COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 90
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo
Lynne DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
State
Testing Schedule for 2002-2003 |
Attached is the State Testing
Program schedule for the 2002-2003 school year. Please inform all personnel of these testing dates so that other
activities can be scheduled without conflicts.
Summer 2002 SOL Administration
Summer
administrations of the end-of-course tests are designed to accommodate the
following groups of students:
1. students
enrolled in courses for which there are SOL tests; all enrolled students must
be tested unless they have previously passed the SOL test.
2. students
in the ninth-grade class of 2000-2001 and below who desire to retake an
end-of-course SOL test they failed and need an additional opportunity to retake
the test to earn verified credit; these students do not have to be enrolled in
a summer school course to take a test; participation by these students is
optional.
3. students
who have failed an end-of-course mathematics test (Algebra I, Geometry, or
Algebra II) and who are enrolled in a remediation recovery program.
4. students
who have met the criteria for expedited retakes and were not tested during the
expedited retake period following the spring 2002 SOL test administration. These students must:
1. need
the test for verified credit,
2. have
passed the course associated with the test, and fall into one of the following
categories:
failed the test by a narrow margin, or
failed the test by any margin and have extenuating
circumstances that would warrant retesting, or
did not sit for the regularly scheduled test for
legitimate reasons.
The
narrow margin criteria shall be defined as a scaled score of 375-399.
The
SOL writing test is to be administered statewide July 22-24, 2002. The
multiple-choice component of the English: Writing test should be administered
either on Monday, July 22, or Tuesday, July 23, 2002. The direct writing component of the English:
Writing test will be administered statewide on Wednesday, July 24, 2002.
The
grade 8 and end-of-course tests will be administered to students who will
complete the associated grade 8 classes or high school courses at the end of
the fall semester. The following groups
of students may also take the SOL tests:
1.
students
in the ninth-grade class of 2000-2001 and below who want to retake an
end-of-course SOL test that they failed.
These students do not have to be enrolled in a course to take a
test. Their participation is optional.
2. special
education students in grades 9-11 for the 2002-2003 school year who are pursuing
a modified standard diploma may take the grade 8 Mathematics or English:
Reading/Literature and Research test to meet the literacy and numeracy
requirements for this diploma.
3. students
who have participated in remediation recovery programs may retake the SOL tests
as follows:
grade 9 students may retake the grade 8 English: Reading/Literature and Research
test and/or mathematics test
students who have failed an end-of-course
mathematics test may retake the failed test.
The
SOL English: Writing tests for the fall 2002 administration are scheduled as
follows. The multiple-choice component
of the English: Writing tests will be administered on either Monday, October 21 or Tuesday, October 22,
2002. The direct writing component
of the English: Writing tests will be administered statewide on Wednesday, October 23, 2002. Students who are absent on the date of the
statewide writing test will respond to a different prompt during the make‑up
period. Answer documents for the English:
Writing tests must be shipped for scoring by October 30, 2002.
Testing
schedules for other SOL tests will be determined by the school divisions based
on the date the fall semester ends.
Spring Semester 2003 SOL Administration
The
spring SOL administrations are designed to accommodate several groups of
students:
1. students
in grades 3, 5, and 8, and those enrolled in high school courses for which
there is an end-of-course SOL test will participate in the spring semester SOL administration.
2. students
in the ninth-grade class of 2000-2001 and below who want to retake an
end-of-course SOL test that they previously failed. These students do not have to be enrolled in a course to take a
test. Their participation is optional.
3. special
education students in grades 9-11 for the 2002-2003 school year who are
pursuing a modified standard diploma may take the grade 8 Mathematics or English:
Reading/Literature and Research test to meet the literacy and numeracy
requirements for this diploma.
4. students
who have participated in remediation recovery programs may retake the SOL tests
as follows:
grade 4 students may retake the grade 3 English test
(reading and writing subtests) and mathematics test
grade 6 students may retake the grade 5 English: Reading/Literature and Research
test and/or mathematics test
grade 9 students may retake the grade 8 English: Reading/Literature and Research
test and/or mathematics test
students who have failed an end-of-course
mathematics test may retake the failed test.
The
SOL English: Writing tests for the spring 2003 administration are scheduled as
follows. The multiple-choice component of the English: Writing tests will be
administered on either March 3 or 4.
The direct writing component of the test must be administered statewide on Wednesday, March 5. Students who are absent on the date of the
statewide writing test will respond to a different prompt during the make-up
period. Answer documents for the
English: Writing tests must be shipped for scoring by March 19, 2003.
All
Other SOL Tests
Testing
schedules for other SOL tests will be determined by the school division based
on the date schools are closed.
Summer 2003 SOL Administration
Summer
SOL administrations are designed to accommodate several groups of students:
1. students
enrolled in courses for which there are SOL tests; all enrolled students must
be tested unless they have previously passed the SOL test.
2. students
in the ninth-grade class of 2000-2001 or below who desire to retake an
end-of-course SOL test previously failed and need an additional opportunity to
retake the test to earn verified credit; these students do not have to be
enrolled in a summer school course to take a test; participation by these
students is optional.
3. students
who have failed an end-of-course mathematics test (Algebra I, Geometry, or
Algebra II) and who are enrolled in a remediation recovery program.
4. students
who have met the criteria for expedited retakes and were not tested during the
expedited retake period following the spring 2003 SOL test administration. These students must:
1. need
the test for verified credit,
2. have
passed the course associated with the test, and fall into one of the following
categories:
failed the test by a narrow margin, or
failed the test by any margin and have extenuating
circumstances that would warrant retesting, or
did not sit for the regularly scheduled test for
legitimate reasons.
The
narrow margin criteria shall be defined as a scaled score of 375-399.
The
SOL writing test is to be administered statewide July 21-23, 2003. The
multiple-choice component of the English: Writing test should be administered
either on Monday, July 21, or Tuesday, July 22, 2003. The direct writing component of the English:
Writing test will be administered statewide on Wednesday, July 23, 2003.
The
Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition, Form TA, Abbreviated (Stanford 9,
TA), will be administered to all students in grades 4, 6, and 9 and should be
scheduled during the period from September
16 through October 14, 2002. Answer documents must be shipped for scoring
by October 25, 2002.
LITERACY TESTING PROGRAM (LTP) INFORMATION
Dates
for the summer LPT administration are July
15-19, 2002. The writing test is to
be administered one day statewide on Wednesday,
July 17, 2002. Divisions may
administer the reading and/or the mathematics tests before or after the writing
test. Students who will be classified
as grade 12 students at the beginning of the 2002-2003 school year and students
entering the ninth grade in 1999-2000 who have been retained are eligible to
participate in the summer 2002 administration.
There is no state requirement that these students participate in the
summer 2002 administration; rather, the summer administration is intended to
provide an additional opportunity to take the LPT for those students who
choose to participate. With the
exception of adult education students, there will be no charge to students
choosing to take the LPT during the summer administration. Adult education program personnel wishing to
schedule this LPT administration on a Saturday should plan for that to be done on Saturday, July 20, 2002.
The
reading and mathematics tests for the LPT must be administered during the
period October 1 through October 8, 2002, to (1) students in the
twelfth grade and unclassified students who have not passed one or more tests
during the previous test opportunities, (2) students who entered the ninth
grade in 1999-2000 and who have been retained, (3) students in the twelfth
grade who transferred into Virginia public schools after the February 2002 administration,
and (4) adult education students who are pursuing standard or advanced studies
diplomas. Local divisions may establish
reading and mathematics test dates to meet their needs within the window of October
1 through 8.
The
writing test must be administered one day statewide on Wednesday, October 9, 2002.
All students will respond to only
one writing prompt on the fall 2002 LPT.
This prompt will be the same statewide.
Students who are absent on the day of the statewide writing test will take
a different prompt during the make-up period.
Answer documents must be shipped for scoring by October 25, 2002.
Adult
education program personnel wishing to schedule the LPT administration on a
single Saturday should plan for that to be done on Saturday, October 12, 2002. As in previous administrations involving
adult students, a fee will be charged for the test.
The
reading and mathematics tests for the LPT must be administered during the
period from February 3 through February 11, 2003, to (1) students in the twelfth grade and unclassified
students who have not previously passed one or more tests, (2) students who
entered the ninth grade in 1999-2000 and who have been retained, (3) students
in the twelfth grade who transferred into Virginia public schools after the
fall 2002 administration, and (4) adult education students pursuing a standard
or advanced studies diploma. School
divisions may establish reading and mathematics test dates to meet their needs
within the window of February 3 through February 11. However, the writing test must be
administered one day statewide on
February 12, 2003.
Students
who are absent on February 12 will respond to a different prompt during
the make-up period. Make-up testing for
all three tests (reading, mathematics, and writing) must be completed in time
for answer documents to be shipped for scoring by February 28, 2003.
All
students enrolled in Virginia public schools who anticipate having sufficient
credits to graduate by June 30, 2003, who are required to pass the LPT and have
not yet passed the writing test, will respond to both the regular and the make-up prompts.
All
adult education students will also respond to both prompts in the spring 2003
administration. Adult education
programs wishing to schedule their LPT administration on a single Saturday
should plan for that to be Saturday,
February 15, 2003. As in previous
administrations involving adult students, there will be a fee associated with
their testing.
Spring 2003 Literacy Passport Test
Graduating Senior Administration
The
Department of Education will follow the same procedure used in the spring of
2002 to accommodate students entering Virginia public schools as seniors after
the spring 2003 administration. The
department will supply divisions with sufficient materials to test these
students as needed. Request forms for
these materials will be sent to school divisions in the spring of 2003 after
the spring LPT administration has been completed.
Students
in the classes of 1996-2002 who have completed all requirements for a high
school diploma except passing the LPT (school leavers) may take the test or
tests they have not passed in the summer of 2002, fall 2002 or spring 2003 LPT
administrations.
QUESTIONS
Questions
concerning the state testing program schedule should be directed to the
Division of Assessment and Reporting at (804) 225-2102.
JLD/SLR/jc
Attachment
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/inf090a.pdf