What Requirements Must States and Local Eligible Providers Follow When Measuring Educational Gain?

34 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart D
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

34 C.F.R. § 462.40 Must a State have an assessment policy?

(a) A State must have a written assessment policy that its local eligible providers must follow in measuring educational gain and reporting data in the NRS. (b) A State must submit its assessment policy to the Secretary for review and approval at the time it submits its annual statistical report for the NRS. (c) The State's assessment policy must— (1) Include a statement requiring that local eligible providers measure the educational gain of all students who receive 12 hours or more of instruction in the State's adult education program with a test that the Secretary has determined is suitable for use in the NRS; (2) Identify the pre- and post-tests that the State requires eligible providers to use to measure the educational functioning level gain of ABE, ASE, and ESL students; (3)(i) Indicate when, in calendar days or instructional hours, eligible providers must administer pre- and post-tests to students; (ii) Ensure that the time for administering the post-test is long enough after the pre-test to allow the test to measure educational functioning level gains according to the test publisher's guidelines; and (iii) Specify a standard for the percentage of students to be pre- and post-tested. (4) Specify the score ranges tied to educational functioning levels for placement and for reporting gains for accountability; (5) Identify the skill areas the State intends to require local eligible providers to assess in order to measure educational gain; (6) Include the guidance the State provides to local eligible providers on testing and placement of an individual with a disability or an individual who is unable to be tested because of a disability; (7) Describe the training requirements that staff must meet in order to be qualified to administer and score each test selected by the State to measure the educational gains of students; (8) Identify the alternate form or forms of each test that local eligible providers must use for post-testing; (9) Indicate whether local eligible providers must use a locator test for guidance on identifying the appropriate pre-test; (10) Describe the State's policy for the initial placement of a student at each NRS educational functioning level using test scores; (11) Describe the State's policy for using the post-test for measuring educational gain and for advancing students across educational functioning levels; (12) Describe the pre-service and in-service staff training that the State or local eligible providers will provide, including training— (i) For staff who either administer or score each of the tests used to measure educational gain; (ii) For teachers and other local staff involved in gathering, analyzing, compiling, and reporting data for the NRS; and (iii) That includes the following topics: (A) NRS policy, accountability policies, and the data collection process. (B) Definitions of measures. (C) Conducting assessments; and (13) Identify the State or local agency responsible for providing pre- and in-service training.

34 C.F.R. § 462.41 How must tests be administered in order to accurately measure educational gain?

(a) General. A local eligible provider must measure the educational gains of students using only tests that the Secretary has determined are suitable for use in the NRS and that the State has identified in its assessment policy. (b) Pre-test. A local eligible provider must— (1) Administer a pre-test to measure a student's educational functioning level at intake, or as soon as possible thereafter; (2) Administer the pre-test to students at a uniform time, according to the State's assessment policy; and (3) Administer pre-tests to students in the skill areas identified in the State's assessment policy. (c) Post-test. A local eligible provider must— (1) Administer a post-test to measure a student's educational functioning level after a set time period or number of instructional hours; (2) Administer the post-test to students at a uniform time, according to the State's assessment policy; (3)(i) Administer post-tests with a secure, parallel, equated form of the same test—either traditional paper and pencil or computer-administered instruments—for which forms are constructed prior to administration to examinees to pre-test and determine the initial placement of students; or (ii) Administer post-tests with an adaptive test that uses computerized algorithms for selecting and administering items in real time; however, for such an instrument, the size of the item pool and the method of item selection must ensure negligible overlap in items across pre- and post-testing; and (4) Administer post-tests to students in the same skill areas as the pre-test. (d) Other requirements. (1) A local eligible provider must administer a test using only staff who have been trained to administer the test. (2) A local eligible provider may use the results of a test in the NRS only if the test was administered in a manner that is consistent with the State's assessment policy and the test publisher's guidelines.

34 C.F.R. § 462.42 How are tests used to place students at an NRS educational functioning level?

(a) A local eligible provider must use the results of the pre-test described in § 462.41(b) to initially place students at the appropriate NRS educational functioning level. (b) A local eligible provider must use the results of the post-test described in § 462.41(c)— (1) To determine whether students have completed one or more educational functioning levels or are progressing within the same level; and (2) To place students at the appropriate NRS educational functioning level. (c)(1) States and local eligible providers are not required to use all of the skill areas described in the NRS educational functioning levels to place students. (2) States and local eligible providers must test and report on the skill areas most relevant to the students' needs and to the programs' curriculum. (d)(1) If a State's assessment policy requires a local eligible provider to test a student in multiple skill areas and the student will receive instruction in all of the skill areas, the local eligible provider must place the student in an educational functioning level that is equivalent to the student's lowest test score for any of the skill areas tested under § 462.41(b) and (c). (2) If a State's assessment policy requires a local eligible provider to test a student in multiple skill areas, but the student will receive instruction in fewer than all of the skill areas, the local eligible provider must place the student in an educational functioning level that is equivalent to the student's lowest test score for any of the skill areas— (i) Tested under § 462.41(b) and (c); and (ii) In which the student will receive instruction.

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