DAR File No. 38004
This rule was published in the October 1, 2013, issue (Vol. 2013, No. 19) of the Utah State Bulletin.
Education, Administration
Rule R277-473
Testing Procedures
Notice of Proposed Rule
(Repeal)
DAR File No.: 38004
Filed: 09/16/2013 10:35:58 AM
RULE ANALYSIS
Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:
This rule is being repealed because necessary sections or provisions provided for in this rule have been incorporated into another rule making this rule unnecessary.
Summary of the rule or change:
The rule is repealed in its entirety.
State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:
- Subsection 53A-1-603(3)
- Subsection 53A-1-401(3)
Anticipated cost or savings to:
the state budget:
There is no anticipated cost or savings to the state budget. The rule is no longer necessary because the sections or provisions provided for in this rule have been incorporated into another rule.
local governments:
There is no anticipated cost or savings to local government. The rule is no longer necessary because the sections or provisions provided for in this rule have been incorporated into another rule.
small businesses:
There is no anticipated cost or savings to small businesses. This rule applies to public education and does not affect businesses.
persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities:
There is no anticipated cost or savings to persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local government entities. The rule is no longer necessary because the sections or provisions provided for in this rule have been incorporated into another rule.
Compliance costs for affected persons:
There are no compliance costs for affected persons. The rule is no longer necessary because the sections or provisions provided for in this rule have been incorporated into another rule.
Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:
I have reviewed this rule and I see no fiscal impact on businesses.
Martell Menlove, State Superintendent
The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:
EducationAdministration
250 E 500 S
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84111-3272
Direct questions regarding this rule to:
- Carol Lear at the above address, by phone at 801-538-7835, by FAX at 801-538-7768, or by Internet E-mail at [email protected]
Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:
10/31/2013
This rule may become effective on:
11/07/2013
Authorized by:
Carol Lear, Director, School Law and Legislation
RULE TEXT
R277. Education, Administration.
[R277-473. Testing Procedures.
R277-473-1. Definitions.
A. "Board" means the Utah State Board of Education.
B. "Computer Based Testing System (CBT system)" means the USOE designated technology system utilized to deliver U-PASS assessments to students online.
C. "Criterion Reference Test (CRT)" means a test to measure performance against a specific standard. The meaning of the scores is not tied to the performance of other students.
D. "Days" for purposes of this rule means calendar days unless specifically designated otherwise in this rule.
E. "Direct Writing Assessment (DWA)" means a
USOE-designated online test to measure writing performance for
students in grades five and eight.
F. "IT" means the USOE Information Technology
section.
G. "Last day of school" means the last day
classes are held in each school district/charter school.
H. "Midpoint of the school year" means on or
before February 15 of the school year.
I. "National Assessment of Education Progress
(NAEP)" is the national achievement assessment administered
by the United States Department of Education to measure and track
student academic progress.
J. "Protected test materials" means consumable
and nonconsumable test booklets, electronic test materials
delivered and available through the USOE CBT system, test
questions (items), directions for administering the assessments
and supplementary assessment materials designated as protected
test materials by the USOE. Protected test materials shall be
used for authorized state testing only and shall be secured where
they can be accessed by authorized personnel only.
K. "Raw test results" means number correct out
of number possible, without scores being equated and
scaled.
L. "Standardized tests" means tests required,
consistent with R277-404-3 to be administered to all students in
identified subjects at the specified grade levels.
M. "Utah Academic Proficiency Assessment
(UALPA)" means a USOE-designated test to determine the
academic proficiency and progress of English Language Learner
students.
N. "Utah Alternative Assessment (UAA)" means a
USOE-designated test to assess the achievement or progress of
students with severe cognitive disabilities.
O. "Utah Basic Skills Competency Test (UBSCT)"
means a USOE-designated test to be administered to Utah students
beginning in the tenth grade (suspended through at least the
2011-2012 school year) to include components in reading, writing,
and mathematics. Utah students shall satisfy the requirements of
the UBSCT, in addition to state and school district/charter
school graduation requirements, prior to receiving a high school
diploma that indicates a passing score on all UBSCT subtests
unless exempted consistent with R277-705-11.
P. "USOE" means the Utah State Office of
Education.
R277-473-2. Authority and Purpose.
A. This rule is authorized by Utah Constitution Article
X, Section 3 which vests general control and supervision of
public education in the Board, Section 53A-1-603(3) which directs
the Board to adopt rules for the conduct and administration of
the testing programs and Section 53A-1-401(3) which permits the
Board to adopt rules in accordance with its
responsibilities.
B. The purpose of this rule is to provide specific
standards and procedures by which school districts/charter
schools shall receive, manage and administer standardized tests
and related student data and materials.
R277-473-3. Time Periods for Administering and Returning
Materials.
A. School districts/charter schools shall administer
assessments required under R277-404-3, and consistent with the
following schedule:
(1) All CRTs and UAAs (elementary and secondary, English
language arts, math, science) shall be administered in a six week
window beginning six weeks before the last Monday of the end of
the course.
(2) The Utah Basic Skills Competency Test shall be
administered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the first week
of February and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the third
week of October (UBSCT requirements are suspended through at
least the 2011-2012 school year).
(3) The fifth and eighth grade Direct Writing Assessment
shall be administered in a three week window beginning at least
14 weeks prior to the last day of school.
(4) The UALPA shall be administered to all English
Language Learner students identified as Level 1 Entering, Level 2
Beginning, Level 3 Developing, Level 4 Expanding, or enrolled for
the first time in the school district at any time during the
school year. The test shall be administered once a year to show
progress.
(5) Pre-post kindergarten assessment for kindergarten-age
students as determined by the LEA during testing windows
determined by the LEA.
(6) One benchmark reading assessment specifically and
solely determined by the USOE for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade
students shall be administered to students in the beginning,
midpoint, and end of the school year.
(7) Third grade summative end of year reading assessment
determined specifically and solely by USOE to be administered by
LEAs consistent with USOE procedures.
(8) NAEP tests determined and required annually by the
United States Department of Education and administered to
students as directed by United States Department of
Education.
B. School districts/charter schools shall submit all
paper answer sheets to the IT Section of the USOE for scanning
and scoring as follows:
(1) School districts/charter schools shall return all
answer sheets to the USOE no later than five working days after
the last day of the testing window.
(2) School districts/charter schools shall return UBSCT
answer sheets to the USOE no later than three days after the
final make-up day (UBSCT requirements are suspended through at
least the 2011-2012 school year).
C. School districts/charter schools shall submit all
electronic responses according to USOE established
procedures.
D. When determining the date of CRT testing, schools on
trimester schedules shall schedule the CRT testing at the point
in the course where students have had approximately the same
amount of instructional time as students on a traditional
semester schedule and provide the schedule to the USOE.
E. Makeup opportunities shall be provided to students for
the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test according to the
following:
(1) Students shall be allowed to participate in makeup
tests if they did not participate to any degree in the Utah Basic
Skills Competency Test or subtest(s) of the Utah Basic Skills
Competency Test.
(2) School districts/charter schools shall determine
acceptable reasons for student makeup eligibility which may
include absence due to serious illness, absence due to family
emergency, or absence due to death of family member or close
friend.
(3) School districts/charter schools shall provide a
makeup window not to exceed five days immediately following the
last day of each administration of the Utah Basic Skills
Competency Test.
(4) School districts/charter schools shall determine and
notify parents in an appropriate and timely manner of dates,
times, and sites of makeup opportunities for the Utah Basic
Skills Competency Test (UBSCT requirements are suspended through
at least the 2011-2012 school year).
R277-473-4. Security of Testing Materials.
A. All test questions and answers for all standardized
tests as determined by the USOE shall be designated protected,
consistent with Section 63G-2-305(5), until released by the USOE.
A student's individual answer sheet or CBT file shall be
available to parents under the federal Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 USC, Sec. 1232g; 34 CFR Part
99.
B. The USOE shall maintain a record of all of the
protected test materials sent to the school districts/charter
schools.
C. Each school district/charter school shall maintain a
record of all protected test materials sent to each school in the
district and charter school, and shall submit the record to USOE
upon request.
D. Each school district/charter school shall ensure that
all test materials are secured so only authorized personnel have
access, or are returned to USOE following testing as required by
the USOE. Individual educators shall not retain test materials,
in either paper or electronic form, beyond the time period
allowed for test administration.
E. Individual schools within a school district and
charter schools shall secure or return paper test materials
within three working days of the completion of testing.
Electronic testing materials shall be secured between
administrations of the test, and shall be removed from teacher
and student access immediately following the final administration
of the test.
F. The USOE shall ensure that all test materials sent to
a school district/charter school are returned as required by
USOE, and may periodically audit school districts/charter schools
to confirm that test materials are properly accounted for and
secured.
G. School district/charter school employees and school
personnel may not copy or in any way reproduce protected test
materials without the express permission of the specific test
publisher, including the USOE.
R277-473-5. Format for Electronic Submission of Data.
A. IT shall communicate regularly with school
districts/charter schools regarding required formats for
electronic submission of any required data.
B. School districts/charter schools shall ensure that any
computer software for maintaining school district/charter school
data is compatible with data reporting requirements as determined
in R277-484.
R277-473-6. Format for Submission of CBT Files, Answer
Sheets and Other Materials.
A. The USOE shall provide a checklist to each school
district/charter school with directions detailing the format in
which answer documents, including CBT files, are to be collected,
reviewed, and returned to the USOE.
B. Each school district/charter school shall verify that
all the requirements of the testing checklist have been
met.
C. Data may be submitted in batches in cooperation with
the assigned IT data technician.
R277-473-7. Timing for Return of Results to School
Districts/Charter Schools.
A. Scanning and scoring shall occur in the order data is
received from the school districts/charter schools.
B. Consistent with Utah law, raw test results from all
CRTs shall be returned to the school before the end of the school
year.
C. Each school district/charter school shall check all
test results for each school within the district and charter
school and for the school district as a whole, verify their
accuracy with IT, and certify that they are prepared for
publication within two weeks of receipt of the data. Except in
compelling circumstances, as determined by the USOE, no changes
shall be made to school or school district data after this two
week period. Compelling circumstances may include:
(1) a natural disaster or other catastrophic occurrence
(e.g., school fire) that precludes timely review of data;
and
(2) resolution of a professional practices issue that may
impede reporting of the data.
D. School districts/charter schools shall not release
data until authorized to do so by the USOE.
R277-473-8. USOE and School Responsibilities for Crisis
Indicators in State Assessments.
A. Students participating in state assessments may reveal
intentions to harm themselves or others, that the student is at
risk of harm from others, or may reveal other indicators that the
student is in a crisis situation.
B. The USOE shall notify the school principal, counselor
or other school or school district personnel who the USOE
determines have legitimate educational interests, whenever the
USOE determines, in its sole discretion, that a student answer
indicates the student may be in a crisis situation.
C. As soon as practicable, the school district
superintendent/charter school director, or designee shall be
given the name of the individual contacted at the school
regarding a student's potential crisis situation.
D. The USOE shall provide the school and district with a
copy of the relevant written text.
E. Using their best professional judgment, school
personnel contacted by USOE shall notify the student's
parent, guardian or law enforcement of the student's
expressed intentions as soon as practical under the
circumstances.
F. The text provided by USOE shall not be part of the
student's record and the school shall destroy any copies of
the text once the school or district personnel involved in
resolution of the matter determine the text is no longer
necessary. The school principal shall provide notice to the USOE
of the date the text is destroyed.
G. School personnel who contact a parent, guardian or law
enforcement agency in response to the USOE's notification of
potential harm shall provide the USOE with the name of the person
contacted and the date of the contact within three business days
from the date of contact.
R277-473-9. Standardized Testing Rules and Professional
Development Requirements.
A. It is the responsibility of all educators to take all
reasonable steps to ensure that standardized tests reflect the
ability, knowledge, aptitude, or basic skills of each individual
student taking standardized tests.
B. School districts/charter schools shall develop
policies and procedures consistent with the law, Board rules for
standardized test administration, and the USOE Testing Ethics
Policy, and make them available and provide training to all
teachers and administrators who administer state tests.
C. At least once each school year, school
districts/charter schools shall provide professional development
for all teachers, administrators, and standardized test
administrators concerning guidelines and procedures for
standardized test administration, including teacher
responsibility for test security and proper professional
practices.
D. School district/charter school assessment staff shall
use the USOE Testing Ethics Policy in providing training for all
test administrators/proctors.
E. Each and every test administrator/proctor shall
individually sign a Testing Ethics signature page provided by the
USOE.
F. All teachers and test administrators shall conduct
test preparation, test administration, provide test results, and
the return of all protected test materials in strict accordance
with the procedures and guidelines specified in test
administration manuals, school district/charter school rules and
policies, Board rules, USOE Testing Ethics Policy, and state
application of federal requirements for funding.
G. Teachers, administrators, and school personnel shall
use assessments specifically required and as directed under
R277-404.
H. Teachers, administrators, and school personnel shall
not:
(1) provide students directly or indirectly with specific
questions, answers, or the subject matter of any specific item in
any standardized test prior to test administration;
(2) copy, print, or make any facsimile of protected
testing material prior to test administration without express
permission of the specific test publisher, including USOE, and
school district/charter school administration;
(3) change, alter, or amend any student answer sheet,
including CBT files, or any other standardized test materials at
any time in such a way as to alter the student's intended
response;
(4) use any prior form of any standardized test
(including pilot test materials) that has not been released by
the USOE in test preparation without express permission of the
specific test publisher, including USOE, and school
district/charter school administration;
(5) violate any specific test administration procedure
specified in the test administration manual, or violate any state
or school district/charter school standardized testing policy or
procedure, or violate any procedure specified in the USOE Testing
Ethics Policy;
(6) knowingly and intentionally do anything that would
inappropriately affect the security, validity, or reliability of
standardized test scores of any individual student, class, or
school;
(7) fail to administer a required assessment;
and
(8) submit falsified data.
I. Violation of any of these rules may subject licensed
educators to possible disciplinary action under R277-515, Utah
Educator Standards.
KEY: educational testing
Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: August 8,
2011
Notice of Continuation: April 29, 2010
Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X Sec
3; 53A-1-603(3); 53A-1-401(3)]
Additional Information
The Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the Bulletin is the official version. The PDF version of this issue is available at https://rules.utah.gov/publicat/bull-pdf/2013/b20131001.pdf. The HTML edition of the Bulletin is a convenience copy. Any discrepancy between the PDF version and HTML version is resolved in favor of the PDF version.
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For questions regarding the content or application of this rule, please contact Carol Lear at the above address, by phone at 801-538-7835, by FAX at 801-538-7768, or by Internet E-mail at [email protected].