2014 MCAS and Accountability Release Schedule

The 2014 MCAS and Accountability Release Schedule was recently posted to the DESE Web site. Here is a summary of some key dates:

• June 23rd - partial* preliminary MCAS Student Rosters posted electronically at DropBox Central in the Security Portal
• June 26th - partial* preliminary reports available in Edwin Analytics 
• August 7th - full preliminary MCAS results available in both DropBox Central and Edwin Analytics
• August 12th - Preliminary Accountability data provided through the Security Portal
• Aug 7-14th - MCAS discrepancy reporting window
• Mid-September - Official data released publicly (note, all data are embargoed prior to this date!)

*Partial results include: 

• ELA, full results 
• Mathematics, multiple-choice results only 
• STE, grades 5 and 8, multiple-choice results only 
• MCAS-Alt, full results in all subjects

Anticipated MCAS Reporting Schedule 2014

Here are the dates that were shared in last week's MCAS test administration training (FYI, the conference call version of the training is being offered again next Wednesday 2/12). Of course, these dates may be subject to change but are still very useful for planning!

 

Anticipated MCAS Reporting Schedule 2014
March 21	Access February Biology data files and rosters at DropBox Central
April 16	Access March Retest data files and rosters at DropBox Central
May 1	Districts receive February Biology and March Retest Parent/Guardian Reports
Mid-May	Schools and districts receive printed ACCESS for ELLs reports and data posted at DropBox Central
Mid-June	Districts access prelim MCAS and MCAS-Alt student results:
	ELA: preliminary results, including performance levels, scaled scores, and SGPs
	Math: multiple choice only
	STE (5&8): multiple choice only
	MCAS-Alt
	MCAS ELA long comps available at MCASservicecenter.com
July 1-July 31	MCAS discrepancy reporting by phone
August 6	Preliminary Math and STE MCAS results (combined with June ELA)
August 6-12	MCAS discrepancy reporting online
mid-September	Official results in security portal for districts
(week of Sept 19)	One day later: Public release of results; Parent/Guardian Reports shipments
Note: data will be in Edwin Analytics within 3 days of DropBox release

Where can I find....?

I've heard from a number of principals and other school/district leaders over the last week who aren't quite sure where to go to get different pieces of information related to the preliminary MCAS data, so I thought I'd post a quick clarification.

There are actually 3 different applications in the Security Portal where preliminary MCAS-related information is posted. Not everyone will have access to all 3 applications...it depends on what applications you have been assigned access by your Directory Administrator. If you have access, you'll see links to each of these applications when you log into the Security Portal (http://gateway.edu.state.ma.us/)

2013 Accountability Data
This application within the portal connects to 3 layers of reports for your school/district, similar to the Accountability tab in Profiles. Preliminary information about accountability level, PPI indicator values, points, and targets can be found here.

DropBox Central
- Accountability 2013 Data - does not contain 2013 accountability data at this time, as the data is not final
- MCAS 2013 Data - contains the August 2013 preliminary data files in .CSV and .XLS format for all tested students for whom your organization is accountable (one line per student - these are large and somewhat unwieldy files!)

Edwin Analytics 
A variety of preliminary MCAS reports (item, strand, performance/achievement, and growth) can be run for various grades, subjects, and/or subgroups within a school or district.

When the data is finalized (mid-September), there will also be updated 2013 data posted publicly to Profiles. However, the preliminary data is only available through the Security Portal with appropriate access. Please remember that the preliminary data is embargoed until the public release in September!

June 2013 Release of Preliminary Results

As many of you already know, preliminary MCAS results were made available to authorized users in DropBox Central (in the security portal) on Tuesday. This release includes full preliminary ELA results and preliminary multiple-choice results for grades 3–8 and 10 Math and grades 5 and 8 Science.

There is an interpretive guide to accompany this release (currently available in DropBox Central, to be posted to the 2013 MCAS Web page shortly) which provides information about various ways that the preliminary data (along with the 2013 released items) can be reviewed and utilized. The raw-to-scaled score conversion tables for ELA have also been posted.

In addition, the latest Student Assessment Update notes that preliminary MCAS-Alt results have been made available through DropBox Central, and ELA long compositions are posted online at www.mcasservicecenter.com.

On Friday, June 21, the same preliminary results will be made available through selected reports in Edwin Analytics.

Per the Interpretive Guide: "All data released prior to the official release of school and district results in mid-September are embargoed, which means the data cannot be released to the public or discussed in public meetings.... Preliminary MCAS data, including the Mathematics and STE multiple-choice results, can and should be used for educational planning purposes. Whenever preliminary results are printed for planning purposes, they should be clearly dated and labeled “preliminary,” with the understanding that some results may change with the official release in September."

As a reminder, I will be offering three regional Edwin Analytics workshops in August after the remainder of the preliminary data has been released, but in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.

Reminder: New ESE Security Portal URL

With the preliminary MCAS results being released on Tuesday (see earlier post for more details, along with the Student Assessment Services update sent out via email today), there’s a good chance you’ll want to log into the ESE Security Portal in the very near future to access Dropboxes or Edwin Analytics.

If you haven’t logged into the Security Portal in a while, you will notice some changes. Earlier in June, ESE installed a new “Identity Management System (IMS)” in order to align the Security Portal with the Commonwealth’s new secure access standards. Existing username and passwords will continue to work with the new Identity Management System and there is no need to change either credential, BUT the URL has changed.

New Security Portal URL: https://gateway.edu.state.ma.us/

If you're trying to access Edwin Analytics, you should click the first "Edwin Analytics" link on your portal home page after logging in to the URL above to get the latest version of Edwin Analytics. The second link that says "Edwin Analytics (EDW)" is the old version.

You should change any bookmarks you may have to the new URL. (Note that the "Security Portal" link in the drop-down menu on the ESE home page has been updated to this new URL, so if you normally access the portal this way you'll go to the right spot.) If you notice that you're being asked to log in twice, you may be accessing the portal through an incorrect URL. If you have any questions regarding your access, please contact your district’s Directory Administrator.

MCAS Release Schedule 2013

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has published the release schedule for 2013 MCAS data. Today's memorandum plus the downloadable schedule can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/.

In summary: Starting on June 18, school leaders will have access to student roster files (ELA all question types, Science multiple choice for grades 5 and 8, Math multiple choice only, MCAS-Alt full results) through Dropbox Central. Selected reports will be available in Edwin Analytics several days later. A second round of data will be released on August 7, with the discrepancy reporting window occuring between August 7-13. Please see the schedule for all the details.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, the Security Portal (home of Dropbox Central and Edwin Analytics) will be undergoing some changes this weekend. The new URL for the portal will be https://gateway.edu.state.ma.us.

I will be holding regional Edwin Analytics workshops on August 15 at Bourne HS and August 22 at READS in Middleboro and will post registration information to the blog next week. If anyone is interested in a late June workshop given that there will be some new data to explore by June 21, please let me know (laura.tilton@dsacma.org) as I could certainly schedule one if the interest exists.

Happy Friday!

Changes to Security Portal and Edwin Analytics / Friday Webinars

ESE is currently working to install a new Identity Management System (IMS) so that the Security Portal will align with the Commonwealth's new secure access standards. The first phase of this upgrade will take place over the weekend of June 1-2, as the first set of portal applications will be migrated over to the new system. The Security Portal will be unavailable during this time, as well as on two additional dates (June 6 and June 8) when additional migrations are scheduled to take place. During the June 3-9 period you may experience the need to log in twice to the portal as the upgrade will be in progress.

The Edwin Analytics/EDW team will host two WebEx sessions  tomorrow at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm to review the impact of this IMS on Edwin Analytics/EDW. I will also share any new information here on the blog.

The WebEx agenda includes:

1.       Discussion of  IDM final memo, Application Release Schedule
2.       Discussion of new security portal
3.       Review of the new User Interface

To access the webinar:

Telephone number if needed: 1-877-820-7831

Password: 683154# 

To Un-mute/Mute your phone dial *6

For operator help dial *0

http://commonwealthofmass.centurylinkccc.com/CenturylinkWeb/datawarehouse

If you need additional information, please see the Data Warehouse contact or Directory Administrator for your district.

Upcoming MCAS and MEPA Data Releases

A previous blog post provided some of the preliminary release dates for MCAS results, but I wanted to provide links to two ESE memos containing additional details.

Preliminary 2012 MCAS Data:

• June 12th - ELA Composition images posted electronically for principals
• June 15th - Portfolio Feedback Forms for MCAS-Alt posted electronically for principals
• June 22nd - Excel data files and school roster reports with preliminary student results to Dropbox Central.
• June 29th - Preliminary school and district reports to Dropbox Central.
• June 29th - Selected EDW reports posted.

See the Commissioner's May 21st memo for more details.

Spring 2012 MEPA Data:

• June 7th - Parent/Guardian reports received by schools via UPS.
• June 7th - Various data reports posted to http://www.mcasservicecenter.com/.
• June 25th - Student data file with 2011 and 2012 MEPA and MCAS scores will be posted at the Department's Security Portal.

More details on the MEPA release can be found here.

2011 MCAS and Accountability Data

DESE recently posted important information regarding 201l MCAS preliminary data and accountability data, and for discrepancy reporting. Please see the Commissioner's Memo and printable Release Schedule for complete details. Some upcoming dates are listed below:

August 8: District/school leaders can begin to access full preliminary (embargoed) 2011 MCAS results through the Security Portal (first in DropBox, then in EDW)

August 9: District/school leaders can access to preliminary (embargoed) school and district accountability data through the Security Portal.

August 8 (2:30 pm) OR August 9 (10:00 am): MCAS and Accountability Reporting Teleconference (register at www.mcasservicecenter.com)

The Commissioner's Memo also mentions the updates and improvements that will take place in the Education Data Warehouse later in August. I'll certainly be sharing additional information as it becomes available!

Competency Determination (CD) Student Status Update

The updated Competency Determination (CD) attainment status files are now available in the DropBox in the ESE Security Portal. The CD status data reflect the following:

• MCAS results through the March 2011 retests in English Language Arts and Mathematics



• MCAS Performance Appeals through May 17, 2011



• MCAS-Alt results through the spring 2010 tests



• MCAS-Alt Portfolio Appeals through May 12, 2011

For additional details, please see the Commissioner's Memo dated June 10, 2011.

Early Warning Indicator Index (EWII) - New Resources Available

The folks at the ESE have developed the Early Warning Indicator Index to provide "early warning" data to assist local staff in identifying and supporting students in grade 9 who may be at risk of not graduating on time from high school. This data has been piloted over the last few years, but this is the first year it is being provided to all school districts statewide.

Early Warning Indicator Index (EWII) assigns students who were enrolled in eighth grade at the end of the 2009-2010 school year one of five risk levels (Very High Risk, High Risk, Borderline, At Risk, or Low Risk) based on their grade 8 MCAS results, grade 8 attendance rate, age as of September 1, 2010, and number of in- and out-of-school suspensions in the 2009-2010 school year. The EWII can be used by the district as a starting point for identifying and supporting students who may be at risk of not graduating on time from high school.

A variety of resources related to the EWII were placed in the district Accountability 2010 Drop Box in the security portal within the past week, including:

• A guidance/FAQ document with additional details about the EWII
• Detailed rosters for these students (most of whom are likely to be 9th graders in 2010-2011) in Microsoft Excel format
• An additional Excel document containing both a calculator for determining risk levels for students who are not listed on the roster, as well as summary risk level data by district, region, and accountability and assistance level.

Please note that only district personnel with the "Accountability - District" security role (assigned by the district Directory Administrator) may access these data.

Data Warehouse Status Updates

As many of you know, the Data Warehouse is experiencing technical difficulties and has been "up" and "down" over the last week or so. I realized that it may not make sense to post DW status updates here on the blog, since the status may be outdated by the time you receive the notification.

The ESE folks have modified the security portal login page to include a time-stamped DW status update without requiring login, so please check there for the latest news.