The following Priority Notice was distributed on Wednesday, Sept. 7 to superintendents requesting they identify a district assessment coordinator to coordinator and ensure a successful administration of the 2016-17 State assessments.
Dear Superintendents,
As we begin another school year, your district will again identify individuals in key roles in the NEO Staff System. On behalf of the assessment team, I am asking you to consider carefully your choice of the individual designated as the District Assessment Coordinator (DAC). While the DAC may not be directly responsible for all the details associated with the various assessments, the Maine DOE will count on this individual to be familiar with all State assessments in order to help address any issues that may occur.
The State assessments include:
- eMPowerME (general assessment of mathematics and ELA/literacy in grades 3-8)
- SAT (general assessment of mathematics and ELA/literacy at third year high school)
- MSAA (alternate assessment of mathematics and ELA/literacy at grades 3-8 and third year high school)
- MEA Science (general assessment of science at grades 5, 8, and third year high school)
- PAAP (alternate assessment of science at grades 5, 8 and third year high school)
- ACCESS for ELLs (general and alternate assessment of English language proficiency K-12)
As the Department rolls out the results of the 2015-16 assessment season, the DAC will be responsible for determining which individuals in the district have access to information about which students. Information about opportunities for training on the new Maine Assessment & Accountability Reporting System (MAARS) will be sent to the DAC.
In preparation for the 2016-17 assessment season, the DAC will be the primary individual receiving critical information and will be responsible for dissemination of that information. The DAC will be responsible for determining which individuals in the district (e.g., Test Coordinator) are provided access through logins and passwords to each appropriate assessment portal (e.g., the eMPowerME portal, WIDA-AMS). The DAC, and designees of the DAC, will be responsible for ensuring that all required training has taken place and security and operational protocols are followed. The DAC will be the primary contact for the Maine DOE in any investigations of breaches of protocol, and the DAC will ultimately sign off on the integrity of the assessment processes in the district.
Please note that DACs that were designated for the 2015-16 school year are no longer valid. Because of staff changes between school years, the Department must reassign DACs to protect student confidentiality. We will soon begin sending information to the 2016-17 DAC list regarding upcoming training opportunities. We urge you to make this important assignment promptly in NEO at https://neo.maine.gov/DOE/NEO/Accounts/Account/Login.
Questions about the DAC role may be addressed to charlene.tucker@maine.gov.
Questions about how to assign the DAC role in NEO may be addressed to medms.helpdesk@maine.gov.
Thank you,
Charlene R. Tucker
Maine DOE Director of Assessment & Accountability