Information about 2007–2008 Grade 3–8 MEA, PAAP, and ELL Assessments

INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO: 55
POLICY CODE: ILB

TO: Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Curriculum Coordinators, Elementary and Middle School Principals, and Special Education Directors
FROM: Susan A. Gendron
DATE: November 20, 2007
RE: Information about 2007–2008 Grade 3–8 MEA, PAAP, and ELL Assessments

Key Points about the MEA, PAAP, and WIDA ACCESS for ELLs® Covered in this Informational Letter:

2008 common MEA items and Personalized Alternate Assessment Portfolio (PAAP) rubrics/tasks will measure the 2007 (enhanced) grade level expectations in reading and mathematics and grade span expectations in science and technology.
2008 MEA field-test items will measure the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) Regulation 131: The Maine Federal, State, and Local Accountability Standards, in reading, mathematics, and science and technology.
Science and technology will be assessed and reported in grade 4 for the last time in 2008. There will be one science and technology field–test session at grade 5 in the 2008 MEA.
There will be one additional field–test writing prompt at grade 8.
Participation in computer–based assessment (MEA Online), based on a new web-based delivery system, will continue to be voluntary.
The dates for the grades 3–8 MEA general assessment are March 3–21, 2008.
MEA test administration workshops will be held in late January and early February.
The alternate assessment to the MEA, the PAAP, will be administered from the beginning of the school year through the submission date of March 27, 2008 at all grades 3–8 and will consist only of tasks that can be chosen and downloaded from the Web at http://www.mecas.org .
All K-12 enrolled English language learners (ELLs) in Maine, including recently arrived ELLs, must be assessed for English language proficiency by participating in the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs®. The testing window for this assessment is December 3, 2007 to February 1, 2008.
All official student level data will be supplied by MEDMS. All MEDMS student data must be updated by January 17, 2008 to ensure accurate printing of student labels and March 21, 2008 to ensure accurate MEA and AYP reporting.
2008-09 MEA and PAAP Administration Information

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MEA 2008 Design
This is the last year that the MEA common items will assess enhanced grade level expectations (GLEs) at all grades 3–8 in reading and mathematics and grade span expectations (GSEs) in science and technology at grades 4 and 8.Common items are items that are taken by all students and are used for reporting. These GLEs and GSEs, derived from focused 1997 Learning Results performance indicators, may be viewed at http://www.maine.gov/education/lsalt/gles.htm .

The test length and mix of item types for the March 2008 MEA are relatively unchanged from last year, with the exception of three areas:

It will contain field–test items that assess Maine Department of Education Regulation 131: The Maine Federal, State and Local Accountability Standards. (http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/071/071c131.doc ) in reading, mathematics, and science and technology. These field–test items will result in no reportable scores.
It will contain one science and technology field–test session that assesses the new standards at grade 5. This field–test session will result in no reportable scores.
It will also contain one additional field–test writing prompt at grade 8 designed to measure MDOE Regulation 132: Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction. The Accountability Standards arelocated at: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/071/071c132.doc .

Specific test design information is available at: http://www.maine.gov/education/mea/admininfo.htm .

MEA Science and Technology
The March 2008 MEA will measure and report on the 2007 grade span expectations in grades 4 and 8. This testing meets the federal requirement that Maine assess science, but scores will not be factored into AYP determinations. There will also be one field–test science session included in the grade 5 test that will measure MDOE Regulation 131, as mentioned above, but will not result in reportable student scores. The science and technology portion of the MEA will move from grade 4 to grade 5 in 2009 to accurately measure the grade 3–5 grade span of MDOE Regulation 131.

MEA Writing
The writing assessment for grade 5 will consist of a common prompt that focuses on the narrative mode of writing. The grade 8 writing test will consist of one common prompt and one field–test prompt measuring analytical writing. Students will receive scores on the common prompt, but no reportable scores will be provided for the field–test prompt, which will measure portions of the English Language Arts content standard for writing contained in MDOE Regulation 132: Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction. More information about the writing assessment is available at: http://www.maine.gov/education/mea/admininfo.htm .

MEA Online
The computer-based assessment at grade 8 (MEA Online) is again being offered on a voluntary basis and will be delivered by means of a new web-based delivery system. The system will be hosted by the MEA contractor, Measured Progress, and requires no installation on student or teacher machines. The new web-based system will greatly minimize setup and configuration efforts for schools. Voluntary participation continues to require participation in all content areas. The initial program announcement will be emailed in late November to all schools on the MLTI distribution list. Additional information will be distributed only to those schools that indicate interest in possible participation.

MEA Testing Window
Grade level assessments, including make-ups, will be administered between March 3–21, 2008 in accordance with MEA Administration Guidelines. Test materials will arrive in schools immediately following February vacation week and will be picked up automatically by UPS on March 26th. Administration information is currently posted or will be posted as soon as available on the web at http://www.maine.gov/education/mea/admininfo.htm , including the MEA Operational Procedures for Grades 3-8 March 2008 Administration document, the 2007-08 Policies and Procedures for Accommodations and Alternate Assessment document, the MEA Principal/Test Coordinator manual and the MEA Test Administrator manuals.

MEA Materials Distribution
MEA materials and mailings will be sent to the school in which a publicly-funded student is enrolled. For students with private special purpose program concurrent enrollments, the materials will be sent directly to the school that the student is attending.

MEA Administration Workshops
Test administration workshops will be held at five regional sites between January 28 and February 7, 2008. Registration information will be mailed to schools when available and posted on the MEA website at: http://www.maine.gov/education/mea/workshops/index.html .

Alternate Assessment (PAAP)
The alternate assessment to the MEA, the Personalized Alternate Assessment Portfolio (PAAP), will be administered from the beginning of the school year through the submission date of March 27, 2008 at all grades 3–8 and will consist only of tasks that can be chosen and downloaded from the Web at http://www.mecas.org . There will be an automatic UPS pick-up of PAAPs at schools throughout the State on March 27, 2008.

PAAP Workshops
Workshops on preparing a PAAP for submission will be held from January 15-18, 2008. Workshop information is available at: http://www.mecas.org .

WIDA ACCESS for ELLs®
All K-12 enrolled ELLs in Maine, including recently arrived ELLs, must be assessed for English language proficiency by participating in the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs® during the testing window, which extends from December 3, 2007 through February 1, 2008. Information from this test, in addition to being used for local purposes, is used as part of Maine’s Accountability System and to show participation in place of the MEA Reading test for recently arrived ELLs, defined as ELLs who have attended schools in the United States for 12 months or less. Administration information is available by contacting MetriTech at mailto:wida@metritech.com or by calling 1-800-747-4868.

WIDA ACCESS for ELLs® Administration Training
Test administrators can be trained online at: https://uwosh.courses.wisconsin.edu/. To obtain a username and password for online training, send an email request to: mailto:esl.doe@maine.gov .

MEDMS Data
The official student data of record, except for accommodations, will be supplied by MEDMS, so it is essential that schools keep their MEDMS data current. To ensure accurate student labels for use on the MEA answer booklets, schools must verify student enrollment, demographic, and program data by January 17, 2008 by selecting “Download Data” from the MEDMS application menu and “Student Enrollments” from the action menu. Clicking “Submit” will offer the option to “Open” or “Save” the resulting spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will show enrolled and exited students.

MEDMS data as of March 21, 2008 will be the official data of record for all 2007-08 MEA/PAAP assessment reports and AYP accountability determinations. No individual student coding corrections for MEA/PAAP or AYP reports will be accepted or made by MDOE after that date. Requests for other data adjustments will be handled on a case by case basis and will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

2008-09 MEA and PAAP Administration Information
The 2008-09 common and field–test MEA items and PAAP rubrics/tasks in reading, mathematics, and science and technology will measure MDOE Regulation 131: The Maine Federal, State, and Local Accountability Standards. In that year, science and technology will be assessed and reported at grade 5 for the first time, as well as grade 8, for the MEA and PAAP. Writing will continue to be assessed at grades 5 and 8 and will measure portions of the English Language Arts content standard for writing contained in MDOE Regulation 132: Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction. The grade 5 prompt will assess the narrative mode of writing, and the grade 8 prompt will assess the argument/analysis mode.

For More Information: Please periodically check the websites included in this letter for updated information.

Contact Information
MEA Policy: Susan Smith, MEA Coordinator, at (207) 624-6775/6770, or mailto:susan.smith@maine.gov
MEA Administration: Measured Progress at 1-800-431-8901
MEA Online: Measured Progress Helpdesk at 1-877-934-8378 or mailto:meaonline@measuredprogress.org
PAAP Policy: Linda Parkin, PAAP Coordinator at (207) 624-6782 or mailto:linda.parkin@maine.gov , or Kim Schroeter at (207) 624-6774 or mailto:kimberly.schroeter@maine.gov
AYP Policy: Rachelle Tome, Title 1 Accountability Coordinator, at (207) 624-6705 or mailto:rachelle.tome@maine.gov
ACCESS for ELLs® Policy: Nancy Mullins, ESL/Bilingual Director at (207) 624-6788, or mailto:nancy.mullins@maine.gov
ACCESS for ELLs® Administration and Ordering: MetriTech at 1-800-747-4868
MEDMS: MEDMS Helpdesk at (207) 624-6896 or mailto:medms.helpdesk@maine.gov