COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 206
November 17, 2000

INFORMATIONAL
 
TO: Division Superintendents
FROM: Jo Lynne DeMary
Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT: Procedures for Reviewing and Providing Feedback on Standards of Learning (SOL) Tests

With fall 2000 SOL testing under way, the Department of Education is reissuing procedures for the review of SOL tests following their administration. This memo conveys information previously communicated to you via Informational Superintendent’s Memo No. 70, dated April 2, 1999, and Informational Superintendent’s Memo No. 124, dated June 11, 1999.

Test Review Procedures

While the nature of the SOL testing program subjects the tests to a high level of security, it is permissible for teachers, central office staff, and local school board members to review the SOL tests using the following security procedures:

  1. All SOL testing, including make-up testing, must be completed in the school division prior to viewing.
  2. The reviewer must sign the security agreement to abide by its provisions.
  3. A school division staff member must be present at all times during the review of the tests and attest to adherence to the review procedures. The school division staff member should preferably be the division director of testing or a central office staff member familiar with the testing program. The division director of testing may delegate this responsibility to the school principal or school test coordinator.
  4. NO NOTES regarding the test may be taken away from the review.
  5. While the tests are in the school division, all security requirements must be maintained, especially accounting for test materials and the housing of tests in a secure location.
  6. The division director of testing must keep on file the signed security agreements related to the review.
It is imperative that adherence to these security procedures be closely monitored by the division staff personnel charged with testing responsibilities.

Completion of Feedback Forms

During test review sessions, the division staff members may complete a feedback form regarding the tests. The process requires that each school division’s director of testing serves as the contact person for the feedback forms and is responsible for forwarding them to the Department of Education in the prescribed manner.

Outlined below are the steps that will be used in the SOL test feedback process. The feedback forms will be sent directly to your division director of testing via a testing memo.

1. Teachers should have the opportunity to complete the feedback forms in a group setting following the security procedures outlined above.
  1. The person at the school level designated by the division director of testing to monitor the review should collect completed forms. Feedback forms should then be placed in a sealed envelope and forwarded to the division director of testing. These forms should be transmitted in a manner that both parties feel is secure.
  2. The division director of testing is asked to collect all feedback forms for the school division and submit them as one package to the Division of Assessment and Reporting at the Virginia Department of Education via receipted mail.
  3. A deadline for receipt of this information will be provided to the division director of testing.
The feedback regarding the SOL tests will be forwarded to the SOL Content Review Committees as they convene to review potential test items, field tests results, and test forms for next year. It is important for the teachers on the Content Review Committees to have feedback from their peers regarding their work.

We appreciate your cooperation in working with staff members and the Department of Education to provide this important feedback. Should you have any questions regarding this process, please feel free to call the Division of Assessment and Reporting at (804) 225-2102.
 
 

JLD/CMH/SLR/atb