Administrative Regulation

AR 6162.5

Instruction

Student Assessment

Standardized Testing and Reporting Program

The Superintendent or designee shall administer the mandatory state achievement test in the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program to all students in grades 2 through 11 before May 15 of each year. (Education Code 60640)

Any district student of limited English proficiency who has been enrolled in a California public school for less than 12 months shall take both the statewide assessment in English and a test in his/her primary language if such a test is available. (Education Code 60640)

(cf. 6174 - Education for English Language Learners)

Following the first year of enrollment in a California public school, students of limited English proficiency shall continue to take a second achievement test in their primary language, if such a test is available, as well as the statewide assessment in English. (Education Code 60640)

A parent/guardian may submit to the school a written request to excuse his/her child from any or all parts of STAR and/or the designated primary language test. The parent/guardian must initiate the request, and the district and its employees shall not solicit or encourage any written request on behalf of any child. (5 CCR 852, 881)

Special education students shall be tested with the designated achievement test, unless an explicit provision in their individualized education program specifically exempts them from testing. (5 CCR 852, 881)

(cf. 6159 - Individualized Education Program)

(cf. 6164.6 - Identification and Education under Section 504)

Students in special education programs with individualized education plans or students with current Section 504 plans delineating accommodations such as, but not limited to, large print, Braille, extended time, or the use of a reader or scribe or a calculator shall be tested and the prescribed adaptations or accommodations shall be made. (5 CCR 853)

The Superintendent or designee shall arrange for at least two make-up days for the testing of students who were absent during the period that any school administered the achievement test. All make-up testing shall occur within 10 instructional days of the last date that the district administered the test or by May 25, whichever is earlier. (Education Code 60640; 5 CCR 855)

By October 15 of each year, the Superintendent or designee shall designate a district coordinator who shall serve as the district representative and liaison with the California Department of Education for all matters relating to the STAR program. The Superintendent or designee also shall designate a coordinator at each test site. (5 CCR 857-858, 886)

In addition to the duties prescribed in 5 CCR 857-858, 886, the district coordinator shall establish guidelines to help ensure that the publisher is provided complete student information, as specified in 5 CCR 861 and 870, for purposes of the Academic Performance Index.

The Superintendent or designee shall report the results of each student's test in writing to the student's parents/guardians within 20 working days of receiving results from the test publisher. If the test results are received from the publisher after the last day of instruction in the school year, each student's results shall be mailed to his/her parents/guardians. The report shall include a clear explanation of the purpose of the test, the student's score and its intended use by the district. (Education Code 60641; 5 CCR 863)

(cf. 5145.6 - Parental Notifications)

An individual student's scores shall also be reported to his/her school and teachers and shall be included in his/her student record. Individual test results shall not be released without the permission of the student's parent/guardian. (Education Code 60641)

(cf. 5125 - Student Records)

Districtwide, school-level and grade-level results shall be reported to the Board of Education at a regularly scheduled meeting. The Board shall not receive individual students' scores or the relative position of any individual student. (Education Code 60641)

(cf. 9321.1 - Closed Session Actions and Reports)

Within 10 working days of the last day of make-up testing in the district, the Superintendent or designee shall report the following information to the California Department of Education, for grades 2-11: (Education Code 60640; 5 CCR 862)

1. The number of students enrolled in the district on the first day of testing in the district

2. The number of students in the district to whom an achievement test was administered

3. The number of special education students in the district who were exempted from the test based on an explicit provision in their individualized education program

4. The number of students in the district who were exempted from the test at the request of their parents/guardians

5. The number of tests administered with pre-identified answer documents, if applicable

Within 10 working days of the last day of make-up testing in the district, the Superintendent or designee shall report the following information relative to the designated primary language test to the California Department of Education, for grades 2-11: (5 CCR 891)

1. The number of students who are limited English proficient

2. The number of limited English proficient students who were administered each designated primary language test pursuant to Education Code 60640(f)

3. The number of students who were administered each designated primary language test pursuant to Education Code 60640(g)

4. The total number of limited English proficiency students exempted from the test pursuant to Education Code 60615

5. The total number of limited English proficient students exempted pursuant to any provision in their individual education program which explicitly exempts them from standardized testing

6. If the district opted to have the publisher of a designated primary language test provide pre-identified answer sheets, the number of tests administered with these sheets

Exit Examination

The Superintendent or designee shall administer the state's high school exit examination in each district high school on the dates designated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction as examination days or makeup days. (Education Code 60851)

If a student does not possess sufficient English language skills to be assessed on the exit examination, the Superintendent or designee may defer the examination requirement up to 24 calendar months of enrollment in the California public school system until the student has completed six months of instruction in reading, writing and comprehension in the English language. (Education Code 60852)

The exit examination shall be offered to students with disabilities, with appropriate accommodations as necessary. (Education Code 60850)

(cf. 6146.4 - Differential Graduation and Competency Standards for Students with Disabilities)

The results of the examination shall be provided to each student taking the examination within eight weeks of the administration and in time for the student to retake at the next administration any section of the examination not passed. Students shall take again only those parts of the examination not previously passed.

Individual Record of Accomplishment

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that each student, by the end of grade 12, has an individual record of accomplishment that includes the following: (Education Code 60607)

1. The results of the achievement test administered under the Standardized Testing and Reporting program pursuant to Education Code 60640-60647

2. The results of any end-of-course examinations taken

3. The results of any vocational education certification examinations taken

Regulation PALOS VERDES PENINSULA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

approved: March 8, 2001 Palos Verdes Estates, California