NAEP 2011 in Idaho

NAEP 2011: 248 Idaho Schools

In Idaho, 130 schools with grade 4 (including five charter schools), 107 schools with grade 8 (including five charter schools and two alternative schools), and 11 schools with grade 12 (including four alternative high schools) will be tested in the regular winter NAEP window (January 24 through March 6, 2011). NAEP will use its usual protocol to administer the assessment. Items from two international assessments will be “braided” into some NAEP booklets. Students will not be able to tell which items are from which assessments. Everything that students see will be labeled as NAEP.

TIMSS/PIRLS 2011: 10 Idaho Schools

In Idaho, two schools with grade 4, and eight schools with grade 8 will take part in the international assessments in the spring testing window (April 4 through May 27, 2011). Half of these grade 8 schools are in both the NAEP 2011 sample and the TIMSS/PIRLS sample. The spring assessments will be administered using regular TIMSS/PIRLS protocol. Items from NAEP will be “braided” into some TIMSS and PIRLS booklets. Everything that students see will be labeled as either TIMSS or PIRLS.

NAEP 2011: Innovations and Special Studies

[Computer-Based Assessment] In 2011, NAEP will administer paper-and-pencil tests of reading, mathematics and science in grades 4 and 8, and will introduce the writing computer-based assessment at grades 8 and 12.

[Links to International Tests] In light of current interest about international benchmarks for our students, NAEP will also conduct a study in 2011 to link NAEP and TIMSS scores. TIMSS is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The linking study will project TIMSS mathematics and science scores for Idaho’s eighth grade that will be comparable with the scores of their peers in all nations taking part in TIMSS 2011 as well as the other 49 states. The linking study will also examine reading results on NAEP and PIRLS (i.e., Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), but will not publish projected scores for Idaho students.

[NIES] In grades 4 and 8, students selected for NAEP who are identified as American Indian in school records will also complete a survey for the National Indian Education Study that is jointly conducted by NAEP and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Westat Selects Schools and Students for NAEP, and Does the Testing

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, pays for and administers NAEP, TIMSS and PIRLS in the United States.

Westat is the NCES contractor for both NAEP 2011 and the 2011 international assessments charged with selecting the schools and students who will be tested. No Idaho educator or politician participates in the selection process, not in the selection of schools and not in the selection of individual students.

Westat also sends a team of trained proctors to visit each school on its scheduled test day to administer the test. If fewer than 90 percent of the sampled students in a school take the test, Westat schedules a make-up test for the school. When testing is finished, Westat removes everything in or on the testing materials that could identify a student. It then forwards the materials to other NCES contractors for scoring (Pearson) and for data analysis and reporting (Educational Testing Service).

Parent Notification Letter Templates

Idaho Parent Notification Letter Template for NAEP 2011 - English

Idaho Parent Notification Letter Template for NAEP 2011 - Spanish

Idaho Parent Notification Letter Template for NAEP 2011 - Multilingual Translation Notice

NIES Parent Notification Letter Template - English Only

NAEP School Coordinators (NSC) must notify parents of students who were selected for NAEP 2011 about the assessment. The NSC may notify only parents of selected students or parents of all students in the school's target grades (4, 8, and/or 12). The letter is typically distributed to parents in January after the holidays, but if necessary it may be later. It is expected, however, that parents will receive the letter at least two weeks before the school's scheduled assessment day. The letter must exhibit the date that the letter was distributed to parents.

NAEP School Coordinators should use Idaho's parent letter template to notify parents. It addresses both federal and state requirements for school and student participation. MS Word copies of the Idaho parent letter templates (English, Spanish, and multilingual translation notice) are listed above. The multilingual translation notice on the back of the English letter can be very useful when multiple languages are spoken in the students' homes.

Test Accommodations for SD and ELL Students

NAEP State-Specific Accommodations Students with Disabilities [ Pencil-and-Paper ] [ Computer-Based ]

NAEP State-Specific Accommodations English Language Learner [ Pencil-and-Paper] [ Computer-Based ]

Idaho Accommodation Guidelines for IEP Teams

It is expected that most students with disabilities and limited English proficiency will be included on NAEP. The only clear exceptions are students with disabilities (SD) who take the ISAT ALT, and English language learners (ELL) who have been in the United States schools for less than one year. NAEP provides accommodations that should permit most, if not all, other SD/IEP and ELL/LEP students to take part in NAEP 2011.