DPI Memos

Please distribute/forward this memo to all persons in your school, school district, or special education unit who need to know about the North Dakota State Assessment or North Dakota Alternate Assessment, including counselors, technology support personnel, individuals who submit the district's Enrollment Report, teachers, education improvement team members, and others.

NDDPI State Assessment Memo 2011-12 #9

November 11, 2011

TO: School District Superintendents, Public School Principals, Private School Administrators, Special Education Directors, School District Testing Coordinators

FROM: Heidi Bergland, Program Administrator

RE: Test Invalidation Application

Test Invalidation Form and Procedure

The online Application for Test Invalidation form is now available at the following website https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/D2K79WF . The application will be available November 11-30, 2011. Applications will not be accepted after November 30.

Applications for Test Invalidation will be accepted online only. Paper forms will not be accepted. The Department highly recommends that you print a copy of what you submit for your records. Use the PRINT button at the end of the form for this purpose.

See the Fall 2011 Test Coordinator's Manual, pages 6-9, for guidance regarding appropriate situations for test invalidation. You can access the Test Coordinator's Manual at the following link: http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/testing/assess/manual.pdf.

The consequences of test invalidation are as follows.

The Student Report from CTB provides no score information. It will state "Test Invalidated."The Summary Report for the school and district from CTB provides the number of students whose test was invalidated. These students are not included in the denominator when CTB calculates percentage in each of the four levels of achievement.When the Department calculates AYP, the student will be considered a non-participant and not included in calculations for achievement.

The Department will inform you as to the decision regarding each application. Please provide sufficient detailed information as an explanation. Remember that make-up sessions must be offered. If additional information is needed to make a decision, we will contact you.

The Test Invalidation training module is available at http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/testing/assess/training/index.shtm. In addition to procedures, it includes examples of situations that are appropriate for test invalidation, as well as situations that are not. The Department highly recommends that test coordinators access this module.

Contact Information

If you have questions or need assistance relating to the North Dakota State Assessment, please contact me at (701) 328-22317 or hbergland@nd.gov or Rob Bauer at (701) 328-2224 or rgbauer@nd.gov.

Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters of mutual concern.

Access all State Assessment Memos and other assessment information at http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/testing/assess/index.shtm