Frequently Asked Questions

Summary:

This page will be periodically updated as staff use the training and questions arise. If you have a question you think would be helpful to have posted on this page, please email Cheryl JP Johnson.

Q:	I teach a classroom of multi-grade students with intensive needs. The other kindergarten teachers give a test the first week of school to all their kindergartners. I haven’t been doing the test other kindergarten teachers are doing with their students with my new kindergartners. Do I need to?
A:	ALL Alaska students as they enter elementary school for the first time in kindergarten (or if they don’t attend kindergarten, when they start first grade) are required to take the Developmental Profile, including students with significant disabilities. You will observe the student and meet with the parent to answer the Developmental Profile questions. The child should use accommodations and adaptations that s/he typically uses e.g. a student may use a communication device, hand splint, or adapted materials to answer questions and demonstrate his or her skills. The purpose of the Developmental Profile is to track child development trends, to assist staff and families to know the needs of children as they enter school for the first time and to provide a foundation for success in school.
Q:	Why are there two words—alternative and alternate? Is there really a difference or are they the same thing?
A:	Alternative and alternate assessment in Alaska are two very different assessments, although the words are very similar. Alaska’s Alternative Assessment Program is a special program that applies only to the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam. With pre-approval by the State of Alaska on individual applications, some students can take the HSGQE with modifications or submit a Nonstandardized assessment. Alaska’s Alternate Assessment is a special assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities who meet eligibility requirements and are on the non-diploma track. If you need a way to remember it, alternative is the larger word and it can lead to the larger outcome—a diploma!
Q:	Since students taking alternate assessment will not receive a diploma anyway, why can’t I just let the student sit for the regular assessment?
A:	The federal statute of No Child Left Behind requires that all students be assessed. Schools and districts are evaluated based on students’ test scores. The purpose of assessment under NCLB is to improve education for ALL students. It is important for students to be assessed with the assessment that is based on academic curriculum at the level they are learning. The alternate assessment is designed to reflect the learning that students with significant cognitive disabilities are working to accomplish. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for schools and districts measures participation rates in testing and student proficiency. A student who is eligible for alternate assessment could demonstrate proficiency on alternate assessment but would not be proficient in the regular assessments. Also, a test booklet that is indiscriminately bubbled would be obvious and be noted as a testing irregularity. It may not be scored. If not scored, this assessment would count against AYP in both participation (not a valid assessment) and proficiency (not proficient due to significant cognitive disability). It is critical that students take the test that matches the level of academics we are striving to teach them. The requirement to pass the Alaska HSGQE in order to receive a diploma is an additional requirement Alaska has added to statewide assessments.
Q:	When I’m working with my students, I often accommodate for their learning differences. What’s the difference between what I do in the classroom every day and what I do during testing?
A:	During testing you are functioning in the role of the proctor, even if you proctor a small group of students who you typically teach and who use accommodations as required in their IEP’s. There is a major difference between proctoring a test and supporting students during instruction. One testing irregularity identified in a previous test was that 5-6 students had exactly the same answers on short-constructed response items. When administration looked up the students, it was found that they were all in the same small group for testing. The state can decide to invalidate all of those scores. When teaching you might question students or talk them through thinking about an appropriate answer. When testing, your role is to provide accommodations as listed on the student’s IEP (clarifying directions, reading the math or writing item) and then let students answer for themselves. You must accept the answer (or lack of answer) the student gives, not provide additional support. At no time should you be helping them think through how to solve the problem or how to get the right answer. That teaching is done in the classroom in the days, weeks, months and years before testing. During the test you are a proctor, not an instructor.
Q:	My student had emergency surgery the day before testing and was in pain during the day of testing. What do we do now?
A:	If the student cannot take the test during the regular test administration days or the scheduled make-up days (there are no make-up days for HSGQE) due to an unexpected medical condition, this student might qualify for an emergency medical exclusion. The emergency medical exclusion only applies to a student who can document an unexpected medical condition that prohibits the student from being included in testing. There is a waiver for the HSGQE that a student can apply for if s/he is unable to test during the last semester of their year of graduation due to an unexpected emergency medical exclusion. The emergency medical exclusion must be approved by the state based on documentation submitted. It does not apply to students who are chronically medically fragile and miss the testing (or have incomplete portfolios) due to frequent absences.
Q:	I am in the process of testing two 3rd grade students who would use accommodations on the Standards Based Assessments (SBAs) if they qualify for special education. One of our meetings is March 15th and the other is March 29th. Are they still able to have accommodations on the SBAs, even though it wouldn't be 3 months prior to the tests?
A:	According to the Participation Guidelines, it is good practice to ensure that the student has been using the accommodations in their classroom for at least 3 months before testing. The wording on this requirement has changed over the years from must to should and now it is good practice. Be aware though, that research shows that unfamiliar accommodations can lower test scores. The bottom line is you can add accommodations less than 3 months prior to the assessment, but you would want to make sure that the student has actually used the accommodations for testing in their regular education or special education classrooms before the SBA's. Since the IEP meeting dates are so close to the assessment date, it will be important to submit those IEP’s electronically and in hard copy to special education records as soon as possible. It is likely that the accommodations file that Special Education Technology sends you will not include the accommodations you add. That file will be pulled two weeks before the April test date and sent to you. You will have to add the new students and their accommodations to the verification file.

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