Fall Approaches
As many of you are finishing the first nine weeks of the school year, I hope you have grown accustomed to our newsletters. In this issue, I am revisiting an educational treat that I shared last October that may be of use for you in the field. As with most of the educational tools or tips that I share in the MS-CPAS Minute, I have tested this tool, and it does not cost you anything to use it.
In my university class, I have used
Flipgrid as my primary instructional strategy for checking for understanding and classroom introductions. This free video reflection tool integrates into
Canvas and Speedgrader. All of my Flipgrid assignments count toward a participation grade and use a simple rubric for grading. One assignment that my students enjoyed the most was doing a
Flipgrid Scavenger Hunt in the MSU library. This activity puts a modern twist on an old game. Even at the undergraduate level, the activity encouraged student engagement and promoted the skills needed for future success in my course.
I hope this month goes well for each of you, and you all receive more treats than tricks!
As a reminder, our primary methods of communication are this newsletter and the
RCU website.
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Sean Owen, PhD
Assessment Manager
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Important Dates
| Fall Roster Submission Period for Secondary Fall Testers |
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Fall Practice Testing Window for Secondary Fall Testers
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Oct. 1-Nov. 6
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Fall Roster Submission Period for Postsecondary Fall Testers
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Oct. 28-Nov. 8
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Secondary and Postsecondary MS-CPAS Fall Testing
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Nov. 11-15
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Secondary National Certification Testing
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Nov. 11-Dec. 6
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MS-CPAS Updates
Fall practice testing is underway for secondary students who will take their end-of-course MS-CPAS this fall. Please note that students must first be verified in Step 2 on the RCU website before their two practice test attempts are available. When classes have the green "Ready for Scheduling" status in Step 2, a practice test will be available within 24 hours for students in any pathway that offers a practice test.
Test coordinators can check the Practice Test Status Page to verify that practice tests are ready for students to take. Practice test information is found on page 40 of the 2019-2020
CTE Testing Manual, and a new practice test script is located in Appendix I of the manual.
Most importantly, practice test reports will be available for test coordinators to access and to share with teachers 24 hours after a class takes a practice test. Class practice test reports, located by navigating to Assessment and then Reports on the
RCU website, provide both class unit averages and individual student unit averages and are helpful as teachers plan remediation and as students review before the MS-CPAS is taken Nov. 11-15.
Postsecondary test coordinators will begin uploading and verifying fall testers during their roster submission period of Oct. 28-Nov. 8. The
Postsecondary Assessment page
provides resources to help with testing processes for postsecondary schools. If we can be of help to you, please email
helpdesk@rcu.msstate.edu
, or call 866.901.7433 or 662.325.2510.
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National Certifications Updates
The fall roster submission period for fall testers began Sept. 24 and will continue until Oct. 11. If you have students that will be taking any national certifications during the fall national certification testing window (Nov. 11-Dec. 6), please make sure those students are uploaded and verified in the RCU portal.
This year, the Microsoft Technology Associate: Networking Fundamentals (MTA) will be given through a new internet-based delivery tool called Compass. It is never too early to familiarize yourself with how Compass works so there will be no surprises when testing time arrives. Behind your login on the
RCU Assessment page
, look for the Compass technical requirements and user guide under the MTA resources section. If you need any additional assistance, please call 888-999-9830 and choose Option 3.
Students taking the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) or any other national certification approved by MDE outside of the MDE-approved spring testing window must be uploaded and verified on the RCU website during the secondary fall verification window. Student verification must occur prior to the exam in order for students to receive accountability credit with MDE.This policy includes students taking the ASE outside of the MDE-approved spring testing window, even if the district is paying for the exam.
It is always a good idea to make sure you have adequate personnel on hand for CTE testing. The RCU would like to assist you in this process by offering opportunities to have individuals in your district certified as NCCER proctors.
To assist us in meeting your specific needs, we ask that you fill out a brief survey. This survey will enable us to choose the best locations and times for these NCCER proctor workshops. Please complete the
NCCER Proctor Workshop Survey
, and stay tuned for further information regarding NCCER proctor workshops coming to a location near you.
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Performance-Based Assessment
All polymer science tasks are available on the PBA page of the RCU website. The tasks are located behind a district login, so the testing coordinator at each center will need to download these items for the instructor.
Simulation and animation design, digital media technology, and architecture and drafting tasks will be revised during October and November. Look for these tasks to be posted on the RCU website toward the close of the fall semester.
Please put March 27 on your calendar as the deadline for PBA submission. All student artifacts will be due by 5 p.m.
If you have any PBA questions, please contact Riesa Blackwell at
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Assessment Manager .........................
IAD Meetings and Training Events.......
National Certifications .........................
Data and Research..............................
Performance-Based Assessment.........
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Have assessment needs not addressed in this issue?
Create a Help Desk ticket, and we'll get right on it!
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