When are students tested? 1
4th grade
6th grade
8th grade
10th grade
What subjects are tested? 1
Reading
Writing
Mathematics
Science
What types of questions are used? 1
Multiple choice
Short written response
Extended written response
Performance tasks
How are test results used? 1
Student diagnosis
Student placement
Student awards or recognition
Identification of students at risk
Curriculum planning
Improvement of instruction
Professional development
Program evaluation
School performance reporting
School monetary awards
School awards or recognition
What tests are used? 1
Connecticut Mastery Test (grades 4, 6, 8)
Connecticut Academic Performance Test (grade 10)
Are students with disabilities exempt?
2, 3
As determined by IEP team, exemptions given to:
Students whose IEPs do not contain academic goals/objectives consistent
with curriculum being assessed.
Students who have emotional maladjustments or
physical handicaps such that a test would yield uninterpretable results.
Students for whom there is evidence that formal
test situations, even with modifications, create a dysfunctional emotional
state which impairs
performance.
Students for whom there is evidence that testing would not yield a
valid assessment of ability even with modifications.
Note: Students can be partially exempt and/or have out-of-level testing.
What accommodations are available so
that students with disabilities can participate? 2
List of accommodations approved by state Department of Education.
Other accommodations available with state approval.
How are scores of students with disabilities
reported? 2
School, district, and statewide reports combine ("aggregate") scores
of students with and without disabilities.
Percentage of students exempt from testing is reported.
Footnotes:
1 Source: PEER Project Survey to expand and update information from Annual Survey of State Student Assessment Programs: Data on 1995-96 Statewide Student Assessment Programs. (Fall 1996). Council of Chief State School Officers.
2 Source: PEER Project review of state policy documents. Documents provided by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). Information confirmed and updated by the PEER Project through direct communication with state officials.
3 NOTE: The IDEA Amendments of 1997 require that all students be included in statewide assessments.
Connecticut Department of Education
Bureau of Special Education
25 Industrial Park Road
Middletown, CT 06457
860-638-4265
860-638-4231 Fax
Contact: Leslie M. Averna, State Director of Special Education
Betty Sternberg, State Assessment Director, Associate Commissioner
Connecticut Parent Center on Disability
CPAC
5 Church Lane, Suite 4
P.O. Box 579
East Lyme, CT 06333
860-739-3089 Voice & TDD
1-800-445-2722 in CT
860-739-7460 Fax (Call first to dedicate line)
cpacinc@aol.com
members.aol.com/cpacinc/cpac.htm
Contact: Nancy Prescott