Idaho State Department of Education Letterhead



MONTH DD, YYYYRuth RyderDeputy Assistant Secretary for Formula Grants ProgramsOffice of Elementary and Secondary EducationU.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202Dear Ms. Ryder:On behalf of the Idaho State Department of Education, I respectfully request a waiver, pursuant to section 8401(b) of The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), from the following statutory provisions:Sections 1111(b)(2)(B)(v)(i)(aa) and 1111(b)(2)(B)(v)(i)(bb) which require states to test all students in mathematics and reading or language arts in each of grades 3 through 8 and at least once in grades 9 through 12.Section 1111(b)(2)(B)(v)(x) which requires reporting results for students andSection 1111(b)(2)(B)(v)(xi) which requires reporting results disaggregated within the state, each district and each school for the major racial and ethnic groups and student subgroups.Idaho previously developed alternate assessments as part of the multi-state National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC), which was funded starting in 2010 via a grant provided by the Office of Special Education Programs. When the grant project ended, Idaho began partnering with several other states to develop new alternate assessments in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, consistent with the ESSA peer review requirement that these assessments be regularly updated and refreshed. Following the initial development process for its new alternate assessments in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Idaho conducted an embedded field test of new items in the spring of 2019. An operational field test of the new alternate assessments in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics was originally scheduled for spring 2020. However, that administration was cancelled due to COVID-19. Idaho rescheduled the operational field test for the alternate assessments in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics for spring 2021. Under this timeline, Idaho would have pursued standard setting in summer 2021 and released student scores on these assessments in fall 2021. However, the ongoing disruptions caused by COVID-19 during the 2020-2021 school year have introduced significant technical concerns that would limit the validity and reliability of any alternate assessment ELA/Literacy and Mathematics performance standards developed based on student performance this year.This waiver will enable the ISDE to postpone the standard setting process for these assessments until the spring of 2022. The ISDE anticipates this delay will allow the state to develop more appropriate and technically defensible standards that will meet peer review requirements.The ISDE will not issue scores from the independent field test for the alternate assessment in ELA/Literacy in Mathematics in spring 2021. However, districts and schools will still be held accountable for participation. This approach is consistent with alternate assessment in Science, for which Idaho submitted a waiver request on October 15, 2020.Prior to submitting this waiver request, Idaho asked for public feedback. This information was widely shared with various stakeholders and posted on the ISDE’s public website for 21 days. Copies of all comments received in response to this notice are attached.I appreciate your consideration of this waiver request and look forward to your response. Sincerely,<SUPERINTENDENT APPROVAL PENDING PUBLIC COMMENT><PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE ADDED HERE> ................
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