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STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE Printable
Version (52
kb PDF April 21, 2008
The attached Statewide Assessment Schedule lists New Jersey test administration dates for the 2008-2009 school year for grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and high school. As you will see, there are significant changes at several grade levels. Please review this information carefully. High School Assessments All first-time eleventh graders will take the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) in mathematics and language arts literacy in March 2009. All retained eleventh grade, twelfth grade, retained twelfth grade, returning, and adult high school students who have not yet passed all sections of the HSPA must participate in the October 2008 administration and, if necessary, the March 2009 administration. Please note that the October 2008 HSPA schedule has been designed to avoid conflict with the Jewish holidays. The 2009 End of Course Biology Test will be administered Monday, May 18, 2009, with make-up testing on Thursday May 21, 2009. Criteria for determining who must participate in the End of Course Biology Test are presented in the attached schedule. Districts are reminded that the department intends to adopt new graduation requirements that will include the mandate that all high school students take biology in order to attain a New Jersey diploma. In association with this 2009 End of Course Biology Test, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) and its grantee, the New Jersey Performance Assessment Alliance (NJPAA), intend once again to conduct a stand-alone field test (approximately 90 minutes) of a biology performance assessment prompt in May 2009. This performance assessment will be scored by the NJPAA, with scores disseminated to districts in July 2009; however, these field-test scores will not be combined with the regular End of Course Biology Test scores. Eventually, the scores of these two components may be combined as part of the score reporting for biology assessment. Further information about this 2009 biology performance assessment will be disseminated shortly by NJPAA and the NJDOE. In addition, the NJDOE intends to pilot-test an End of Course Algebra I Test in May 2009. Approximately 35-50 districts will be recruited for this purpose in the coming months. Some districts may be asked to participate in an Algebra I field test in October 2008. Further information about the pilot End of Course Algebra I Test and a subsequent End of Course Algebra II Test will be released later this spring. The End of Course Algebra I Test will be administered in the period May 18 through May 29, 2009, with one day allotted for regular testing and a second for make-up testing. Participating districts may choose two testing days within this period. Achieving proficiency on the End of Course Algebra I Test will not be a graduation requirement in 2009; however, districts are reminded that the department intends to adopt new graduation requirements which will include the mandate that all high school students take Algebra I, and other mathematics courses, in order to attain a New Jersey diploma. Special Review Assessment (SRA) Please note that the current Special Review Assessment (SRA) process will remain in place for 2008-2009; several significant changes to the SRA process are planned for 2009-2010 and beyond. The department will communicate with you shortly regarding these anticipated changes. Grades 3 through 8 The assessments for grades 3 and 4 will be administered starting in spring 2009 under a contract awarded last year to Measurement Incorporated of Durham, North Carolina. Thus, starting in 2009, the assessments for grades 3 through 8 will all be administered through this contract and under essentially identical administrative processes and routines. We believe this consolidation will prove more efficient for both the department and for districts. Please note that grade 3 mathematics will become a two-day assessment starting in 2009. The 2009 schedule for assessments in grades 3 through 8 is a four-week testing window: it provides for regular testing of grades 7 and 8 the week of April 27, 2009 (starting on Tuesday, April 28, 2009), grades 3 and 4 the week of May 4, 2009, and grades 5 and 6 the week of May 11, 2009 with make-up testing in the week following each regular testing period. We developed this schedule after consulting with many districts about the logistical issues inherent in administering statewide assessments. Most districts told us that it is very difficult for them to administer more than two grade level assessments in a single week, and we developed the schedule accordingly. We expect that a similar four-week testing window in grades 3 through 8 will be adopted for the following year, i.e., April 26 - May 21, 2010. Districts are encouraged to plan accordingly. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) The next round of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) will take place during the period of January 26 through March 6, 2009. Please note that in addition to the regular grade 4 and grade 8 NAEP testing, New Jersey will be among a select number of states participating in a special NAEP twelfth-grade pilot study in mathematics and reading. Approximately 3,000 students from a sample of approximately 100 New Jersey high schools will be asked to participate in this 90-minute program to be conducted in late January and February 2009. New Jersey’s performance on NAEP assessments has consistently been among the highest in the nation, and the results of the NAEP assessments help to confirm the rigor of the achievement standards embodied by New Jersey’s Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS). The Office of State Assessments will update you accordingly, as we hear further from the NAEP program office in Washington, D.C. Alternate Proficiency Assessment (APA) The portfolio-based Alternate Proficiency Assessment (APA), for students with severe cognitive disabilities, collects instructional materials over a designated period. Districts may expect to receive detailed information on the 2008-2009 APA portfolio design and time frame in the coming weeks. JD/TP/testingschedule2008-09
STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE 2008-2009 SCHOOL YEAR HIGH SCHOOL TESTING
OCTOBER 2008 ADMINISTRATION
MARCH 2009 ADMINISTRATION High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA): for all first-time eleventh graders, retained eleventh graders, twelfth graders, retained twelfth graders, returning students, and adult high school students.
Who Must Take the End of Course Biology Test
The additional criteria for participation in the End of Course Biology Test must be followed:
GRADE EIGHT TESTING New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK8): for all eighth-grade students.
GRADE SEVEN TESTING New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK7): for all seventh-grade students.
GRADE SIX TESTING New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK6): for all sixth-grade students.
GRADE FIVE TESTING New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK5): for all fifth-grade students.
GRADE FOUR TESTING New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK4): for all fourth-grade students.
GRADE THREE TESTING New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK3): for all third-grade students.
NOTE: As an option, schools that are configured grades K-5 may test grades 3-5 during the May 4 through May 8, 2009 period, provided that they notify the Office of State Assessments in advance of their intention to do so. We regret that schools configured 6-8 may not test those grades in the same window in 2009; however, that may be possible for 2010 and beyond. |
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