NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

ACT ASSESSMENT UPDATE

WHAT IS CODESP?Cooperative Organization for the Development

of Employee Selection Procedures

A nonprofit consortium of over 660* public school districts which was formed in 1973 to combine resources to develop classified test materials.

The Board of Directors consists of ten members elected from and by the members.

*Includes 312 small districts who have membership through their COEs.

CODESP GROWTH

*average yearly membership ** as of March 25 2004

CODESP Membership History

93107

121132

143 146

164

188

362

254

56*49*

92

25

75

125

175

225

275

325

375

Nu

mb

er

of

Me

mb

er

Dis

tric

ts

CURRENT COUNTY OFFICE MEMBERSHIP

Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Trinity,Tulare, Tuolumne and Yuba.

“SMALL” DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP

Districts with an ADA of less than 1,000 receive CODESP services without charge when the county office of education is a member.

Currently, approximately 312 small school districts are eligible to receive CODESP services through their county offices of education.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT OF 2001 H.R.1

Paraprofessionals must:– (A) have completed at least 2

years of study at an institution of higher education; or

– (B) have obtained an associate’s (or higher) degree; or

- (C) have met a rigorous standard of quality that demonstrates, through a formal academic assessment-

(i) knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing reading, writing, and math; or(ii) knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing reading readiness, writing readiness, and math readiness, as appropriate.

Title I, Part A Paraprofessionals with Instructional Duties in Core Academic Subject Areas

Campus Receives Title I, Part A funds?No

QualificationsNot Applicable

Yes

Targeted Assistance or

Schoolwide Campus?

Targeted Assistance campus: ONLY a paraprofessional withinstructional duties in core academic subject areas whose salary is paid with Title I, Part A funds.

Schoolwide campus: ALLparaprofessionals with instructional duties in core academic subject areas without regard to the source of funding of the position.

Paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002, must meet ONE of these three criteria when hired

Paraprofessionals hired on or before January 8, 2002, must meet ONE of these three criteria by January 8, 2006

Option 3: A rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate through a formal academic assessment, knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instruction of reading (or reading readiness), writing (or writing readiness), and mathematics (or mathematics readiness), as appropriate.

Option 1: Two yearsof study at an institution of higher education.

Option 2: An associate’s(or higher) degree.

EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS

Individuals working in early childhood programs such as Head Start, that are physically located in a Title I, Part A school but are not part of a schoolwide program and are not funded with Title I, Part A funds are NOT required to meet one of the NCLB requirements.

However, paraeducators with instructional duties in Title I, Part A-funded early childhood programs MUST meet one of the NCLB requirements.

DIRECT SUPERVISION DEFINED

The teacher plans the instructional activities that the paraprofessional carries out;

The teacher evaluates the achievement of the students with whom the paraprofessional is working; and

The paraprofessional works in close and frequent physical proximity to the teacher.

The State Board of Education (SBE) was left to decide on how to administer and comply with NCLB requirements, using guidance from the NCLB Liaison Committee.

Jack O’Connell (State Superintendent of Public Instruction) released a letter to the County and District Superintendents, announcing the SBE’s policy on paraprofessional requirements.

WHAT ABOUT CALIFORNIA?

IS THE CDE PLANNING TO DEVELOP OR SELECT ONE

STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT, OR TO POST A LIST OF ACCEPTABLE ASSESSMENTS FOR THE NCLB

PARAPROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS?

No, because the State Board of Education decided that the selection or development of an assessment is to be determined locally, it would not be appropriate for the CDE to do so.

California Dept. of Ed. Website

WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW

Local Education Agencies (LEAs) receiving Title I funds shall also ensure that paraprofessionals, hired on or before January 8, 2002, and working in a program supported with Title I funds, must meet these requirements by January 8, 2006.

Effective January 8, 2003, all paraprofessionals, regardless of hire date, must possess a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent.

ABILITY TO ASSIST OPTION

To meet the third option (C) of demonstrating knowledge and ability to assist in instruction, the development of an assessment is determined by each LEA.

In other words, the state will not be approving one specific assessment.

LEAs are responsible for justifying their choice of assessments.

IN ADDITION…..

SBE decided that each LEA may determine whether or not to accept another LEA’s assessment results for determining a paraprofessional’s qualifications.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATION WEBSITE

www.cde.ca.govNCLB contact: Penni Hansen

phansen@cde.ca.gov

CODESP’S INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE

TEST MATERIALS

What is included in the “Sample Test” and additional options?

CODESP’S “SAMPLE TEST”

CODESP staff developed a sample test and optional items to assist school districts in complying with federal regulations regarding the testing of new Instructional Aides.

There is not just ONE TEST that CODESP provides for districts—each district selects from the sample test and options, choosing which items to include on their own customized test.

MORE ON CUSTOMIZED TESTS

Why customize? Varying difficulty levels, content validity to your district, district buy-in.

Some districts use the same test as other member districts- but each LEA is responsible for determining if they feel the test meets the rigors of NCLB and fits the IA jobs in their district.

Some districts also create a “base” IA test, and then smaller tests to supplement for specific positions (Special Ed, Bilingual, Computer Lab, etc.)

IA TEST DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

Initially CODESP was asked to assist in a consortium made up of school district Title I and Curriculum Specialists, IO Psychologists, HR Professionals and CSEA representatives from Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange Counties.

Several meetings took place to discuss interpretation of the NCLB Act’s IA Assessment requirements.

Test questions were developed by reviewing current California high school graduation standards, community college placement exams, and other standardized tests currently administered in California.Recommendations from subject matter experts were also valuable in this process. Existing job studies for the position of Instructional Aide were also analyzed especially in the development of the Ability to Assist portion.

ADDITIONAL TEST DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH

ROLE OF IAs CONSIDERED

Roles include: Instructing individual and small groups of

learners using plans and strategies developed by teachers/providers.

Documenting data about learner behavior and performance and participation in other learner assessment activities under the supervision of teachers/providers.

Implementing teacher/provider-developed behavior management and disciplinary procedures.

MAIN SOURCE MATERIAL

National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals in Education and Related Services: Strengthening and Supporting Teacher/Provider-Paraeducator Teams: Guidelines for Paraeducator Roles, Supervision, and Preparation 400 paraeducators, teachers, principals, State and local education personnel, college faculty, parents, and others, responded to the validation survey.

Authored by Anna Lou Pickett, 1999

CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM

June 2003– Test is postponed until 2006. A report

found that 20% of the class of 2004 would fail the math portion.

November 2003– The state Board of Education voted to

remove some of the more difficult math and English questions on the test.

TYPICAL CODESP TEST

Members report that the average number of items on their test is 93.

CODESP suggests that candidates are allowed a generous amount of time to complete the test.

Test cost: $1,750 but includes ALL membership services including test materials for all classified positions.

Tutorial: NO cost to members or to member district trainers.

CODESP’S SAMPLE TEST CONTAINS THREE OVERALL

CONTENT AREAS

English/Language Arts Math Ability to Assist in Instruction

Districts can choose to have three separate tests made (one for each section) to allow ease of retesting.

TYPES OF ITEMS IN ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS

Reading Comprehension (up to 12th grade level available)

Logical Sequence of a Paragraph

Main Theme of a Paragraph

Multiple Word Meanings

Punctuation Capitalization Spelling Correct Word

Usage Correct Sentence

Combination

TYPES OF ITEMS IN MATH Fractions

(addition,subtraction, multiplication,division,simplifying,converting from decimals)

Word Problems (multiplication, division, percentages)

Estimation Statistics Probability Exponents

Pre-Algebra/Algebra (word problems, order of operations, simplifying expressions, equations-equivalents, prime factorization, greatest common factor, least common multiple, factoring)

Coordinates (grid graphs, slope coordinates)

Geometry (basics, squares, rectangles, circles, triangles)

TYPES OF ITEMS FOR THE ABILITY TO ASSIST IN

INSTRUCTION Instructional Aide

Worker Qualities Student

Discipline/ Behavior

Reading Charts Following a

Lesson Plan

Following Directions

Assisting in an Instructional Game

Assisting in Interpreting Instructional Material

WRITING SAMPLE OPTION

Although writing skills are addressed in portions of the English/Language Arts segment, a writing exercise with a scoring rubric is included in the sample test materials for districts who would like to include this option with their test.

HOW DISTRICTS CAN HELP QUALIFIED CANDIDATES

SUCCEED ON A TEST Give candidates resource

materials, including CODESP tutorial materials, to prepare for the test.

Allow retesting. Conduct tutorial sessions.

PARAEDUCATOR/INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE

TUTORIAL Member’s can download a tutorial

to assist candidates in preparing for the IA test.

Contact CODESP for the password to enter the “Member’s Only” portion of the website where this is located.

CODESP IA TUTORIAL

SAMPLE

6 (2 + 4a)

Remove parentheses and multiply

each term by six (6 × 2) + (6 × 4a)

Answer 12 + 24a

CURRENT AIDES: STRUCTURED OBSERVATION

EVALUATION CODESP has developed a structured observation

evaluation with a series of rubrics to assess current (veteran) aides.

The CDE has stated: “The original proficiency exams were intended to address basic skills proficiency at the level of high school seniors in each district. Some districts are using their proficiency exam and adding a structured observation component; others are adopting new tests that cover both subject knowledge and ability to assist in instruction. There are also commercial exams available that test subject matter knowledge and the ability to assist in instruction.”

Demonstration of Proficiency in Reading

EXCEEDS REQUIREMENTS: Exceeds the required knowledge and ability to:

MEETS REQUIREMENTS: Meets the basic knowledge and ability to:

DOES NOT MEET REQUIREMENTS: Is unable to:

   locate and understand written information; identify the main idea or essential message in a text; identify relevant details and facts; infer and locate technical vocabulary; clearly and concisely read materials aloud to students.

SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR MEMBERSHIP

Local Educational Agencies must spend at least 5% of Title I, Part A (capped at 10% for 2002-03) for professional development activities to ensure that teachers and paraprofessionals meet the requirements.

FEDERAL FUNDING Title I, Part A funds may be used to

support ongoing training and professional development to assist teachers and paraeducators working in a program supported with Title I, Part A funds.

Title II, Part A funds may be used to provide professional development activities that improve the knowledge of teachers and principals and, (continued on next screen)

FUNDING CONT’Din appropriate cases, paraeducators concerning effective instructional strategies, methods and skills and use of challenging content standards to improve teaching practices and student academic achievement.

Title V, Part A (Innovative Programs) funds may be used to provide professional development for teachers and other school personnel as a part of reform strategy.

CODESP PROVIDES SO MUCH MORE THAN NCLB ASSESSMENT

MATERIALS

READ ON…………….

WHAT CAN MEMBERS DO TO IMPROVE THEIR DISTRICT’S EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCESS?

KNOW THE JOB

CONDUCT A JOB REVIEW/ANALYSISAsk questions of employees

and supervisors. Identify job related essential

skills, knowledges, abilities and personal characteristics.

EXAM PLANNING PROCESS

Job Review/Analysis Job Description

Edit/Development Posting/Advertising/Recruiting Examination Planning Test Construction/Administration Item Analysis/Recruitment

Review

INFORMATION FROM JOB ANALYSIS IS USED

TO: Write job descriptions and

announcements. Determine test methods. Validate tests (determine job

relatedness). Determine accommodations for

disabled applicants/employees. Determine rating criteria.

ClassificationJOB ANALYSIS

Performance Appraisal

Training

Selection Compensation

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

UNIFORM GUIDELINES STATE: ALL selection processes are

tests. “Adverse impact” must be

considered. Validation required. Documentation required. Alternative selection procedures

must be considered.

VALIDATION

Gives meaning to test scores.

CONTENT VALIDITY

Test items should be relevant to, and measure important requirements and qualifications for the job.

TYPES OF CODESP TEST MATERIALS AVAILABLE

Supplemental applications (training and experience evaluations).

Multiple choice test questions. Interview questions. Writing samples. Performance examinations.

X DUTIES

Operate machinery such as shampooer, vacuums, high/low speed buffers, etc.

Collect trash from various areas and haul trash to dumpsters.

Wash walls, woodwork, doors, etc.

Clean and maintain lavatories/restrooms-wash stools, seats, sinks, walls, urinals, mirrors and sweep and mop floors.

Work alone during the night shift.

Work around students who may use abusive language and/or talk back to you.

Read instructions and mix cleaning solutions according to directions.

Use industrial chemicals and cleaners which may have strong odors and require safe handling.

Clean up vomit, blood and other unpleasant substances which may have a strong odor.

Unplug toilets and sinks.

CUSTODIAN: WILLINGNESS TO PERFORM DUTIES

SUPPLEMENTAL

APPLICATION FORM

Special Education Aide

SAMPLE MULTIPLE

CHOICE TEST ITEMS FROM C-

CIB

R e f e r t o t h e f o l l o w i n g F a m i l y B u d g e t g r a p h t o a n s w e r q u e s t i o n s 0 0 - 0 0 .

F A M I L Y B U D G E T

M o r t g a g e3 0 %

F o o d2 5 %

C a r / G a s2 0 %

C l o t h i n g1 5 %

M i s c1 0 %

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 . Q u e s t i o n N a m e : Q u e s t i o n F 0 3 6 3 T y p e : M C O b j e c t i v e : I n s t a i d e 1 O b j e c t i v e I t e m B a n k : I n s t r u c t i o n a l A i d e A c c o r d i n g t o t h e F a m i l y B u d g e t , i f t h e f a m i l y i n c o m e i s $ 1 , 2 0 0 p e r m o n t h ,

w h a t a m o u n t w i l l b e b u d g e t e d f o r C a r / G a s ?

A . $ 1 8 0 * B . $ 2 4 0 C . $ 2 6 4 D . $ 3 6 0

C o r r e c t A n s w e r : B

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 . Q u e s t i o n N a m e : Q u e s t i o n F 0 3 6 4 T y p e : M C O b j e c t i v e : I n s t a i d e 1 O b j e c t i v e I t e m B a n k : I n s t r u c t i o n a l A i d e A c c o r d i n g t o t h e F a m i l y B u d g e t , i f t h e f a m i l y i n c o m e i s $ 1 , 4 9 8 p e r m o n t h ,

w h a t a m o u n t w i l l b e b u d g e t e d f o r M o r t g a g e ?

A . $ 4 3 0 . 0 0 * B . $ 4 4 9 . 4 0 C . $ 4 7 5 . 5 0 D . $ 5 0 1 . 6 8

C o r r e c t A n s w e r : B

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Use the following figure to answer questions 00 - 00.

CUSTODIAN TOOLS

________________________________________________________________ 1. Question Name: Question F0371 Type: MC Objective: Custodia Objective Item Bank: Custodian Using the Custodian Tools figure, which one of the following is a push

broom?

A. 5 B. 6 * C. 9 D. 10

Correct Answer: C

________________________________________________________________

With the help of SME’s, members select the test items for the exam. After the form is completed it is faxed or emailed to the CODESP office where a printer-ready test is produced and emailed back.

SAMPLE TEST

When a district orders a test they receive:

Cover Page (options: logo, time limit) Examination Instructions Test Key

TEST RESULTS

CODESP will scan the Scantron answer sheets and provide your

district with a detailed item analysis at no extra cost.

MORE ON TESTS

By using one or more tests in combination with other screening devices, the quality of final selection can be greatly improved.

Each test tends to focus narrowly on only one of the many factors that determines job success.

HOW DO MEMBERS ORDER MATERIAL?

Members log on to our website at www.codesp.com and complete a C-CIB Request Form

Test materials are sent to members through password protected email.

TO BECOME A MEMBER

Copy the necessary forms posted under JOIN CODESP on our website.

Return a completed Application, Membership Agreement and Security Agreement with a Purchase Order for $1,750.

Services begin as soon as paperwork is received.

COUNTY OFFICE’S ROLE To include “small districts” the

Membership Paperwork is completed by the county office.

Once it is submitted to CODESP, the county office informs their districts with an ADA of 1,000 or less that they are eligible to receive CODESP services and that they must submit security agreements to begin services.

They then may log on to our website to submit a request form using the county office name/their district name.

VISIT OUR WEB PAGE AT

www.codesp.com