Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1)
Definitions. As used in this rule:
(a)
"Accommodations" means changes in procedures or materials that increase
equitable access during assessment and generate valid assessment results for
students for whom there is documentation of need on an Individualized Education
Program (IEP) or 504 (Plan); they allow these students to show what they know
and can do.
(b) "Designated
supports" means access features of the assessment available for use by any
student for whom the need has been indicated by an educator or team of
educators.
(c) "District test
coordinator" (DTC) means district personnel who ensure secure administration of
Oregon Statewide Assessments as defined by Oregon Revised Statute,
Administrative Rules, and the Test Administration Manual, including but not
limited to supervising the work of the school test coordinators and test
administrators.
(d) "Force majeure"
means an extraordinary circumstance (e.g., power outage or network disturbance
lasting at least one full school day) or act of nature (e.g., flooding,
earthquake, volcanic eruption) which directly prevents a school district from
making reasonable attempts to adhere to the Test Schedule.
(e) "Impropriety" means the administration of
an Oregon Statewide Assessment in a manner not in compliance with the Test
Administration Manual, Oregon Revised Statute, or this rule.
(f) "Invalidation" means the act of omitting
test results and student responses from the testing, reporting, and
accountability systems for a given testing event for which the student may not
retest.
(g) "Irregularity" means an
unusual circumstance that impacts a group of students who are testing and may
potentially affect student performance on the assessment or interpretation of
the students' scores. A force majeure is an example of a severe
irregularity.
(h) "Modification"
means practices and procedures that compromise the intent of the assessment
through a change in the achievement level, construct, or measured outcome of
the assessment.
(i) "Universal
Tools" means access features of the assessment that are either provided as
digitally-delivered components of the test administration system or separate
from it. Universal tools are available to all students based on student
preference and selection.
(j)
"Oregon Statewide Assessments" means:
(A) The
Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) in:
(i) Science;
(i) Social Sciences;
(B) The Smarter Balanced Assessments
(Smarter) in:
(i) Mathematics
(ii) English Language Arts (ELA)
(C) The English Language
Proficiency Assessment (ELPA21);
(D) The Extended Assessment in:
(i) English Language Arts (ELA);
(ii) Mathematics;
(iii) Science; and
(E) The Kindergarten Assessment
(k) "Reset" means the removal of
student responses from the web-based testing application for a given testing
event for which the student may retest.
(l) "School building" means facilities owned,
leased, or rented by a school district, educational service district, public
charter school, private school, or private alternative program.
(m) "School district" means:
(A) A school district as defined in ORS
332.002;
(B) The Oregon School for the Deaf;
(C) The Juvenile Detention Education Program
as defined in ORS 326.695;
(D) The Youth Corrections Education Program
as defined in ORS 326.695;
(E) The Long Term Care Program as defined in
ORS 343.961; and
(F) The Hospital Education Programs as
defined in ORS 343.261.
(n) "School test coordinator" (STC) means
school personnel who provide comprehensive training to test administrators and
monitor the testing process.
(o)
"Test Administration Manual" means a manual published annually by ODE that
includes descriptions of the specific policies and procedures that school
districts are required to follow when administering any component of the Oregon
Statewide Assessments. References to the Test Administration Manual refer to
the edition in effect at the time of test administration and include appendices
and any addenda published in accordance with ODE's revision policy.
(p) "Test administrator" (TA) means an
individual trained to administer the Oregon Statewide Assessments in accordance
with the Test Administration Manual.
(q) "Test Schedule" means the Test Schedule
and Required Ship Dates published annually by ODE that includes the windows in
which school districts must offer their students the Oregon Statewide
Assessments and the deadline by with DTCs must ship or postmark test
materials.
(2)
(a) School districts, as defined in ORS
332.002, must enforce the
assessment policies described in this rule for all students enrolled in a
school operated by the district or enrolled in a public charter school that is
located within the boundaries of the school district.
(b) School districts, as defined in ORS
332.002, must enforce the
assessment policies described in this rule for all resident students enrolled
in a private alternative education program, regardless of whether the private
alternative education program is located within the boundaries of the school
district.
(c) The Oregon School for
the Deaf must enforce the assessment policies described in this rule for all
students enrolled in that school.
(d) The Juvenile Detention Education Program
and the Youth Corrections Education Program must enforce the assessment
policies described in this rule for all students enrolled in that
program.
(e) The Long Term Care
Program and the Hospital Education Programs must enforce the assessment
policies described in this rule for all students enrolled in that
program.
(f) School districts may
delegate responsibility for enforcing the assessment policies described in this
rule to another school district or education service district under the
conditions specified in the Test Administration Manual.
(3) School districts must administer Oregon
Statewide Assessments in accordance with the Test Administration Manual and
Test Schedule published by ODE. The results of these assessments are used to
satisfy the requirements specified in OAR 581-022-2270 and 581-022-2250 and as
a method to evaluate compliance with 581-022-2030.
(4) School districts must ensure that
students are administered the proper Oregon Statewide Assessment and that the
testing environment satisfies the following testing conditions:
(a) School districts must ensure that Oregon
Statewide Assessments are administered by a trained TA who has signed an
Assurance of Test Security form for the current school year on file in the
district office;
(b) School
districts must administer Oregon Statewide Assessments in a school building or
in an environment that otherwise complies with the Test Administration
Manual;
(c) School districts must
apply the following criteria in deciding whether to provide a student with an
accommodation during administration of an Oregon Statewide Assessment:
(A) School districts must decide whether to
provide accommodations during an assessment on an individual student basis and
separately for each content area to be assessed; and
(B) For students with an Individualized
Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan, school districts must implement the
assessment decision made by a student's IEP or 504 team and documented in the
IEP or 504 Plan;
(d)
School districts may only administer modifications to students with an IEP or
504 Plan and only in accordance with the assessment decision made by the
student's IEP or 504 team and documented in the IEP or 504 Plan. Before
administering an assessment using a modification, a student's IEP or 504 team
must inform the student's parent that the use of a modification on an
assessment will result in an invalid assessment;
(e) School districts must provide only those
subject-specific accommodations, designated supports, and universal tools
listed in the Oregon Accessibility Manual and must provide these supports in a
manner consistent with the policies contained in the Test Administration Manual
and Oregon Accessibility Manual;
(f) School districts must ensure that
students do not access electronic communication devices such as cellular phones
or personal digital assistants (PDAs) during an assessment; and
(g) School districts must follow all
additional testing conditions specified in the Test Administration
Manual.
(5) Failure by a
school district to comply with section (4) of this rule constitutes an
impropriety as defined in section (1)(e) of this rule. DTCs must report all
potential improprieties or irregularities to ODE within one business day of
learning of the potential impropriety or irregularity in accordance with the
reporting procedures contained in the Test Administration Manual.
(6) The ODE may invalidate assessment results
and student responses for assessments administered under conditions not meeting
the assessment administration requirements specified in Sections 3 and 4 of
this rule. In rare instances, ODE may reset a student assessment at the request
of the school district if ODE determines that a reset would not compromise the
security or validity of the assessment.
(7) ODE counts assessments that meet the
following conditions as non-participants in ODE calculations of participation
and does not include such assessments in ODE calculations of performance:
(a) Assessments administered using
modifications as defined in section (1)(h) of this rule;
(b) Invalidated assessments;
(c) Assessments administered outside the
testing window specified in the Test Schedule; or
(d) Assessments shipped or postmarked after
the dates identified in the Test Schedule.
(8) ODE only allows extensions to the testing
window or shipping deadlines identified in the Test Schedule in cases where a
force majeure occurs within three days of the close of the testing window or
shipping deadline and prevents a school district from meeting the deadline.
Upon receiving a force majeure extension request from the school district, ODE
may permit a one-day extension of the testing window or shipping deadline for
each day of the force majeure, for up to five days. The force majeure extension
begins on the first school day after normal operations resume and ends no later
than the last school day in the month in which the testing window
closes.
(9) School districts may
only assess students using the Extended Assessment instead of OAKS or Smarter
if the student has an IEP Plan and the student's Plan indicates that the
student requires the Extended Assessment.
(10) School districts must administer ELPA
annually to all students determined by the school district to be eligible for
English language development (ELD) services under Title III of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), regardless of whether an eligible student
actually receives ELD services.
(11) Administration of the Kindergarten
Assessment is governed by OAR 581-022-2130.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
326.051 &
329.075
Stats. Implemented: ORS
329.075 &
329.485
