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January 2019 Newsletter
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Winter FAST and MAP Testing
Elementary FAST Testing: The window for FAST testing opens Monday, January 7. We highly recommend finishing FAST testing by January 23 so school leaders can use the data at the January T&L. FAST testing will officially close on January 25. MAP Testing: The window for MAP testing for Middle and High School (high school is optional) is open through January 11. Please be aware that one of the high schools is going to use a MAP Screener during this session that will appear in the drop-down of assessment choices. Make sure that your teachers are choosing the Growth assessments when assigning tests to students so that we can collect growth data from MAP. Please contact Jeff Panek with any questions about MAP testing. End of the Semester Grading Reminders
Elementary & Middle Schools: All grades must be completed and posted for the semester by noon on January 21st. High Schools: Registrars at each high school will open your semester grading window sometime in January just before the end of the semester. Any teachers having issues with their gradebooks should complete an SRG Support Ticket found in the electronic forms section in Infinite Campus. Infinite Campus Reminder- Transgender Student Information
Infinite Campus has functionality that will allow us to display the students preferred name and gender internally, but still use the legal name and gender for state reporting. We are thrilled to have this available and help us to further support our students. If you have a student that would like to have this change made in Campus, please email the student's current name and their preferred name/gender to Margi Neve. Have a conversation with the student prior to sending their name to Margi and make sure they understand that the automated messages (attendance calls, general emails, etc.) will use the preferred name. It will also display on the parent portal and all printed reports except for the official transcript. Please contact Margi Neve with any questions. Continuous Improvement Update
Our next Introduction to Continuous Improvement training is scheduled for Thursday, January 31, 2019. Find out more and register here. |
Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) Test Coordinator Trainings
We will be providing three training sessions to prepare school test coordinators for the new statewide assessment. Testing will begin at the high schools on April 3 and we will conclude testing with middle schools around May 3. Our testing window extends beyond this date for make-up testing, but we will also be administering the spring MAP tests in May. School test coordinators have already signed up for the first sessions starting this week. Here’s an outline of the modules which will provide coordinators with the information they will need to complete critical steps in preparing schools for the ISASP. January 8 – 14: Login, Modifying Tests, Modifying Students, Modifying Users, Practice Tests February 4 – 8: Creating Test Sessions, Preparing Test Sessions, Unlocking Tests, Accessibility & Accommodation February 25 – March 3: Creating Test Tickets, Proctoring Tests, Test Security Thank you for all of your efforts to make this new testing experience a positive one for our students and staff as we take this next step in our assessment practices. Please contact Jeff Panek with any questions about these trainings. 
Types of Analysis
Cross-Sectional, Matched Cohort - What does it mean? Questions often arise regarding the types of Tableau reports that are produced with regards to student assessments, particularly assessments which are administered multiple times in a school year such as FAST and MAP. The following definitions determine the type of data analysis for each report:
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UPCOMING DATES
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January 7 - January 25: FastBridge Testing (K-3 Reading and K-1 Math)
--January 23: Soft close for data use at T&L January 11: Winter MAP testing closes (middle schools) |
January 15: Last Day of 1st Semester
January 22: Deadline for posting grades (elementary and middle schools) |
WAIT... WHAT?
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Data Diva:
Who the heck is SAMI? Signed, So Confused |
Dear So Confused,
SAMI, or the Self-Assessment of MTSS Implementation (because who doesn’t love an acronym inside an acronym?), is a needs assessment that all Des Moines schools are engaging in this Spring. The SAMI was created as a part of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA – there go those acronyms again) implementation in Iowa. This is a needs assessment tool that school leadership teams can use to be reflective on just where they are in the implementation of their Multi-Tiered System of Supports, and where they need to make their next steps. As Always, Data Diva |
Spotlight on This Month's Data Diva
Josie Gerrietts
Josie Gerrietts joined the Assessment, Data, and Evaluation team this fall as the Program Evaluator; she is currently working with Title I, Central Campus, the ESSA support team, and the School Improvement Process Team and enjoying getting to know all of her new coworkers. In her free time, Josie and her better half have been working on renovating their Beaverdale home (as evidenced by the top photo) and preparing for their wedding next fall. When that doesn’t keep her busy enough, she spends time with her nieces and nephews, runs, and paints. She can often be found at lunchtime working on the puzzle at the Fleur offices.
Josie Gerrietts
Josie Gerrietts joined the Assessment, Data, and Evaluation team this fall as the Program Evaluator; she is currently working with Title I, Central Campus, the ESSA support team, and the School Improvement Process Team and enjoying getting to know all of her new coworkers. In her free time, Josie and her better half have been working on renovating their Beaverdale home (as evidenced by the top photo) and preparing for their wedding next fall. When that doesn’t keep her busy enough, she spends time with her nieces and nephews, runs, and paints. She can often be found at lunchtime working on the puzzle at the Fleur offices.
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