Accurate student lists for this spring’s computer-based Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy developed by Smarter Balanced will depend on ongoing collaboration between the Maine DOE and the local school districts.
Student data will be uploaded nightly from Infinite Campus State Edition (ICSE) into the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) by Maine’s testing contractor, American Institutes for Research (AIR). In order for the schools to have access to an accurate list of students to be tested in TIDE, it will be necessary for districts to do frequent data uploads to ICSE and a daily upload is recommended.
For students who move from one Maine school district to another during the testing window, it will be particularly critical that they are appropriately exited by the sending district so that the receiving district can enter them. Questions regarding ICSE can be directed to the MEDMS Helpdesk at 624-6896 or MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov.
A small percentage of students with significant cognitive disabilities will not be participating in the Smarter Balanced developed MEA. Instead, they will be taking an alternate assessment of mathematics and ELA/literacy developed by the National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC). In order to remove those students from the TIDE system, they must first be identified by the local districts. To that end, all special education students are now listed on a report in ICSE: ME State Reporting/Assessment Reports/Alternate Assessment Students. This report is available to ICSE users with the following roles: SAU District Admin, SAU District Admin (read only) and SpecEdAdmin (read only).
Districts with students requiring an alternate assessment should follow these instructions which have already been provided to the Special Education Directors:
- Send an email to the MEDMS helpdesk (MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov) asking them to initiate secure email.
- Download the Alternate Assessment Students list to EXCEL.
- Indicate in the “Taking Alternate Assessment” column, a Y if the student is to take the Alternate Assessment.
- Once you have the secure email from the MEDMS Helpdesk, respond to that email and attach the Alternate Assessment Students EXCEL sheet.
Once students are indicated to be taking the alternate assessment, they will no longer be included in the nightly upload for the regular assessment and will no longer be available in TIDE for the MEA for Mathematics and ELA/Literacy.
For general assessment information or technical assistance, please contact the Department’s Acting Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov or 624-6775. For information or technical assistance related to the alternate assessment, please contact the Department’s Alternate Assessment Coordinator Sue Nay at sue.nay@maine.gov or 624-6774.