(Concord SPED
PAC)
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)
What test at what grade ?
| Grade |
|
Subject
|
3
|
ELA
Math
|
Reading
- Comprehension
Mathematics
|
4
|
ELA
Math
|
English
Language Arts - Composition
Reading - Comprehension
Mathematics
|
5
|
ELA
Math
STE
HSS
|
Reading
- Comprehension
Mathematics
Science
and Technology/Engineering
History and Social Science
|
6
|
ELA
Math
|
Reading
- Comprehension
Mathematics |
7
|
ELA
Math
HSS
|
English
Language Arts - Composition
Reading - Comprehension
Mathematics
History and Social Science
|
8
|
ELA
Math
STE
|
Reading
- Comprehension
Mathematics
Science and Technology/Engineering
|
9
|
STE
USH
|
End-of-Course
Science and Technology/Engineering
(Biology, Chemistry,
Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering 1)
U.S. History |
10
|
ELA
Math
STE
USH
|
English
Language Arts - Composition
Reading - Comprehension
Mathematics
End-of-Course Science and Technology/Engineering
(Biology, Chemistry,
Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering 1)
US History |
11
& 12
|
ELA
Math
|
English
Language Arts Retest (Nov. & March)
Mathematics Retest (Nov. & March) |
The subject areas being tested depend on the students grade
level. See the Dept. of Education - MCAS home page.
MACS History
MACS is our state's student testing
program, in response to the Education Reform Law of
1993. The purpose of these tests, along with other components of
education reform,
are designed to strengthen public education in Massachusetts and ensure
that
all students receive challenging instruction based on the learning
standards in
the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
The curriculum for students
with disabilities, as for all students, should be aligned with these
standards.
MCAS is designed to improve teaching and learning, promote school and
district
accountability, and, beginning with the class of 2003, certify
graduation from
high school.
Beginning
with the graduating class of 2003,
students will be required to pass the grade 10 MCAS English Language
Arts and
Mathematics tests (a score of 220 or
higher) as one step toward fulfilling the state's high school
graduation
requirement. Students who fail one or both tests will be given multiple
opportunities between grade 10 and the end of their senior year to
retake the
test(s).
A
student
must participate in MCAS either through standard testing (with or
without
accommodations) OR through alternate assessment in each subject, but
not both.
A separate decision regarding the appropriate testing of each student
must be
made by the student's IEP Team in each
subject scheduled for testing. In all cases, the student should be
engaged
in an instructional program guided by the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks learning
standards.
Our State Wide Assessment
- IEP Team meeting and 504 teams decide how each student with a
disability will
participate in MCAS.
The student's team should begin by asking the following
questions:
Can the student take the
standard MCAS test under routine conditions?
- Can the student take the standard MCAS test
with accommodations?
If so,
which accommodations are
necessary and appropriate for the student?
If neither of the above, does the student
require an alternate assessment (see below)?
- The MCAS tests are based on the Massachusetts
Curriculum Frameworks .
- All MCAS tests are un-timed.
- All students who require additional time and are continuing
to make progress on the test, may continue working on a test session.
Any single test session must be completed on a single day.
English Language Arts (ELA):
- Reading: In Spring of 2001, testing begins
in grade 3 for English
Language Arts. At the grade 3 level Reading Comprehension is
what is being
tested. The majority of the questions are multiple choice and a few
open ended questions (The open ended questions were not scored).
The student reads a short paragraph and answers 3-4 questions (they can
refer back to the paragraph).
MCAS Test Accommodations:
- This manual list some of the possible test accommodations
and
ways students can participation in MCAS:
Massachusetts
Advocates for
Children (MAC), Boston. Has five brochures to
assist students who fail 10th grade MCAS
: These have been updated to reflect the
updates of IDEA 2004, and are currently unavailable (Appeal
Options, GED,
Remediation, Retest,
and Service
Options), give them a call if
you have questions about a student who failed 10th grade MCAS.
- Students in out-of-district
placements, in a private special education schools, both day and
residential, that are publicly funded students (by school district or a
state agency) must take the MCAS and meet local graduation standards.
They may take the MCAS Alternate test but still must pass.
MCAS
Scores
Grade 3
Reading
Comprehension
|
|
MCAS
Scores
Grade 3
Math
|
|
MCAS
Scores
Grades 4 - 10
all MCAS tests
Scaled Scores
|
| Advanced
|
45 - 48
|
|
Advanced
|
37 - 40 |
|
Advanced |
260 - 280 |
| Proficient
|
37 - 44
|
|
Proficient
|
37 - 40
|
|
Proficient |
240
- 258
|
Needs
Improvement |
22 - 36
|
|
Needs
Improvement |
22 - 36
|
|
Needs
Improvement |
220
- 238
|
| Failing
/
Warning |
0
- 21
|
|
Failing
/
Warning |
0 - 21
|
|
High=
230 - 238 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Low =
220 – 228 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Failing
/ Warning |
200
- 218
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
High=
210 – 218 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Low =
200 – 208 |
|
Questions about the MCAS
Alternative
Who
is the MCAS Alternative Assessment intended for?
The MCAS alternate
assessment is intended for a small number of students who are unable to
take
standard MCAS tests due to the complexity and severity of their
disabilities. These students must participate in MCAS through the
alternate
assessment portfolio which must be compiled and submitted in the same
content
areas and grades as students who take standard MCAS tests, in
accordance with
the law.
What
is AYP? "Adequate
Yearly Progress" (AYP)?
A central feature of the federal No
Child Left Behind
law
requires states to determine whether local schools and districts have
met their goals for "adequate yearly progress" (AYP), based primarily
on MCAS results.
Formula = A+B=YAP
A. Participation: Are 95% or more of our students taking
part?
B. Performance: Have we met or surpassed the state’s
English language arts and
math performance targets for this two-year cycle?
- Or -
A. Participation: Are 95% or more of our students taking
part?
C. Improvement: Is student performance improving at a
rate that puts all of our
students on track to reach the proficiency summit by 2014?
D. Attendance or Graduation Rate: Are our K-8 students attending at the expected rate? Did our
Class of 2003 meet the state
graduation rate target?
What
is this
new "1% rule" for students with significant cognitive disabilities?
The U.S. Department of Education released new policy
guidance on March 2, 2004, that outlines the means by which states can seek an
exemption to the one percent (1%) cap on the number of proficient scores of
students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take alternate
assessments based on alternate achievement standards that may be included in
calculations for determining adequate yearly
progress (AYP) under
the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
How do students
taking MCAS Alternative affect my school's AYP?
This new rule acknowledges that students with significant
cognitive disabilities are not likely to meet the same level of
proficiency as required of typical students, but will still be
recognized as "proficient" (for the purpose of calculating AYP) if they
make effective progress on meeting challenging academic goals. These
goals must be aligned with the state's learning standards, and
documented in their MCAS-Alt portfolios. Schools and districts are
awarded points on an "MCAS-Alt index" based on each student's score,
which are then added to the point total for students who took standard
MCAS tests. The US Department of Education has placed a 1% cap on the
number of students with significant cognitive disabilities in each
district (though not in individual schools) that can be counted for
AYP, though this does NOT limit the number of students who can take the
MCAS-Alt.
MCAS Alt Index:
Students with Significant Cognitive
Disabilities
taking MCAS-Alt (up to 1% of all
assessed students)
MCAS Alt-Score Points Awarded: Portfolio not submitted 0, Incomplete portfolio 25, Awareness 50, Emerging 75, Progressing 100
