Information Update Bulletin 05.01

January 2005

TO:	District Administrators, CESA Administrators, CCDEB Administrators, Directors of Special Education and Pupil Services, and Other Interested Parties
FROM:	Carolyn Stanford Taylor, Assistant State Superintendent Division for Learning Support: Equity and Advocacy
SUBJECT:	Guidelines for Complying with the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment for Students with Disabilities-Part 7

This bulletin is the seventh in a series of bulletins describing the guidelines for complying with the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment for Students with Disabilities (WAA). This bulletin clarifies the changes made to the WAA Rating Scale for the 2005-06 school year.

The WAA is part of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) and is designed to assess the educational performance of students with disabilities who cannot meaningfully participate in the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) even with accommodations. The WAA, which is a checklist completed by teachers, focuses on the knowledge and skills that are aligned with Wisconsin Model Academic Standards in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. These knowledge and skills are considered to be prerequisite to the majority of content assessed by the WKCE.

Changes for the 2005-06 school year are as follows:

• Cut scores have been established for elementary (grades 3-5), middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grade 10) to determine a student's overall level of performance in each of the five content areas.
  
  
• The WAA Rating Scale has been divided by grade level (third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth). Each grade level checklist includes the content areas assessed in that grade and the appropriate number of items and cut scores for the elementary, middle and high school levels. For example, the third grade WAA includes Reading and Math, the fourth grade WAA includes all five content areas assessed. These changes are designed to facilitate better communication about a student's level of functioning at grade levels and to comply with federal legislation.
  
  
• All items in each of the content areas have been referenced back to the Alternate Performance Indicators (APIs). The APIs are extensions of the fourth grade Wisconsin Model Academic Standards. For further information on the APIs go to: http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/assmt_api.html

As in the past, the department will not send the WAA Rating Scale for each student participating in the WAA. It is the district's responsibility to copy a sufficient number of WAA Rating Scales for each student in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth grades who will be participating in the WAA.

The department will continue to provide training opportunities to assist educators, administrators, and parents in understanding how to conduct and use the results of the WAA. If your district has not been involved or scheduled for training, please contact your CESA Regional Services Network (RSN) Coordinator or CESA Assessment Coordinator for information. The WAA Participation Checklist, the updated WAA Rating Scale, the updated WAA PowerPoint Presentation, and an updated Frequently Asked Questions document are available on our website at: http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/assmt-waa.html.

For questions about this information, contact Sandra A. Berndt (608) 266-1785

Last updated on 2/22/2008 1:21:26 PM