November 14, 2013 To be updated as appropriate 2014 15 Assessment Schedule The test dates listed below are for assessments administered through the Office of Assessment. Most of these assessments are used for state and/or federal accountability. Assessments to be used for federal accountability must have been approved by the US Department of Education. Assessments to be used for state accountability must have been adopted by the State Board of Education and approved by the Education Oversight Committee. English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments that will be used for federal accountability in 2014 15 must be aligned to college and career standards. The US Department of Education has approved the Smarter Balanced assessments for reporting federal accountability in 2014 15 through a flexibility waiver. The State Board of Education has adopted the Smarter Balanced assessments. The Education Oversight Committee (EOC) has approved the following tests for reporting state accountability: South Carolina Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) tests in grades 3 8, High School Assessment Program (HSAP) exit examination, End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) tests, and SC Alternate Assessment (SC-Alt). Testing dates are provided below for assessments that are currently approved for 2014 15. Tentative Spring 2015 Testing Window (online only) 5 weeks (within the last 12 weeks of the school year) Students taking tests online will take Computer Adaptive Tests (CATs) and Performance Tasks for ELA and mathematics within the 5-week window. ELA (paper/pencil) ELA Performance Tasks (paper/pencil) Mathematics (paper/pencil) Mathematics Performance Tasks (paper/pencil) Test dates for paper and pencil testing will be provided as soon as possible, following a determination about whether the South Carolina Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) ELA and mathematics tests and High School Assessment Program (HSAP) tests will be administered in 2014-15 for state accountability.
South Carolina Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) In addition to the Smarter Balanced assessments, the SCPASS writing, ELA, and mathematics tests must be administered in spring 2015 if required for state accountability. Online administrations of science and social studies assessments will be available for the first time in spring 2015. At any grade, students within schools may take the science and/or social studies tests using paper/pencil or online administrations. For online administrations only, a testing window is provided. Paper and pencil administrations must continue to be given on the specific dates specified below. Grades 3 8 Paper/Pencil Administration Online Administration Writing, Day 1 March 17 (Tuesday) N/A Writing, Day 2 March 18 (Wednesday) N/A Make-up Testing Through Tuesday, March 24 N/A ELA May 5 (Tuesday) N/A Mathematics May 6 (Wednesday) N/A Science or Social Studies* May 7 (Thursday) May 7 Social Studies* May 8 (Friday) May 7 Make-up Testing Through May 15 * Students in grades 4 and 7 will take both the science test and the social studies test. Students in grades 3, 5, 6, and 8 will take either the science test or the social studies test.
High School Assessment Program (HSAP) Fall 2014 Testing Schedule ELA (Session 1) October 21 (Tuesday) ELA (Session 2) October 22 (Wednesday) Mathematics October 23 (Thursday) Make-up Testing Through Friday, October 31 Data File to districts December 5 Spring 2015 Testing Schedule ELA (Session 1) April 14 (Tuesday) ELA (Session 2) April 15 (Wednesday) Mathematics April 16 (Thursday) Make-up Testing Through Friday, April 24 Summer 2015 Testing Schedule ELA (Sessions 1 & 2) and Mathematics July 14 (Tuesday) Data File to districts August 10 For summer testing only, the HSAP ELA and mathematics tests can be administered on any of the three days listed. There are no make-up dates for summer testing.
End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) EOCEP testing windows will be finalized after district calendars are submitted to the SCDE. Tentative Dates Fall 2014/Winter 2015 Testing Window December 1 January 28 Data File to districts March 6 Spring 2015 Testing Window May 4 June 5 Data File to districts July 17 Summer 2015 Testing Window June 22 July 24 Data File to districts September 4 Each district must designate a maximum two-week window for paper/pencil testing and a maximum three-week window for online testing within the state window. SC-Alternate Assessment (SC-Alt) and/or National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) The NCSC is an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) for students with significant cognitive disabilities to achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for post-secondary options. In spring 2015, NCSC must be administered in addition to the SC-Alt, if SC-Alt is required for state accountability. Tentative spring 2015 Testing Window March April English Language Development Assessment (ELDA) Spring 2015 Testing Window February 17 April 10 Data File to districts June 1
SC Grade 2 Norm-Referenced Testing (NRT) Program Fall 2014 Testing Window October 22 November 13, 2014 Reports to districts December 10 South Carolina Performance Tasks Assessment These performance-based assessment instruments are used for the identification of intellectually advanced elementary students for inclusion in gifted education programs. This program was formerly known as STAR. Spring 2015 Testing Window February 16 March 6 Reports to districts May 4 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2015 NAEP Testing Window January 26 March 6