Your monthly update on all things MS-CPAS!


October 2017 Issue

  As part of our new MS-CPAS work, you'll be receiving a newsletter like this once a month with information on assessment updates. Please make an effort to distribute the information to all parties if needed. Thank you again for all the hard work each of you does for CTE. We are really excited about what the future holds for the students in the state of Mississippi!
New Assessment Scoring Methods
  
  Beginning this fall, you'll notice changes in how MS-CPAS tests are scored and how those scores are reported. The most immediate and noticeable difference for educators and parents is that individual test results will start to move from percentage scores to scaled scores. In previous years, students received a raw score and percentage score-basically, the number of items out of 80 answered correctly. For example, getting 62 of the 80 active questions right resulted in a raw score of 62 and a percentage score of 78%.
 
  Although this system was clear and simple, some factors are lost when using raw scores. Scaled scores can help teachers draw inferences about student achievement and instructional effectiveness, as well as how each student's performance compares to students in other semesters and years. Scaled scores are derived by taking the student's raw score and adjusting it statistically to account for how hard that test form was for students. Although test forms inevitably vary in difficulty, a scaled score accounts for those differences. For example, a score of 510 on the Engineering I test in fall 2017 will represent the same level of knowledge as a score of 510 in spring 2020. This fundamental change also aligns CTE statewide assessment reporting with academic statewide assessment reporting. This synchronization will help educators, parents, students, and administrators when it comes to interpreting student mastery of key concepts.
 
  Over the coming weeks, you'll hear more about the scale selected for the MS-CPAS assessments, and how to interpret scaled scores. We think you'll be pleased with how useful those scores are and with learning how you can use the data to enhance student learning and achievement. 

Key Contacts
Assessment Manager ..............................
PBA .........................................................
IAD Meetings ...........................................
National Certification ...............................

Add it to your phone  or use an old fashioned Post-It note.
You don't want to forget these dates!
  • Oct 9-10 - Engineering IAD meeting
  • Oct 11-12 - Aquaculture Technology IAD meeting
  • Oct 16-17 - Teacher Academy IAD meeting
  • Nov 1-2 - Ag and Natural Resources IAD meeting
  • Nov 13-17 - Fall MS-CPAS Testing
NCCER Baseline Testing by the Numbers

 

  • 3544 Students Tested
  • 92 School Districts Testing 

Learn more at  nccer.org.
PBA Updates 
  
 Architecture and drafting, digital media technology, polymer science, and simulation and animation are going through revision, and will test in the new form in the spring of 2018. Two additional programs will begin revision in the coming year. More information on the revision process will be available in upcoming issues of this newsletter. 

Have assessment needs not addressed in this issue? Create a helpdesk ticket, and we'll get right on it! 

662.325.2510 | www.rcu.msstate.edu
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