Vsindone.files.wordpress.com



DRC|CTB Adult Education 2016 Winter Field Test Frequently Asked Questions Can you describe the study to me? What is this all about?DRC|CTB Adult Education 2016 Winter Field Test is an excellent opportunity to earn money for you and your students. Your participation provides students with an opportunity to be exposed to the new College and Career Readiness standards for adult education, to try DRC new test platform, and to support the development of high quality assessments that will help future student achievement. Participation is by invitation only and schools will receive $15 for each student that completes all assigned testing in accordance with the testing specifications. In addition, sites are eligible for up to $200 in bonuses and participating students can earn between $50 and $250.The testing window is set from March 1, 2016 – April 15, 2016. DRC|CTB Adult Education 2016 Winter Field Test will consist of three sections: Reading, Language, and Math. You may select one content area or participate in all three. Forms will be randomly assigned and range from 3-8 hours for each content area. Testing will be conducted both online and paper/pencil. Test-takers will need the use of a computer with Internet access. Testing may be done in one sitting, or broken into two or more sessions. It is our goal to be flexible to work with your site’s and students’ schedules. What is the purpose? Why are you doing the study?This study supports research efforts helping us understand adult education and assessments spanning elementary through high school. The purpose of this study is to gather data on new test questions that may be used on future versions of adult education tests in reading, writing, and mathematics. The data from the study will provide DRC with information to (a) help identify test questions that measure student knowledge and that are appropriate to include in future assessments; and (b) to identify items that don’t perform well and that may need to be avoided on future tests due to ambiguity or bias.Which students are eligible to participate?All participating students must be at least 18 years old, and they must be enrolled in one or more classes at your school. They might be enrolled in a GED course, workforce development course, or any other kind of enrichment. If they’ve just completed a course at your school, or if they’ve enrolled in a course but the course has not yet begun, they are also eligible to participate. Unfortunately, students who are not enrolled in one or more courses at an adult education center are not eligible to participate.What exactly does a student have to do to participate?Participating student will take two tests – one paper/pencil form and one administered online. Each student can participate in any or all of the content areas being offered at their testing site at their appropriate level. An extra bonus is offered to students that complete all three content areas. Each student that commits to participate will be assigned (or allowed to select) a specific testing session by their testing site. Every testing session will be assigned a unique test form and specified testing dates/time. Most forms can be completed in one sitting, but can be broken into multiple days if needed. The student will need to complete all testing assigned to that particular session.What if we do not take TABE Online? What if we take TABE Survey – not complete battery?Regardless of your current TABE use, if you have eligible students, your site is still invited to participation the DRC|CTB Adult Education 2016 Winter Field Test. The research study will be conducted both online and paper/pencil. Test-takers will need the use of a computer with Internet access. After you complete the online enrollment form, our staff will work with you to get your site prepared.What are the test dates? Our research study test window is scheduled to begin March 1, 2016 and continue until April 15, 2016. You may test anytime during that testing window, but we will need your actual testing dates well in advance to allow secure testing materials to be shipped.When will we get the results?NO RESULTS WILL BE PROVIDED. Because this is a research study, NO formal score reports will be provided for the DRC|CTB Adult Education 2016 Winter Field Test.Will we still use our TABE 9 & 10 tests for pre-testing and post-testing NRS requirements? Yes you should continue to use TABE 9 & 10 operationally.Why do we need the Locator? The Locator is a tool designed to help you determine the best level at which to test a student. It is required by the DWD Assessment Policy. The questions on the Locator do not change, so a second administration of the Locator is not likely to produce reliable results since students have already seen all of the questions. Having students testing at the wrong level will be devastating to our sample.Students may be at different levels for each content area. Sites should not automatically enroll a student at the same level.How long is the Locator?TABE 9&10 has one locator test—divided into three sections—one each for reading, mathematics, and language. The entire Locator Test takes approximately 35 minutes to complete. Each locator sub-test will determine the appropriate level of test that the student should take. Note: One should not assume that each student arrives to be tested with the same level of performance in each content area.Should students guess on the Locator? No, students should not guess on the Locator. The Locator is likely to cover skills that have not been taught yet because it is trying to gauge how advanced the student is. When a student comes to a question the he or she does not know, he or she should leave it blank to give the most accurate Locator results.What content areas are used for this study?The DRC|CTB Adult Education 2016 Winter Field Test will consist of three sections: Reading, Language, and Math. You may select one content area or participate in all three. Each of the three content are available at all five proficiency levels – L, E, M, D, & A.What do the different levels (A, D, M, E, and L) stand for? A = Advanced (9.0-12.9); D = Difficult (6.0-8.9); M = Moderate (4.0-5.9); E = Easy (2.0-3.9); and L = Literacy (0.0-1.9). Level L is only available for the Paper and Pencil test, not TABE Online. Each level provides valid score ranges that go +/-2.0 the ranges stated here. If a student scores at the bottom range of a level on the Locator, is it okay to administer the lower level test? Yes, it is okay to administer the lower level exam if a student scores on the lower boundary of TABE level. The Locator should act as a tool for the teacher when the teacher is using his or her professional expertise to determine at what level a student should be tested. For example, the GE scores for level M are 4.0-5.9 and the GE scores for level D are 6.0-8.9; if a student scores a 6.1 on the Locator, it is permissible to administer the level M test. This allows for more options when post-testing, but it does create the potential for invalid results.How long is the testing? The DRC|CTB Adult Education 2016 Winter Field Test consists of many forms. These forms will be randomly assigned and range from 3-8 hours for each content area. For the initial planning of your testing sessions, please inquire for time ranges for the level at which you wish to participate. Once you receive your form assignments, detailed testing times will be provided.The chart below will provide approximate testing times for the forms for each content area and level to help in your decision making.?LEMDAMath4 hrs.3.5 - 5 hrs.4 hrs.4 hrs.3.5 - 5 hrs.Language3 hrs.4 - 4.5 hrs.4 hrs.4 - 5 hrs.5 hrs.Reading4 hrs.6 hrs.6 hrs.7 - 8 hrs.6 - 7 hrs.How are the tests to be administered?Students will take both an online and paper/pencil section for each test, and the form assign will dictate the order in which each test is given. As most forms can be finished in half a day, we encourage site to complete testing in one sitting. Students may take a 90 minute online test - take a break and reconvene in a classroom - and then complete a 2.5 hour paper/pencil test. Sites may choose to give the paper and pencil test on Monday morning and the online test on Tuesday morning. DRC will be flexible to make this work with your schools and students’ schedules.All level L testing and all test conducted at correctional facilities will be paper /pencil ONLY. Will all testing be done on a computer? Can I request all online testing or all paper/pencil testing?No. A few forms will be paper and pencil only for use by correctional facilities, but the majority of the test forms for the Field Test will have BOTH online and paper/pencil components for students enrolled in Adult Education programs. Students must take both forms of testing, as we must validate that there is no bias for one method of administration versus the other.How is the online test administered?Field Test participants will have an opportunity to try the new DRC test platform. For the online administrations, students will need to utilize a computer with Internet access at the school. An instruction packet along with training webinars will be available to instruct the test coordinator or technical coordinator how to prepare your site for testing. With the new INSIGHT platform, there is very little required for set up. You will receive special consultation from DRC testing experts to ensure a successful test administration, including a toll-free number for support. How do I submit my enrollment form? Our site enrollment form is now available electronically and can be found at: .? Once we have received your enrollment form, your sample acquisition agent will contact your Testing Coordinator to confirm all the information and answer any question they may have. Over the next few weeks, we will work with your sites to plan your testing sessions, obtain testing dates, and get the total of participating students by content and level. Is there a maximum to the number of students we can enroll?For this research study we will be acquiring a diverse sample of just over 12,000 students nationwide. While there is no required minimum participation, each site is limited to an initial enrollment of 300 students. Enrollment is processed on a first-come-first-served basis. On the enrollment form, indicate the total number of students you wish to enroll, and if that number exceeds our needed capacity, we will contact you. Students will be placed on a waiting list, and will be invited to participate in the event another site withdraws. After you have successfully tested your initial 300 students, you will be allowed to enroll additional students in any content/level still in need of participants. When will we receive paper/pencil testing material?Test materials will arrive at your site 1-5 weeks before of your pre-determined paper/pencil testing window. We have cut off dates for shipments of January 22, 2016 and February 12, 2016. How do we return paper /pencil testing materials?All testing materials will be returned to DRC. Instructions for packing test booklets/answer sheets as well as secure and unsecure testing materials will be supplied in the Test Coordinator manual. Testing materials must be returned no later than 5 days after your last day of testing. Return shipping label will be provided with you testing materials, and you will be provided a toll free number for our shipping provider to schedule a pickup of your materials. What if we need more materials?Additional Materials Request Forms will be available if your site requires more paper/pencil testing material. Sample Acquisition will validate your order and submit for fulfillment. Requests will be processed on demand and materials will arrive in 3-6 days. All field test materials are being produced in limited quantities to control cost. Please be mindful of this when providing enrollment totals for paper/pencil orders. Additional material will be readily available for you. Testing booklets are shipped in quantities of 5, so if you have 16 students signed up to test, you will be shipped 20 booklets. All booklets shipped must be returned, even if not used.You said my school would receive benefits or money for this…how much do we get?Your participation provides students with an opportunity to be exposed to the new College and Career Readiness standards for adult education, to try DRC new test platform, and to support the development of high quality assessments that will help future student achievement.Furthermore DRC will pay your site $15 for each participating student, in recognition of your time and effort to recruit test-takers and proctor the tests. In addition, you can earn up to $200 in bonuses for managing the secure test materials and testing 85% or your enrolled students. Site incentive payment will be made by check and issued approximately 60 working days after the end of the study.What will participating students receive?Participating students have an opportunity to earn from $50-$250 in the form of a VISA gift card. Their incentive is determined by the number for content areas taken and the length of the forms assigned. Students will be paid $50 for half of a day's participation - $100 for a full day. An extra bonus will be paid to students who complete all three content areas.Each week, we will ask your site for a list of students who have completed the test. DRC/CTB will then cross-reference these names with data reports indicating completed online and paper/pencil test. Students will then be submitted for a gift card in the amount earned. While it is highly recommend that delivery of the gift cards be made to your site, gift cards may be mailed directly to students’ homes, if you prefer.Incentives for Participating Students and Testing Sites Student TypeTestStudent IncentiveSite Incentive AdultAny content - forms under 4 hours$50 $15 per student test?Any content - forms averaging 4-5 hours$60 $15 per student test?Any content - forms averaging 5-6 hours$75 $15 per student test?Any content - forms over 6 hours$100 $15 per student test?*If a student takes all 3 content area tests$25 bonus~~~~~~~~????Site IncentivesParticipating in the Study?$100 per site (flat)?Testing at least 85% of pledged student count?$50 per site (flat)?Returning material within 5 working days of final student testing?$50 per site (flat)Student Incentive by Content and Level?LEMDAmath$50$60:$50$50$50$60:$60:$50language$50$60$50$60$60reading$50$75$75$100$100:$100:$75?LEMDAmath4 hrs.3.5 - 5 hrs.4 hrs.4 hrs.3.5 - 5 hrs.language3 hrs.4 - 4.5 hrs.4 hrs.4 - 5 hrs.5 hrs.reading4 hrs.6 hrs.6 hrs.7 - 8 hrs.6 - 7 hrs.Who is responsible for managing/tracking the student Visa gift Cards? Does that become someone at our Adult Ed. center or is that the test administrator(s) responsibility or DRC?A gift card spreadsheet will be set up for your site in Google with all enrolled students listed. We ask that your site updates this sheet as your students complete their testing. Sample Acquisition will verify the test is complete and their release form received, and then submitted the student for a gift card. The Google doc is updated so you can track the status of students at all times. While it is highly recommended that delivery of the gift cards be made to your site, gift cards may be mailed directly to students’ homes, if you prefer.Was CTB Sold? Did CTB and DRC merge? In June 2015, McGraw-Hill Education sold key assets of CTB to Data Recognition Corporation, known as DRC, a Minnesota-based company that has been involved in the summative testing business for over 30 years. Those assets include existing state testing contracts, as well as a lineup of other assessment products, including TerraNova, LAS Links, Test Assessing Secondary Completion, (TASC) a high school equivalency exam, and Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) the most comprehensive and reliable academic assessment product in adult basic educationFor some time now, DRC and CTB have collaborated on testing business, and they discovered that they "worked well together," believing both companies would benefit from assets the other brings to the fold—specifically citing DRC's expertise in the technology needed to deliver online assessments."Our mission at McGraw-Hill Education is to improve educational outcomes, and we feel that we're better positioned to accomplish this by focusing on supporting teaching and learning rather than the summative testing market," David Levin, the president and chief executive officer of McGraw-Hill Education, said in a statement. "We value the contribution that CTB has made to education, and we are pleased for the business to find such an excellent home at DRC."Where can I get more information about DRC/CTB and products?Please visit our websites, for complete information about company and our products: More information about TABE can be found at More information on DRC can be found at ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download