Project Lead The Way

Good afternoon,

Below is a synopsis of the 2011-2012 PLTW Assessment Program. The description includes information about the online assessment platform, the various End of Course assessments offered, test administration dates and guidelines, etc. If changes to the provided information are necessary, a separate communication will either be sent via email, or posted in the Action Bulletin and on the PLTW Forums.

Supplemental information will be sent next week that explains the new student rostering procedures. Last year manual entry of student demographic information was required; this year the information can be provided in a single school or district-wide file format. In particular, teachers that plan to offer assessments during the fall/winter testing cycle need to watch for the information since they will have the first student file submission deadlines.

 

Jason Taylor

Director, Assessment and Evaluation

Project Lead the Way, Inc.

Iowa City, IA

518-925-8713

jtaylor@pltw.org  

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

 

2011-2012 PLTW Assessment Program

The PLTW assessment system will incorporate most of the features that were available to teachers and students last year. In addition we will introduce components that were developed after receiving teacher feedback during the 2010-2011 school year. The purpose of this communication is to provide the entire PLTW network with a synopsis of how the 2011-2012 assessment system will operate and to provide some timelines and resources for teachers to use while planning for the school year.

 

PLTW Online Assessment System

PLTW will utilize the same online assessment system that was used throughout the network last year. The system has undergone minor upgrades but will look and work the same as it did last year.

 

Assessments Offered in 2011-2012

PLTW will offer End of Course assessments for the following courses: AE, BE, CEA, CIM, DE, IED, and POE, as well as HBS, MI, and PBS. No End of Course assessments will be offered for BI or EDD. We are again utilizing a two-part assessment system for most courses. Part A assessments are required to be given to all students per the school district agreement and are available as computer-administered, selected response assessments. Part C assessments are optional (in most states) and most are paper/pencil-administered assessments that are graded by the teacher and entered into the assessment system. Note that three courses, AE, CEA, and POE now have online, computer-graded Part A and Part C assessments. BE, CIM, DE, IED, and PBS still have paper/pencil, teacher-graded Part C assessments. HBS and MI do not have Part C assessments.

 

NWEA-based MAP Growth Assessments

PLTW will not offer MAP-based Growth assessments to students during the 2011-2012 school year. Our focus this year will be on the future development of the PLTW assessment program, and we are evaluating the data that was collected last year to determine its role in program improvement.

 

End of Course Assessment Timeline

Two testing cycles will be provided for End of Course assessment access: a Fall/Winter cycle for students taking the course in a block-scheduled manner during the fall or winter, and a Spring cycle for students taking the course in a full-year manner or a spring block schedule. The cycles will be open during the following dates. Please note that these are the only times that students can complete the End of Course assessments:

  • Fall/Winter Assessment Cycle: November 14, 2011 through March 16, 2012
  • Spring Assessment Cycle: April 23, 2012 through June 22, 2012

A possible summer testing cycle may be provided in the July/August 2012 timeframe, but this has not been confirmed. Additional details will be provided when available.

 

Rostering Students on the Online System

The process of manually rostering students into the system last year was found to be more time consuming and difficult for teachers than was intended. We have received feedback from teachers and schools that a simpler process is needed that incorporates transmission of student data to PLTW from the school or district level in a secured fashion. During the 2010-2011 school year, we piloted a process that allows PLTW to receive data files from schools or districts, which are then loaded into the system at the class level. We will offer this process to the entire network this year, allowing schools or districts to submit a single file that captures all necessary student information. PLTW will then load the information into the online assessment platform so that no manual input of student demographic data is necessary. Additional details with specific timelines will be provided in the following week so that all schools can take advantage of this process.

 

Teacher Resources

PLTW will provide concept maps that identify the specific concepts that are covered in both the Part A and Part C assessments. These materials will be available on both the Extranet and the online assessment system. PLTW will not provide content-specific practice tests to teachers or students. A general practice test that allows students to become familiar with the online testing system is available for use by all students. We encourage its use to verify that the system operates properly with local computer networks.

Part C assessments for IED, DE, CIM, BE, and PBS will again be available on the assessment system in the form of PDFs that can be printed off and given to students. Test scores will still need to be reported to PLTW at the semi-aggregated level for those Part C assessments.

PLTW will provide a general formula sheet as well as course-specific formula sheets for all necessary courses. The updated formula sheets will be provided on the Extranet after they have been approved.

 

Test Administration

As mentioned previously, all students will take Part A assessments using the online assessment system. Part A assessments will be composed of 40 items, the same number of items as last year's assessments. During the 2011-2012 school year, students will have up to 60 minutes to complete each assessment. All online assessment time limits will be computer-controlled, which is a change from last year. For Part C assessments that are paper/pencil administered, the 60 minute time limit will be controlled by the testing proctor. Students that need additional time due to IEP/504 accommodations will be allowed to take additional time, provided that the proper paperwork is supplied to PLTW in accordance with our IEP/504 plan (details under IEP/504 Plan in this communication). Additional time will be added to student accounts at the PLTW level; teachers will not be able to increase student testing times. Students must take the assessments in one sitting; pausing and then restarting the assessments at a later date is not allowed. Based on feedback from teachers, online assessment items will be presented in random order this year.

All students will be allowed to use the following resources on both the Part A and Part C assessments:

  • A calculator (graphing, scientific, or standard)
  • One side of an 8.5X11 page of unique hand-written notes
  • An appropriate amount of blank scratch paper
  • Approved PLTW formula sheets

Unaltered formula sheets should be provided by the teacher prior to the assessments, and all paper materials must be collected by the teacher after the assessments. Personal programmable calculators may be used by students, but teachers must verify that students are not using programs or notes stored on the calculators by wiping the memory prior to administering the assessments.

 

Test Security and Teacher Access to Tests

PLTW is dedicated to providing a fair testing environment for all students. Unfortunately instances have occurred that could potentially give some students an unfair advantage while taking the assessments. Therefore, the following security procedures must be followed.

  • Teachers are not allowed to access the online assessments at any time. This includes teachers taking the online assessments utilizing fictitious student information.
  • Teachers are not allowed to provide students with previous operational assessments. Items that have proven to be of high quality have and will be recycled on the current assessments, providing that they still align with the curriculum.
  • No PLTW copyrighted material, including prior years' tests, practice tests, or any portion of the curriculum can be made accessible on an unsecured internet site.
  • All paper materials that students use on any assessment must be collected by the teacher.
  • All students must take the assessments during the established testing cycles.

IEP/504 Documentation Plan

PLTW allows for a variety of testing accommodations for students with approved and current IEP/504 plans providing that teachers submit documents to PLTW prior to administering the assessments. An accommodation form is provided on the Extranet under "Materials" that teachers can submit for any student with a current plan. The document can be returned to PLTW via email, fax, or mail. Note that all forms must be provided to PLTW no later than four weeks prior to the planned date of testing so that any adjustments to student testing time can be made.

 

Help and Training

PLTW will utilize the same phone numbers and emails that were used last year for teachers that need help with any aspect of the assessment system. If a problem or question occurs before or during the time when students are taking the assessments, the quickest way to receive help is by calling 877-335-PLTW (7589). An email can also be sent to assessment_techsupport@pltw.org. If a problem or question occurs after students have completed the assessments, or if the question is regarding the PLTW assessment program as a whole, teachers can call 877-335-PLTW (7589) or email assessment@pltw.org.

Based on the types of issues that were seen last year, PLTW recommends that teachers give the general practice assessment to all students a minimum of 2 days prior to when they plan to administer the online assessments. Last year, most issues were due to local computer networks blocking the online assessment site, not having enough incoming bandwidth to allow access to all students at the same time, or specific local browser settings not allowing the assessments to be viewed. The assessment system works with numerous browsers, but local security settings or filters may hamper access.

Any updates to the assessment system will be announced through multiple avenues, although direct emails to teachers will not often be sent. We encourage all teachers to read the biweekly Action Bulletins and to join the course and assessment forums on the Virtual Academy. All assessment news will be posted using those communication tools.

Documents that explain the process of assigning End of Course assessments to students will be provided on the PLTW website at a future date. If you assigned assessments to students last year, the process will be the same; if you are new to the assessment system this year, the documents will help answer any questions.