW: EOC Information

EOC Parent Letter.pdf (107 Kb ) 2017 EOC Talking Points for districts.pdf (258 Kb )
FW: EOC Information

Marsha Chappelow, Ph.D.
KC Charter Schools' Field Director
MO-Dept of Secondary/Elementary Education
________________________________________
From: Vandeven, Margie
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2017 3:11 PM
To: administrators@lists.mo.gov
Subject: EOC Information
Dear Colleagues:
During the “EOC Q & A with Commissioner Vandeven” webinar on Wednesday, it was recommended that the Department provide a letter of explanation for parents of students who took the Algebra I and/or English II End-of-Course assessments during the 2016-2017 school year. Attached is the parent letter from the Department.
Please note we are providing this letter to assist you with your communication with parents. Its use is optional.
The following are the links to the webinars:
Wednesday morning webinar: http://desemo.adobeconnect.com/pp36r26ljhty/<http://desemo.adobeconnect.com/pp36r26ljhty/?OWASP_CSRFTOKEN=46db7bd873ca3fed37e9a47cb1323b267ed58f1af1322e8e4a0a5d3d3fa23c4b>
Wednesday afternoon webinar: http://desemo.adobeconnect.com/p0h03fdqlvz1/<http://desemo.adobeconnect.com/p0h03fdqlvz1/?OWASP_CSRFTOKEN=46db7bd873ca3fed37e9a47cb1323b267ed58f1af1322e8e4a0a5d3d3fa23c4b>
We are still working on compiling responses to the questions that we received during the webinars, and will forward the FAQ once it is complete.
We have also attached updated talking points for your use in discussions with your community and the media.
Thank you for all you do for your students every day.
Have a great holiday weekend.
Margie
Margie Vandeven, Ph.D. | Commissioner of Education | dese.mo.gov | 573.751.4446

    September 1, 2017      Dear Parents:    A top priority of educators is to help prepare Missouri children for success, not only in school  but also for life after graduation. We know you are proud of your children, and we are too.     We want to inform you about some developments resulting from the 2017 End-of-Course  assessments in Algebra I and English II. The technical advisory committee (TAC) retained by  the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to review assessment results  each year determined that the 2017 Algebra I and English II assessments are not suitable for  establishing assessment performance trends. Upon the recommendation of the TAC, DESE will  exclude data from these assessments in school district and charter school annual performance  reports (APRs).     The APRs that we provide to school districts and charter schools look at multiple factors,  including state assessments in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies;  a host of college and career readiness indicators; attendance rates; and graduation rates. For  each of these indicators, multiple years of data are used. Your child’s class grades and any local  decisions about A+ eligibility, as it pertains to these two assessments, are not at risk.    I appreciate your understanding as we work through this unfortunate event.     Thank you for supporting Missouri public education and your local school district.    Sincerely,
      Margie Vandeven  Commissioner of Education

    August 31, 2017
    1

        Talking Points for 2017 EOCs
    Main Message: The results of the 2017 EOCs in English II and Algebra I do not produce year-to-year  comparable results. The department doesn’t plan to release statewide results from these particular  assessments. We will hold the testing vendor, Questar, accountable for not producing usable  assessment results.
     DESE’s TAC – Technical Advisory Committee – concluded that the results of the Algebra I and  English II tests do not produce year-to -year comparable results.
     School districts and charter LEAs have already received Questar’s individual student reports  (ISRs). Consistent with previous guidance from DESE, educators should use raw scores from  those assessments. Accordingly, student record labels may be used as appropriate.
     Districts may also use student End-of-Course (EOC) scores for determining A+ scholarship  eligibility.
     For students who took the Algebra I and English II EOCs, the participation requirement has been  met. Students do  not need to retake these tests.
     We are extremely frustrated with our vendor’s inability to  deliver usable results. Our students  and teachers work hard throughout the year, and they are counting on us to  get this right.
     We are working with our attorney to  pursue our legal options.

    Timeline of Events     When the department received 2017 statewide assessment results in late July, staff immediately  alerted Questar, Missouri’s EOC test vendor, about unexpected changes in the results compared
    to test administrations in previous years.
     DESE staff then convened the state’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) – made up of  nationally recognized experts in assessment – to  review the results.
     At its August 18 meeting, the TAC concluded that there were year-to -year comparability issues  for the EOCs for Algebra I and English II. The TAC did not express concern about any other EOCs.
     These tests have now been retired. Missouri educators have been developing mathematics and  English language arts assessments—both Grade-Level Assessments and EOCs—that will be   administered beginning this year.
    APR Talking Points     In developing the APR, DESE will take the following steps to identify the best solution for this  challenging situation:

    August 31, 2017
    2

    o District APRs will not include Algebra I and English II EOCs in the status and progress  calculations.
    o Status targets and progress calculations will be  adjusted to accommodate the loss of the  two EOCs.
    o Priority is on district and charter LEA APRs. Decisions regarding building-level APRs will  be made at a later date.
      Timeline    The department’s next steps will include the following:
    1. MSIP TAC will convene on September 12.  2. Comprehensive Guide revisions will be made during the week of September 18.  3. Public Hearing on MSIP Comprehensive Guide will be held on October 4.
    Event Date
    Achievement data to school districts and  charter schools during week of
    9/5
    Appeals and data corrections window closes   for EOCs  9/22
      Further timeline information will be published as soon as it is available.    What are the department’s next steps regarding assessments?    We will convene a work group to review and make recommendations regarding ways to improve test  administration and delivery of results. Topics will include such things as
     a timeline for the release of scores to districts,    the length of testing windows, and   technology variations among districts and charter LEAs.