The following notice was sent to superintendents and NCLB coordinators on April 15, 2016.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires that State assessments cover the full range of the state’s academic content standards.
Maine’s English language arts/literacy standards include standards for speaking and listening. However, our state assessment, at this time, does not assess speaking and listening.
The Maine DOE is choosing to proceed thoughtfully as we explore options for how to best assess speaking and listening. In order to effectively design these assessments, we need time to research options, listen to educators, test our technology, and work with our testing contractors.
Maine will be requesting a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education for the 2015-16 and the 2016-17 school years from the requirement to assess speaking and listening.
We invite public comments through April 29, 2016, about this waiver request.
Questions and/or comments may be directed to Charlene Tucker, Director of Assessment & Accountability at charlene.tucker@maine.gov.