Definitions
Variations means a change in the manner in which a test is presented or administered or in how a student is allowed to respond, and includes, but is not limited to, accommodations and modifications as defined in Education Code 60850. (5CCR 1200)
Accommodation means any variation in the assessment environment or process that does not fundamentally alter what the test measures or affect the comparability of scores. (Education Code 60850)
Modification means any variation in the assessment environment or process that fundamentally alters what the test measures or affects the comparability of scores. (Education Code 60850)
District and Test Site Coordinators
On or before July 1 of each school year, the Superintendent shall designate a high school exit examination coordinator from among district employees and shall notify the test publisher of the identity and contact information of the coordinator. The district coordinator or Superintendent or designee shall be available throughout the year, shall serve as the liaison between the district and the test publisher and the district and the California Department of Education for all matters related to the exit exam, and shall perform additional duties specified in 5 CCR 1209.
Annually, the district coordinator or Superintendent or designee shall designate a test site coordinator for each test site to fulfill the responsibilities specified in 5 CCR 1210.
All district and test site coordinators shall sign a test security affidavit pursuant to 5 CCR 1211.5.
Access to exam materials shall be limited to students taking the exam and employees of the district directly responsible for test administration who sign a test security affidavit. All district and test site coordinators shall be responsible for inventory control. (5 CCR 1211)
Administration
The high school exit exam shall be administered as follows: (Education Code 60851; 5 CCR 1204, 1204.5)
1. Students shall take the exam once per school year while in grade 10.
2. Students in grade 11 who have not yet passed one or both sections of the exam shall have up to two opportunities per year to take the sections(s) of the exam not yet passed and may elect to take the exam during these opportunities. These students shall not be tested in successive administrations within a school year.
3. Students in grade 12 shall have up to three opportunities to take the section(s) of the exam not yet passed. The district shall offer either three opportunities during grade 12 or two opportunities in grade 12 and one opportunity in the year following grade 12 to take the exam. Eligible students in grade 12 may elect to take the examination during district-provided opportunities.
(cf. 6179 - Supplemental Instruction)
Students in grades 11 and 12 shall be offered appropriate remediation or supplemental instruction before being retested. (5CCR 1204.5)
The Superintendent or designee shall administer the exit exam in each district high school on the dates designated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction as exam days or make-up days. (Education Code 60851)
If a student does not possess sufficient English language skills to be assessed on the exit exam, the Superintendent or designee may defer the exam requirement for a period of up to 24 calendar months of enrollment in the California public school system until the student has completed six months of instruction in reading, writing and comprehension in the English language. (Education Code 60852)
Test administrators at the test site shall be responsible for the accurate identification of eligible students to whom the exit exam is to be administered. This identification shall be made through the use of photo identification or positive recognition by an employee of the district. (5 CCR 1203)
Any student found to have cheated, assisted others in cheating, or compromised the security of the exam shall have the test marked as "invalid" and shall not receive a score from that test administration. (5 CCR 1220)
(cf. 5131.9 - Academic Honesty)
(cf. 6162.54 - Test Integrity/Test Preparation)
Testing Variations for All Students
The Superintendent or designee may provide any student taking the exam with extra time within a testing day, simplified or clarified test directions, and/or student marks (other than responses) in test booklets. (5 CCR 1215)
A student may also be provided the following testing variations if they are regularly used in the classroom: (5 CCR 1215)
1. Special or adaptive furniture
2. Special lighting or acoustics, visual magnifying, or audio amplification equipment.
3. An individual carrel or study enclosure
4. Testing of individual students in a separate room provided the student is directly supervised by an employee who has signed the test security affidavit
5. Colored overlay, mask or other means to maintain visual attention to the exam or test items
6. Manually Coded English or American Sign Language to present directions for test administration.
At least 30 working days before the proposed administration of the exam, the Superintendent or designee may submit a request to the California Department of Education for a case-by-case review of a proposed variation that is not specified in law. (5 CCR 1218)
Testing Variations for English Language Learners
In addition to testing variations allowed for all students identified, identified English language learners may be allowed the following testing variations if regularly used for assessment in the classroom: (5 CCR 1217)
1. Flexible setting: English learners may have the opportunity to be tested in a separate room with other English language learners provided the students are directly supervised by an employee who has signed the test security affidavit and the students have been provided such a flexible setting as part of their regular instruction or assessment.
2. Flexible schedule: English learners may have additional supervised breaks within a testing day.
3. Flexible time: English learners may have extra time on the exam within a testing day.
4. Translated directions: English learners may have the opportunity to hear the test directions printed in the test contractor's manual translated into their primary language. English learners may have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions about the test directions in their primary language.
5. Glossaries: English Learners may have access to translation glossaries (English to primary language). Glossaries are to include only the English word or phrase with the corresponding primary language word or phrase. The glossaries shall include no definitions or formulas.
Accommodations/Modifications for Students with Disabilities
A student with a disability shall be permitted to take the exit exam with accommodations or modifications when the student's individualized education program (IEP) or his/her Section 504 plan specifies their use on the exam, standardized testing or for use during classroom instruction and assessments. (Education Code 60850; 5 CCR 1215.5, 1216)
(cf. 6146.4 - Differential Graduation and Competency Standards for Students with Disabilities)
(cf. 6159 - Individualized Education Program)
(cf. 6164.6 - Identification and Education under Section 504)
The use of accommodations shall not invalidate a student's test score(s).
Accommodations may include: (5 CCR 1215.5)
1. Presentation accommodations, including large-print versions in 20-point font, test items enlarged if larger than 20-point font is required Braille transcriptions provided by the test publisher or designee, use of Manually Coded English or American Sign Language to present test directions or to present test questions on the mathematics section of the exam, and audio or oral presentation of the mathematics section of the exam.
2. Response accommodations, including responses marked in the test booklet and transferred by an employee who has signed the test security affidavit; responses dictated orally, or in Manually Coded English, or in American Sign Language to a scribe for selected-response items (e.g., multiple choice test questions); responses dictated orally or in Manually Coded English to a scribe, audio recorder, or speech-to-text converter, on the writing portion of the exam and the student indicates all spelling and language conventions; word processing software with spell and grammar check tools turned off on the writing portion of the exam; or an assistive device that does not interfere with the independent work of the student on the writing portion of the exam.
3. Scheduling/timing accommodations, including testing over more than one day after consultation with the test publisher, supervised breaks within a section of the exam, and administration of the exam at the most beneficial time of day to the student after consultation with the test publisher
4. Setting accommodations, including tests administered by certificated teacher to a student at home or in the hospital
Modifications may include: (5 CCR 1216)
1. Arithmetic table, calculators, or math manipulative on the mathematics section of the exam.
2. Audio or oral presentation of the English/language arts section of the exam.
3. Manually Coded English or American Sign Language to present test questions on the English/language arts section of the exam.
4. Spellcheckers, grammar checkers or word processing software programs that check or correct spelling and/or grammar on the writing portion of the exam.
5. Mechanical or electronic devices or other assistive devices that are not used solely to record the student's responses, including but not limited to transcribers, scribes, voice recognition or voice-to-text software, and that identify a potential error in the student's response or that correct spelling, grammar or conventions on the writing portion of the exam.
6. Responses dictated orally, in Manually Code English or in American Sign Language to provide an essay response to a scribe and the scribe provides spelling, grammar, and language conventions.
7. Dictionary on any section of the exam.
At least 30 working days before the proposed administration of the exam, the Superintendent or designee may submit a request to the CDE for a case-by-case review of a proposed variation that is not specified in law. (5CCR 1218)
Waiver for Students with Disabilities
The parent/guardian of a student who has taken any section of the exam with a modification and has received the equivalent of a passing score may request that his/her child receive a waiver of the requirement to successfully pass the exam. Upon receipt of such request, the principal shall submit to the Governing Board a request for a waiver. The Board may waive the requirement if the principal certifies that the student has all of the following: (Education Code 60851; 5 CCR 1216)
1. An IEP or Section 504 plan in place that requires the accommodations or modifications to be provided to the student when taking the exit exam
2. Sufficient high school level coursework either satisfactorily completed or in progress in the high school level curriculum sufficient to have attained the skills and knowledge otherwise needed to pass the exit exam
3. An individual score report showing that the student has received the equivalent of a passing score on the exam while using a modification that fundamentally alters what the exit exam measures as determined by the State Board of Education
In order to protect the student's privacy rights, the waiver shall be considered in closed session. Final Board action on the waiver shall be taken in open session and shall be a matter of public record. The student's name shall not be disclosed in open session.
(cf. 9321 - Closed Session Purposes and Agendas)
(cf. 9321.1 - Closed Session Actions and Reports)
Exemption for Students with Disabilities in the Class of 2006
The district shall grant a diploma to a student with a disability who is scheduled to graduate from high school in 2006, has not passed the exit exam, and has not received a waiver pursuant to Education Code 60851 if all of the following criteria are satisfied: (Education Code 60852.3)
1. The student has an IEP or Section 504 plan.
2. The IEP or 504 plan states, as of July 1, 2005, that the student is scheduled to receive a high school diploma with an anticipated graduation from high school in 2006.
3. The district certifies that the student has satisfied or will satisfy all other state and district requirements for the receipt of a high school diploma in 2006.
4. The student has attempted to pass the exit exam at least twice after grade 10, including at least once during grade 12, with the accommodations or modifications, if any, specified in his/her IEP or section 504 plan.
5. The student has received remedial or supplemental instruction focused on the exit exam either through the district, private tutoring, or other means. A student shall not be required to have satisfied the requirement to have received such instruction if the district has failed to provide the student with the opportunity to receive that remedial or supplemental instruction.
6. The student has taken the exit exam at least once following the receipt of any remedial or supplemental instruction as specified in item #5 above. However, this is not required if, following the receipt of that instruction, there is no further administration of the exam on or before December 31, 2006.
7. The parent/guardian of the student has acknowledged in writing that the student is entitled to receive free appropriate public education up to and including the academic year during which the student reaches 22 years of age or until the student receives a high school diploma, whichever occurs first.
If the district determines that a student with a disability who is scheduled to graduate in the class of 2006 does not meet the criteria specified in items #1-7 above, the district shall submit documentation of the failure to grant the student a high school diploma to the SBE within 15 days of its determination. (Education Code 60852.3)
The Superintendent or designee shall report all of the following information to the SPI: (Education Code 60851, 60852.3)
1. The number and characteristics of waivers reviewed, granted, and denied under Education Code 60852.3
2. Documentation of the procedure used to implement Education Code 60852.3
3. The number of students granted a diploma pursuant to Education Code 60852.3
4. Other information as requested
Records
The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a summary data file of all students who participate in each test administration. This summary data file shall include the following information for the English/language arts section and the mathematics section for each test administration: (5 CCR 1205)
1. The date on which each section of the exam was taken
2. The full name of each student who took each section of the exam
3. The grade level of each student at the time each section of the exam was taken
4. Whether each student has satisfied the requirement to successfully pass each section of the exam
(cf. 3580 - District Records)
In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall provide the test contractor with the student demographic information specified in 5 CCR 1207
Within 60 days of receiving electronic data files from the test publisher, the Superintendent or designee shall enter the following information in each student's permanent record: (5 CCR 1206)
1. The date on which the student took each section of the exam
2. Whether the student has satisfied the requirement to successfully pass each section of the exam
(cf. 5125 - Student Records)
Notifications
At the beginning of each school year, the Superintendent or designee shall provide written notification of the exit exam requirement to all students in grades 9-12 and to their parents/guardians. Such notification shall also be provided to any student who transfers into the district after the beginning of the school year at the time of the student's transfer. The notification shall include, at a minimum, the date of the exam, the requirements for passing the exam, and the consequences of not passing the exam. The Superintendent or designee shall maintain documentation that the parent/guardian of each student has been sent this written notification. (Education Code 48980, 60850; 5 CCR 1208)
(cf. 5145.6 - Parental Notifications)
(cf. 6146.1 - High School Graduation Requirements)
Prior to each administration of the exam, the Superintendent or designee shall notify students of the provisions of 5 CCR 1220 related to the consequences of cheating. (5 CCR 1220)
The principal or designee shall notify parents/guardians of students with disabilities about the criteria and process for applying for a waiver of the requirement to successfully pass the exit exam.
Regulation PETALUMA CITY SCHOOLS
approved: February 28, 2006 Petaluma, California