1. Georgia Alternate Assessment
GAA High School Retest
Training and
Portfolio Review

2. 2012-2013 GAA This slide presentation is designed to inform
Building Administrators,
Special Education Directors,
Test Coordinators,
designated trainers, and
High school teachers who administer the GAA HS Retest.
Companion presentations will be available for more in-depth training on topics that will assist test administrators.
All presentations will be posted on the GaDOE website. 2

3. GAA
This presentation serves as an introductory component for training system staff.
Hard copy of this PowerPoint presentation should be provided to everyone who participates in the webinar as well as to attendees of the system/school training sessions.
Reading and understanding the GAA Examiner’s Manual and the materials provided through the webinar trainings is necessary to understand the policies and procedures required for the GAA.
There are a number of changes this year, so it is vital that materials used for training are taken from the current administration year.

4. In this Presentation GAA High School Retest
Access to training and support before administering the retest
Retest opportunities
Materials
Procedures
The Portfolio Review Process 4

5. The GAA High School Retest
Students pursuing a diploma, who are assessed on the GAA and do not achieve a proficient score in one or more content areas, will be offered retest opportunities.
Only students who were enrolled in the ninth grade during the 2008–2009 school year and beyond, and who are seeking a regular education diploma, may exercise the option to retest.
Students seeking a special education diploma are not required to retest.
Students who are seeking a diploma and have taken the GAA by the 8th grade, can participate in the High School GAA if appropriate and can participate in the retests if needed.
school year will be the second year that the retest has been available.

6. Training before the Retest
It is crucial that teachers administering the retest be provided with training and remediation before beginning the assessment.
Training should begin with a review of the Individual Student Report to ensure that the teacher is aware of the content area requiring retest as well as the reasons why the student was not proficient initially.
Was the student not proficient because of low scores or was the entry/entries nonscorable.

7. Training before the Retest
Training on the State level will be provided via webinar sessions with topics specific to various target groups.
Teachers may log-on to participate in any or all of these sessions.
Training at the local level (system and/or school) should utilize the information and materials provided by the state located on the GAA Presentations portlet.

8. Retest Opportunities for the High School GAA
Opportunities to administer and submit the retest will be available at three different times throughout the administration window.
It is a local decision as to which retest window is chosen to administer the retest.
This decision should be based on the unique needs of the student and the available resources.
The student may retest twice in the same administration year.
Training must be provided to teachers before the retest is administered.

9. Retest Opportunities for the High School GAA
Retest Option 1:
Administration begins on 9/4/12; High School portfolios are returned to Questar by 11/9/12. System will receive scores the week of 1/14/2013.
Retest Option 2:
Administration begins on 9/4/12; High School portfolios are returned to Questar by 3/29/13. System will receive scores the week of 6/3/13.
Retest Option 3:
Administration begins on 1/7/13; High School portfolios are returned to Questar by 3/29/13. System will receive scores the week of 6/3/13.

10. Retest Opportunities for the High School GAA
Retesting is required only in the content area(s) for which the student achieved a proficiency level of Emerging Progress (not proficient).
For each content area requiring a retest, both entries for the content area must be submitted.
If the student was not proficient due to receiving a “1” in Generalization, he/she must be retested in all 4 content areas.
Even if a student received a nonscorable code or invalidation in only 1 of the entries for a content area , the student must be retested in BOTH strands required for that content area. Two (2) entries MUST be submitted for each content area.

11. Materials for High School Retest
Retest materials will be provided to systems in Shipment 1: August 27–29, 2012
Black Portfolio Binders
Student Demographic Information Forms (SDIF) for High School Retest (blue)
Retest Return Kits
GAA High School retest materials for all administration options will be included in Shipment 1
Materials for the Option 3 administration (beginning 1/7/13) will also be received by the System Test Coordinator in the August shipment.

12. Retest Materials
Systems with students who did not pass one or more content areas on the High School GAA will automatically receive retest materials.
System Test Coordinators will disseminate all materials to the School Test Coordinator.
Teachers administering the retest will request materials from the School Test Coordinator.
Additional materials can be requested by submitting an AMO (Additional Materials Order)

13. Retest Materials
You must utilize the BLACK PORTFOLIO BINDERS when administering the High School Retest.
There will be a label on the front of the binder identifying it for use for the High School Retest .
Be certain to use the blue Student Demographic Information Form designated High School Retest.

14. SDIF for High School Retesters
Blue Form

15. Assess EITHER Integrated OR Discrete Mathematics
ELA GPS
SDIF
for
High School Retesters
Page 2
Math GPS
Assess EITHER Integrated OR Discrete Mathematics

16. SDIF for the High School Retest
Pre-ID Labels ARE NOT used for the High School Retest.
You must hand complete all information requested on the High School SDIF if the student is a retester.

17. Retest for Students First Assessed in HS in 2011-2012
Students must be assessed on the curriculum in which they received instruction.
Because students received instruction in the GPS in the school year, retesters in will be assessed on the GPS in all content areas.
The Blueprint for HS Retesters must be used for assessment of this group of students.

18. GAA Blueprint for High School Retesters
The GAA Blueprint for High School Retesters has been provided on the GaDOE website:
Students who were assessed for the first time on the High School GAA in will ALWAYS use this GPS-based blueprint regardless of what year they take the retest.

19. 2012-2013 Entry Sheet for High School Retesters
Follow the same steps to complete the Entry Sheet for Retesters as was outlined for first time test takers. Only the standards and elements eligible for assessment will be available in the drop-down menus. All HS students retesting in will be assessed on the GPS in all content standards. Therefore only GPS standards will populate from the drop-down menu. If you are not using the electronic Entry Sheet, be certain to choose only GPS standards from the GAA Blueprint for HS Retesters provided on the GaDOE website.

20. Retest for Students First Assessed in HS in 2012-2013
Grade 11 students participating in GAA in High School for the first time in will be assessed on CCGPS in ELA because they will have been instructed on the CCGPS in that content area.
Therefore retesters in will be assessed on the CCGPS for ELA, the GPS Integrated or Discrete Courses in Mathematics, and the GPS in Science and Social Studies.
A blueprint for this group of retest students will be provided in the summer of 2013.

21. Portfolio Review Process

22. Portfolio Review
The importance of peer review during and after completion of a portfolio cannot be overstated!
Missing forms/pieces of evidence
Incomplete Entry Sheet
Lacking documentation
Ineligible dates
Inappropriate materials
Alignment issues
It is critical that the peer review process go beyond counting pieces of evidence and consider all of the portfolio requirements.

23. Portfolio Review
Portfolio review by the teacher should be an ongoing process.
Have I selected the best standard and
element for this student?
Does he seem engaged?
Is he making progress?
Are the tasks and materials appropriate?
Is he able to demonstrate what he knows?
Can he communicate with a reliable response?

24. Structuring a Portfolio Review
Who should conduct the portfolio review?
Trained GAA Administrator
Designated GAA Trainer
Core Access Teacher
School Test Coordinator
SPED Coordinator
Building Administrator

25. Structuring a Portfolio Review
When should the review be conducted?
1st Review: mid-administration, after Collection Period 1 evidence has been compiled
Final Review: before submission, after all evidence has been compiled and organized in the portfolio binder

26. Structuring a Portfolio Review
When reviewing evidence documentation, the teacher and portfolio reviewer must ask him or herself the following questions:
What, specifically, was the student asked to do as the task aligns to the standard and element/indicator?
What were the actual questions/actions asked of the student?
What were the student’s answers? How did he/she respond?
Were the answers/responses correct? Has evaluation of student performance by the teacher been clearly documented?
What was the type and frequency of prompting required for the student to successfully complete the task?
Should these questions not be addressed and the documentation provided too brief, generic, or unclear, the entry could receive a lower score or could be unscorable.

27. Structuring a Portfolio Review
Steps to complete a peer review of the portfolio:
Carefully review the Entry Sheet
Student name
Teacher name
Required standard
Eligible standard
Strand, standard, element match up
Characteristic of Science
Task Descriptions

28. Structuring a Portfolio Review
2. Consider all aspects of the evidence requirements
All four pieces of evidence align to standard and element
Primary and Secondary for each collection period
Original student work, not photocopies, must be submitted.
14 calendar days from Primary to Primary
Type of evidence is the best choice to clearly demonstrate the student response
Grade-appropriate materials

29. Structuring a Portfolio Review
3. Review documentation to ensure that all necessary annotation has been provided somewhere within the evidence
Name (Who)
Dates (When)
Task (What)
Setting (Where)
Student performance (How well)
Interactions (With Whom and Describe)
Independence (Prompts)
Collection period labels (Optional)

30. Structuring a Portfolio Review
Date and sign Checklist for Teachers and Portfolio Reviewers
Validation Form must be signed by Building Administrator and Person Responsible for Submitting the Portfolio
Recommend and verify that the Release to use Portfolio for Training has been signed and included in portfolio

31. The Checklist for Teachers and Portfolio Reviewers is provided in the portfolio binder to ensure that all procedures and requirements have been satisfied before the portfolio is submitted.
The checklist can be part of the portfolio validation process as the reviewer signs and dates the form after each content area entry is checked.
It is recommended that the portfolio be reviewed twice - once after the first collection period has been completed, and again before the portfolio is submitted.
The GAA Evidence Checklist, specific to each type of evidence submitted, can be found in the GAA Examiner’s Manual.

32. Checklist for Teachers and Portfolio Reviewers

33. The GAA Validation Form will
be provided in the portfolio binder to verify that all requirements and procedures have been followed and that the contents are the work of the student being assessed.
This is an important step– the signatures validate the contents
of the portfolio.
Be certain that signatures have been obtained from both the person submitting the portfolio and the Building Administrator.
For transfer students, Validation Forms must be submitted by both the sending and the receiving school/system.

34. Release to use Portfolio for Training
This release form is an important piece that allows portfolios containing photographic evidence to be used to train Georgia teachers.
The form is provided in the portfolio binder. It should be signed by a parent or guardian and placed behind the Student Information Tab in the binder.

35. Contact Information
People, contact information
Deborah Houston, GaDOE Assessment Division
(404)
Kayse Harshaw, Division for Special Education Services Questions about curriculum access for students with significant cognitive disabilities
(404)
Questar GAA Customer Service Hotline
Toll free (866)
Mention Evaluation link at the end of the presentation

36. GAA Resources
The following materials are available from the GAA web page:
PowerPoints on previously presented topics
Examiner’s Manual
School and System Test Coordinator’s Manual
Score Interpretation Guide
Forms
Blueprint
Division for Special Education Services and Supports
Access to the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities can found at
The CCGPS/GPS Resource Board -A repository of activities that are aligned at an access level to the CCGPS (Math and English Language Arts), and the GPS (Science, Social Studies, and High School Math).
Double click on the link

37. Access to CCGPS/GPS Resources
Recorded Webinars
Check schedule for recorded webinars and upcoming live webinars:
Suggested webinars:
Giving Access to Science Standards - Linking Science and Life Skills and Experiences, November 5, 2009
Giving Access to Social Studies Standards - Relating Themes in Social Studies to Relevant Life Skills and Experiences, December 10, 2009
Access to ELA: Writing Skills for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities , January 24, 2011
Additional webinars and information for CCGPS ELA and Mathematics activities are being developed and will be announced soon by the Division for Special Education Services .

38. Access to CCGPS/GPS Resources
Electronic Resource Board for Access to the CCGPS/GPS for
Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
The Access to the CCGPS/GPS Resource Board contains: Free downloadable activities and materials for use with students with significant cognitive disabilities across grade levels and curricular areas
Resources (internet, literature, etc.) to provide access to the general education curriculum
Adapted stories for all grade levels and directions on acquiring adapted literature
Instructions for acquiring adapted books
Instructional strategies and best practice guidelines
Data Sheets
Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) suggestions/tips
Georgia Project for Assistive Technology (GPAT) information
Activities and materials for High School Access Courses
To register and receive your password for the Access to the CCGPS/GPS Resource Board for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities:
send an with your first/last name and your preferred address to one of the following persons:
Kayse Harshaw
Debbie Reagin