The Maine Department of Education is negotiating a contract with vendor FocalPointK12 to deliver the 2015-16 assessment results via an online reporting system. The Maine Assessment and Accountability Reporting System (MAARS) is expected to be launched in the coming months and will provide both public and confidential access to data, replacing Measured Progress’ iServices portal.
To keep educators and the public informed, the Department has developed an expected timeline of release for the various assessments conducted during the 2015-16 school year. Although the timing for much of the data is later than desired, it is anticipated that the 2016-17 data will be released much earlier since Maine’s assessment and reporting systems will not undergo major changes in 2016-17.
Participation Data
Participation data by school for mathematics and ELA/literacy assessments will be posted to the Department’s website on July 8 to be utilized in completion of consolidated ESEA applications.
WIDA ACCESS for ELLS 2.0
General and alternate assessment of English language proficiency in grades K-12
Printed reports were delivered on Friday, April 15. Online ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 reports are now available for schools in WIDA AMS. Statewide data will be available in MAARS in October. Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Director of ESL and Bilingual Programs Nancy Mullins at nancy.mullins@maine.gov.
eMPower™ME
General assessment of mathematics and ELA/literacy in grades 3-8
Results will be available through MAARS in October. Since this is a new assessment, additional steps need to occur this year before student results can be expressed in terms of scaled scores and achievement levels. Most notably, a group of Maine educators will meet in August to set standards for the assessment to define achievement levels. Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov.
MEA Science
General assessment of science in grades 5, 8, and third year high school
MEA Science results will be available through MAARS in August. Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov.
Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA)
Alternate assessment of mathematics and ELA/literacy in grades 3-8 and third year high school
MSAA results will be available to schools through the MSAA portal from August 8 through October 7. Beginning in October, MSAA results will be available in MAARS. Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Alternate Assessment Coordinator Sue Nay at sue.nay@maine.gov.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
State-level results through 2015 for NAEP in mathematics and reading, can be found at www.nationsreportcard.gov. Additionally, NAEP results in science will be released in September, on a date yet to be determined by the National Assessment Governing Board. Once released, State-level science results at grades 4 and 8 will also be accessible at the nation’s report card. For more information contact Maine DOE’s Coordinator of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and International Assessments Paula Hutton at paula.hutton@maine.gov.
Personalized Alternate Assessment Portfolio (PAAP)
Alternate assessment of science in grades 5, 8, and third year high school
PAAP results will be available in MAARS in August. Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Alternate Assessment Coordinator Sue Nay at sue.nay@maine.gov.
SAT
General assessment of mathematics and ELA/literacy for third year high school
Results are now available through the College Board portal for schools and students (those who have a login to the portal) who took the SAT on April 12. For those who took the SAT on April 27, the results will be available on June 15. The redesigned SAT is a new assessment therefore additional steps need to occur this year before student results can be expressed in terms of Maine’s scaled scores and achievement levels. Most notably, a group of educators will meet in June to set standards for the assessment to define the achievement levels. Statewide SAT results for students and schools will be available through MAARS in October. Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov.
Training Opportunities
Multiple training opportunities will be provided to help educators and the public become familiar with the new reporting system and to aid in the interpretation of the assessment results. Support will be provided through guides posted to the Maine DOE website, through a series of webinars, and once all data is accessible, regional face-to-face workshops will take place the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 4.
Maine DOE will continue to update the field as assessment data is released and training resources are made available. Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Director of Assessment & Accountability Charlene Tucker at charlene.tucker@maine.gov.