Category: Priority Notices

Maine DOE seeks assessment waiver

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.

105th Annual Commissioner’s Conference

The following Priority Notice was sent Monday, April 11

Monday, April 11

Dear Superintendents,

I am writing to remind you that registration is open for our 105th Annual Commissioner’s Conference for Superintendents, scheduled for June 26-28 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. School board members and other school or district level administrators are encouraged to register for the conference based on their interest (please see the draft agenda below).

We’re excited about how the agenda – developed in collaboration with the Maine School Superintendents Association – is coming together to best focus on the topics we continue to hear are of most importance to you and are looking forward to working with you.

Draft conference agenda to include:

Sunday, June 26 (Registration opens at 2 p.m.)

Maine School Superintendents Association (MSSA) Reception and Awards Banquet
(Networking reception sponsored by Apple – 5 p.m./Dinner – 6 p.m./Awards – 7 p.m.)

Monday, June 27 (Registration opens at 7:15 a.m. and breakfast opens at 7:45 a.m.)

General Session

Commissioner’s Welcome, Acting Education Commissioner Dr. Bill Beardsley

General Session

Keynote Address by Dr. David Silvernail with comments by Catherine Barbour, Carmen Coleman and Jacinda Goodwin

Concurrent Sessions – Continue the keynote discussion with one of the experts

  • Dr. David Silvernail – View Dr. Silvernail’s bio here (PDF, 92KB)
  • Catherine Barbour – View Ms. Barbour’s bio here (PDF, 90KB)
  • Carmen Coleman – View Ms. Coleman’s bio here (PDF, 189KB)

General Session
ESSA – Stakeholder Engagement and Discussions

Networking reception sponsored by HP

Dinner on your own

Tuesday, June 28 (Registration and Breakfast open at 7:15 a.m. Conference adjourns at 3:45 p.m.)

MSSA Business Meeting

Maine DOE Updates, Maine DOE Staff (General Session)

General  Session

FERPA 101 – Dale King, Director of the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office

Concurrent Workshop Sessions (each session will be offered twice)

  • Certification – After the Cliff / Rules and Regulations Changes / Higher Education and Teacher Preparation
  • Essential Programs and Services – Interim Reports
  • Learning Through Technology – A Demonstration by Maine Schools / Leveraging Technology to Support Proficiency-based Diploma Work

Concurrent Workshop Sessions (same as listed above)

General Session

Lunch and closing remarks, Acting Education Commissioner Dr. Bill Beardsley

One-on-One Technical Assistance will be offered on Tuesday from 8:00am – 3:00pm

  • School Finance and Data Teams
  • School Transportation
  • School Construction – Revolving Renovation Funds / Application
  • Certification
  • FERPA
  • Small group discussion with Catherine Barbour, Carmen Coleman, David Silvernail and Maine DOE staff

*Please note this is a working agenda.

Presenters are already working to prepare their conference materials, which will be posted as they become available here on the 2016 Commissioner’s Conference webpage.

To register for the conference, please click here today. The fee for superintendents to attend the full conference is $200 and includes all sessions, meals and materials. For additional registration options including partial conference attendance, guest meals and discounted lodging opportunities, please click here.

We look forward to working with you June 26-28 in Bangor.

Sincerely,

Bill Beardsley, Acting Commissioner

Maine Department of Education

2016 District Learning Technology Plan guidelines released

Each Maine school administrative unit (SAU) is required to file with the Department of Education a long-range strategic learning technology plan (Chapter 125, Section 9.03, Item C, and Policy Code IJND), either as an SAU or within a consortium. Plans should cover three years of implementation.

Continue reading “2016 District Learning Technology Plan guidelines released” →

MEA Science large print orders requested

The following Priority Notice was sent March 17

With much focus recently on the Maine Education Assessment Math & ELA/Literacy eMPowerME test starting next week, we must be reminded that next month we have our required MEA Science for grades 5, 8 and third year high school.

The same as previous years, this assessment is from Measured Progress and is a paper-pencil test. The test window is two weeks and runs from April 25 – May 6.

If there are any requests for LARGE PRINT versions of this assessment, now is the time to notify Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov or call 624-6775.

Revised and Updated FY 2017 State Subsidy printouts (ED 279) now available

The following Priority Notice was sent on March 17

The FY 2017 (2016-17 school year) State subsidy printouts, known as ED 279s, are now available here on our website: http://www.maine.gov/doe/eps/.

These printouts are based on PL 2015, Chapter 389 which provides an additional appropriation of $15 million dollars to General Purpose Aid for Local Schools for FY 2017.

The printouts also reflect corrections for data quality issues identified after the January 29 publication of the printouts, as well as adjustments for Adult Education course counts and debt service adjustments for those school units which were impacted by recent debt refinancing.

We hope the publication of the ED 279s is informative to your local budget preparations.

If you have any questions as you review these printouts, contact our School Finance team via email: tyler.backus@maine.gov, paula.b.gravelle@maine.gov or joanne.allen@maine.gov.

REVISED Preliminary FY 2017 State subsidy by school administrative unit information now available

The following Priority Notice was sent on March 15

Following the initial publication of the preliminary FY 2017 (2016-17 school year) state subsidy printouts (ED 279) on January 29, 2016, data quality issues were detected. During the time in which the Department has been working to correct these issues, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, PL 2015, Chapter 389 which provides an additional appropriation of $15 million dollars to General Purpose Aid for Local Schools for FY 2017.

In order to provide school administrative units with timely information needed for budgeting purposes, the Department has produced several spreadsheets which illustrate the changes to each school administrative unit’s subsidy allocation, beginning with the preliminary ED 279 published on January 29, to the impact of the additional $15 million appropriation enacted this week. The following spreadsheets are available here:

  •  FY 17 preliminary State Subsidy compared to FY 16 by SAU
  • Comparison of Original Preliminary ED 279 State Subsidy to Corrected State Subsidy to Additional Appropriation by SAU
  • FY 17 Education Subsidy Information for Property Tax Bill by SAU and Town

In addition to corrections for the identified data quality issues, amounts in the spreadsheet include adjustments for Adult Education course counts, replacing the estimated counts originally used with actual counts, as reported on the EFM 39 reports. Also included are debt service adjustments for those school units which were impacted by recent debt refinancing.

Work is continuing to correct systemic issues which impact the actual ED 279 report. As soon as those issues are corrected and the detailed reports posted, school units will be notified.  In the meantime, these spreadsheets will assist school units in moving forward with their FY 2017 budget work.

Please direct questions regarding these printouts to the School Finance team via email: tyler.backus@maine.gov, paula.b.gravelle@maine.gov or joanne.allen@maine.gov.

Preparing Test Administrators and Proctors for grades 3-8 eMPower™ ME testing

The following Priority Notice was sent on Monday, March 14

To best prepare Test Administrators and Proctors for a successful administration of this spring’s Maine Educational Assessment in Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy for grades 3 through 8, the following resources are provided.

Prior to testing, Test Administrators and Proctors must be familiar with the Test Administration Manual found here.

Two required webinars include:

All Test Administrators and Proctors are required to sign the TA Test Security and Data Privacy Agreement which can be downloaded here.

In addition, Maine DOE recommends two segments of the eMPower™ ME Accessibility: Tools, Supports & Accommodations webinar (25 minutes). The first segment is at 4:40 minutes in to 8:05, and the second segment is 11:02 minutes in to 20 minutes. These segments will familiarize TAs with the embedded tools, testing taking aids, and basic navigation of the test environment. They are ideal for TAs who wish to work through the practice tests with their students but are short on time.

Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov or call 624-6775.

More updates re: 2016 MEA

The following Priority Notice was sent on Saturday, March 12

The following updates are available regarding 2016 Maine Educational Assessment:

Student Data loaded into the iTester portal – This enables School Test Coordinators to begin the work of loading student accommodations and creating classes for testing sessions.

Test Security Webinar- This training is required for all School Test Coordinators, Test Administrators and Proctors who will be involved in the administration of the eMPowerME assessment of mathematics and English language arts/literacy at grades 3-8.

https://maine.onlinehelp.measuredprogress.org/training/

Test Security & Data Privacy Agreements- Agreements must be signed by each School Test Coordinators, Test Administrator and Proctor and maintained by the District Assessment Coordinator. http://www.maine.gov/doe/assessment/math-ela/administration/stc-testsecurityagreement-eMPowerME.docx http://www.maine.gov/doe/assessment/math-ela/administration/ta-testsecurityagreement-eMPowerME.docx

School Test Coordinator Manual- This manual provides guidance for the School Test Coordinator related to preparation for a secure administration of the 2016 eMPowerME assessment.  It is required reading for School Test Coordinators.

https://maine.onlinehelp.measuredprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/03/eMPower_ME_School_TCM_FINAL.pdf

Test Administration Manual- This manual provides instructions for Test Administrators and Proctors regarding preparation for and the actual administration of the 2016 eMPowerME assessment, including the script to be used during the test administration.  It is required reading for Test Administrators and Proctors.

https://maine.onlinehelp.measuredprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/03/eMPower_ME_TAM_FINAL.pdf

For more information, contact Assessment Coordinator, Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov.

Important update from Measured Progress

The following Priority Notice was sent on Wednesday, March 9.  

President and CEO of Measured Progress Martin Borg has provided the following important update regarding preparations for the 2016 MEA assessment for grades three through eight. This message is in keeping with Measured Progress’ agreement with Acting Education Commissioner Bill Beardsley to maintain the current schedule for test administration.

Continue reading “Important update from Measured Progress” →

Updates regarding 2016 MEA testing

 The following priority notice was sent on Wednesday, March 9.

The following updates are available regarding 2016 Maine Educational Assessments:

2016 Operational Procedures for the Maine Educational Assessments – This document assists schools with participation, enrollment, and administration issues. The Operational Procedures should be used in conjunction with each MEA’s Test Coordinator/Administration Manual.

Sample Parent Letter template regarding 2016 MEA (eMPower™ME and SAT)

eMPower™ME 25 minute webinar webinar regarding Accessibility: Tools, Supports & Accommodations

With the availability of paper-based, browser-based, and kiosk-based practice tests/sample items, the following documents outline the Directions for Administration (DFA) of Paper-Pencil and Online Sample Items for eMPower™ME Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy.

For more information, contact Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov.