Skip to main content

My project 1 2

IL

TESTING PROGRAMS

Adopted: 3-14-78
Revised: 11-16-05, 6-10-15, 12-11-19

Philosophy:
To ensure that student progress is accurately measured through standardized tests, the South Sanpete Board of Education recognizes its responsibility to implement standardized testing procedures in accordance with state and federal laws. Information from such standardized testing may be used by the District, schools, and teachers as an additional tool to plan, measure, and evaluate the effectiveness of the District’s educational program.

Policy:
It shall be the responsibility of the District’s Assessment Director to establish specific District guidelines and procedures which District personnel shall follow when administering standardized student tests in accordance with state and federal laws.

Guidelines and Procedures:

  1. It is the responsibility of all educators to take reasonable steps to ensure that standardized tests reflect the ability, knowledge, aptitude, or basic skills of each individual student taking standardized
  2. All teachers and administrators shall be provided annual in-service training concerning these guidelines and procedures; including Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Training and Policy as written and updated by the Utah State Board of
  3. All schools within the District shall administer mandated tests in compliance with established District

District Employee Compliance with Assessment Requirements, Protocols, and Security

District personnel shall conduct test preparation, test administration, and the return of all secure test material in strict accordance with procedures specified in test administration manuals, District guidelines and procedures, District policy, Utah Board of Education rules, and state application of federal requirements for funding.

  1. All standardized tests shall be administered without any reference materials being made available to students unless the state or the publisher of the test specifies
  2. Teachers, administrators, and all District personnel shall not:
    1. Provide a student directly or indirectly with a specific question, answer, or the content of any specific item in a standardized assessment prior to assessment administration;
    2. Download, copy, print, take a picture of, or make any facsimile of protected assessment material prior to, during, or after assessment administration without express permission of the State Superintendent and a District administrator;
    3. Change, alter, or amend any student online or paper response or any other standardized assessment material at any time in a way that alters the student's intended response;
    4. Use any prior form of any standardized assessment, including pilot assessment materials, that the State Superintendent has not released in assessment preparation without express permission of the State Board and a District administrator;
    5. Violate any specific assessment administrative procedure specified in the assessment administration manual, violate any state or District standardized assessment policy or procedure, or violate any procedure specified in the State Board testing ethics policy;
    6. Fail to administer a state required assessment;
    7. Fail to administer a state required assessment within the designated assessment window;
    8. Submit falsified data;
    9. Allow a student to copy, reproduce, or photograph an assessment item or component; or
    10. Knowingly do anything that would affect the security, validity, or reliability of standardized assessment scores of any individual student, class, or school.

A school employee shall promptly report an assessment violation or irregularity to a building administrator, the District Superintendent, or the State Superintendent.

An educator who violates this rule or an assessment protocol is subject to Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission or Board disciplinary action consistent with Utah Admin. Rule R277-515.

All assessment material, questions, and student responses for required assessments are designated protected, consistent with Utah Code § 63G-2-305, until released by the State Superintendent.

The District shall ensure that all assessment content is secured so that only authorized personnel have access and that assessment materials are returned to the State Superintendent following testing, as required by the State Superintendent.

An individual educator or school employee may not retain or distribute test materials, in either paper or electronic form, for purposes inconsistent with ethical test administration or beyond the time period allowed for test administration.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-8 (February 22, 2019)

District Assessment Training

District assessment staff will use the Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy in providing training for all assessment administrators and proctors. (This policy can be obtained online at www.schools.utah.gov/assessment or from the State Board of Education at 250 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111.

At least once each school year, the District will provide professional development for all educators, administrators, and assessment administrators concerning guidelines and procedures for statewide assessment administration, including educator responsibility for assessment security and proper professional practices.

The District may not release state assessment data publicly until authorized to do so by the State Superintendent.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-5(5), (6), (7) (February 22, 2019)

Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-3 (February 22, 2019)

School Responsibilities

The District, school, or educator may not use a student’s score on a state required assessment to determine:

  1. The student’s academic grade, or a portion of the student’s academic grade, for the appropriate course; or
  2. Whether the student may advance to the next grade level.

The District or a school or educator may consider, as one of multiple lines of evidence, a student’s score on a state required assessment to determine whether a student may enroll in an honors, advanced placement, or International Baccalaureate course. However, a student may not be prohibited from enrolling in one of these courses based on the student’s score on a state required assessment or because the student was exempted from taking a state required assessment.

In accordance with Utah Code § 53G-6-803, the school shall reasonably accommodate a parent’s request to allow a student’s demonstration of proficiency on a state required assessment to fulfill a requirement in a course.

The District and school shall require an educator and assessment administrator and proctor to individually sign the testing ethics signature page provided by the State Superintendent acknowledging or assuring that the educator administers assessments consistent with ethics and protocol requirements.

All educators and assessment administrators shall conduct assessment preparation, supervise assessment administration, and certify assessment results before providing results to the State Superintendent.

All educators and assessment administrators and proctors shall securely handle and return all protected assessment materials, where instructed, in strict accordance with the procedures and directions specified in assessment administration manuals, District rules and policies, and the Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-6 (February 22, 2019)

Assessment Results:

  1. Results of an individual student’s standardized tests shall be shared with the student and parent/guardian at the student’s SEP/SEOP conference or will be shared with thestudent and parent/guardian as soon as the District receives
  2. Test data will be used to do the following:
    1. To assess a school’s or District’s overallcurriculum;
    2. To assess individual studentachievement;
    3. To communicate student achievement to students, parents, District, state,and other professional groups;
    4. To assist administration in determining areas in need of improvement and to direct professional development;and
    5. To reflect the overall academic health of a class, subject, school or the whole District.
  3. Standardized testing statistical data and results shall be made available toschools, students, residents and the general public through the District and State reporting websites.

Students with Disabilities:
The District shall administer statewide assessments to all students enrolled in the grade level or course to which the assessment applies, with the following exceptions:

1.      The student has been exempted under the procedures set forth in this Policy (IL).

2.      A student’s IEP team, English Learner team, or Section 504 accommodation plan team shall determine that student’s participation in statewide assessments consistent with the Utah Participation and Accommodations Policy.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-5(1) (February 22, 2019)

Participation of Private and Home School Students in U-PASS Testing

Home school students who are Utah residents and whose parents reside in the District may participate in U-PASS testing as follows:

  1. The student must have satisfied the home school requirements set forth in Utah Code § 53G-6-204.
  2. The home school student must pay charges or fees for the testing on the same basis that students enrolled in the school must pay charges or fees.
  3. The District shall determine in which school(s) qualifying home school students will take U-PASS tests.
  4. The District may require home school students to provide a parent or adult to monitor or proctor tests, as appropriate.

Upon request of a home school student or the student’s parent or guardian, the District shall provide a copy of the schedule of U-PASS dates, the locations at which home school students may be tested, and the District’s policies relating to home school student participation in U-PASS tests.  Home school students who desire to participate in a particular U-PASS test must make the request in writing at least 30 days before the test date.  The District shall respond in writing to the request at least 10 days following the receipt of the request.  Where the request to participate is approved, the District shall provide written notice to the home school student and his or her parent or guardian of testing rules, including required identification and proof of residency for adults and students and implements or materials that the home school student may or may not bring or use for the test.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-604-4 (December 8, 2016)

Private School Student Participation
Private school students who are Utah residents and attending private schools located within the District boundaries may participate in U-PASS testing as follows:

  1. The private school student’s school must request permission from the District on behalf of the student to participate.
  2. The student or private school must pay the costs of the testing in advance.These testing costs include costs for materials, scoring, reporting, and State-related costs.
  3. The District shall determine in which school(s) private school students may take U-PASS tests.
  4. The District shall determine the limits, if any, of numbers of non-public school students that can be accommodated by the school.
  5. The District may require the participating private school to provide administrators to participate in monitoring or proctoring tests, as appropriate.

Upon request of a private school located within District boundaries, the District shall provide the private school a copy of the schedule of U-PASS dates, the locations at which private school students may be tested, and the District’s policies relating to private school student participation in U-PASS tests.  Private schools which desire to have their students participate in a particular U-PASS test must make the request in writing at least 30 days before the test date. The District shall respond in writing to the request at least 10 days following the receipt of the request.  Where the request to participate is approved, the District shall provide written notice to the private school of testing rules, including required identification and proof of residency for staff and students and implements or materials that the private school or student may or may not bring or use for the test.
Private school students who are not Utah residents may participate in U-PASS testing only upon payment, in advance, of the full cost of the individual assessments.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-604-3 (December 8, 2016)

Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools Administrator Training

The administrators of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools are responsible to meet U-PASS requirements relating to the students in their schools.  The District shall provide materials and training to administrators of BIA schools within the District on the schedule which applies to the District.  The District shall notify administrators of BIA schools located in the District of all information and training on U-PASS provided by the District.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-604-6 (December 8, 2016)

Parental Right to Exempt Students from State Required Assessments

A parent has the right to exempt the parent’s student from a state required assessment. A student who is exempted from a state required assessment may not be penalized (put in an unfavorable position or at a disadvantage) because of the exemption. This policy sets forth the required procedure for exemption and addresses related matters. The District may establish its own policy with regard to any assessments which are required by the District but are not state required assessments, including whether a student can be exempted from District assessments and what consequences there are for taking or failing to take such an assessment.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-7(1), (2), (6) (February 22, 2019)

Exception Regarding Basic Civics Test

A student must pass the basic civics test in order to receive a high school diploma, as provided in Utah Code § 53E-4-205(2) and Utah Administrative Rules R277-700-8(2)(b)(i). A parent may exempt the parent’s student from taking the basic civics test, but the student may not graduate without successfully completing that test requirement, notwithstanding the prohibition on penalizing a student exempted from state required assessments.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-7(3)(c) (February 22, 2019)
Utah Admin. Rules R277-700-8(2) (March 14, 2018)
Utah Code § 53E-4-205(2) (2019)

Exemption Procedure

To exempt a student from one or more state required assessments, the parent shall, on an annual basis, fill out the Parental Exclusion from State Assessment form and deliver it to the principal or the District at least one day before the beginning of any assessment from which the student is to be exempted. (In the discretion of the District, and upon parental request, the District may exempt a student from a state required assessment when the form is delivered less than a day before the assessment begins.) The form may be delivered by email, mail, or in person. The form is available at https://schools.utah.gov/assessment. (The District may create a District-specific form if that form lists the District required assessments from which the student may be exempted and the form also contains all the information described in the Parental Exclusion from State Assessment form.)
Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-7(4) (February 22, 2019)

Additional Requirements

The following standards apply to parental exemptions: 

1.         Students may not be rewarded for participation in a state required assessment or for performance on a state required assessment.

2.         A teacher, principal, or other District administrator may contact a parent to verify that the parent submitted a Parental Exclusion from State Assessment form.

3.         A parent may be requested, but may not be required, to meet with a teacher, principal, or other District administrator regarding the parent’s request to exclude the parent’s student from taking a state required assessment.

4.         The student’s parent shall, consistent with the protection of student privacy, be provided the student’s individual test results and scores.

5.         If a student who has been exempted from participating in a state required assessment is in attendance during test administration, the student shall be provided with an alternative learning experience.

6.         A student who has been exempted from participation in a state required assessment may be allowed to be physically present in the room during test administration.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-404-7(5), (7) to (10) (February 22, 2019)

 

Referral to State Board for Violation

Any employee violating this policy shall be subject to adverse employment action, including, but not limited to, termination of employment, and any such educator shall be referred to the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission of the State Board of Education for possible disciplinary action.

pdfIL_Testing_Programs_.pdf