1 Frequently Asked Questions Amy Reynolds, Assessment Liaison CFN 201 Regents Scanning June 2011

2 FAQ’s - SCANNING What is the procedure for when there is an issue capturing data through the scanning process? – IMPORTANT. READ. **Answer: Per NY SED policy, only the student, during the time of the exam, may make any changes to their answer documents. There can be NO modification to the answer document by anyone except the student. Therefore, it’s extremely important that the proctors remind students to darken their bubbles and erase any stray marks before the final answer document is handed in. For scanning, please follow the steps: 1.Student answer documents must be scanned exactly as they have been marked by the student. 2.After reviewing the scanned data, if its discovered that the scanner has picked up incorrect or extraneous marks (i.e. stray marks, erasures, etc.), or is not picking up responses on the student answer document (i.e. bubbles not filled in completely), do NOT make any changes to the document. As per SED requirements, no modifications to the student answer document are allowed. If schools encounter this situation, please contact the Accountability Service Desk (step 3 below). 3.Please contact the Accountability Service Desk at The representatives at the Service Desk will request information related to the exam, student information, and nature of the error in question. Please note that we understand the need for a short turnaround time for resolving any issues; the assessment team will be in contact to help resolve data capture issues within 24 hours.

3 FAQ’s - SCANNING What is the procedure for modifying a student’s answer document for scanning – IMPORTANT. READ. **Answer: Per NY SED policy, only the student, during the time of the exam, may make any changes to their answer documents. There can be NO modification to the answer document by anyone except the student. Therefore, it’s extremely important that the proctors remind students to darken their bubbles and erase any stray marks before the final answer document is handed in. For scanning, please follow the steps: Student answer documents must be scanned exactly as they have been marked by the student. After reviewing the scanned data, if its discovered that the scanner has picked up incorrect or extraneous marks (i.e. stray marks, erasures, etc.), or is not picking up responses on the student answer document (i.e. bubbles not filled in completely), do NOT make any changes to the document. As per SED requirements, no modifications to the student answer document are allowed. If schools encounter this situation, please contact the Accountability Service Desk (step 3 below). Please contact the Accountability Service Desk at The representatives at the Service Desk will request information related to the exam, student information, and nature of the error in question. Please note that we understand the need for a short turnaround time for resolving any issues; the assessment team will be in contact to help resolve data capture issues within 24 hours.

4 FAQ’s - SCANNING What happens if the scoring key has not been loaded in the system and schools try to scan? Answer: This is important to note since the scan job will be processed through the scanner and the user will get confirmation from DFS, but the ATS confirmation page will not print. Therefore, to avoid any confusion, it is important that schools do not scan until they get notice from central office to begin scanning. What is the full list of errors for scanning? Answer: At this time these are the only errors loaded in the system : Barcode Read Error Bubble Read Error – This error prints out whenever the system cannot locate the bubbles in the designated spaces on the scan sheet, for example:  Page was scanned skewed, to correct user should adjust paper guide on the ADF of the scanner  Bubbles were erased with or masked with correction fluid  Poor print quality of the scanned document User is scanning a photo copy of the scan form

5 FAQ’s - SCANNING When do schools need to complete scanning of all Regents? Answer: Date to be announced. What is the backup plan if a school’s scanner goes down? Answer: If a school’s scanner goes down, please make arrangements to go to a neighboring school to use their scanner. If there is a citywide issue, additional guidance will be given from central office. How will schools be notified when they can begin scanning? Answer: Schools should not begin scanning until they receive a notification from Central Office indicating that scanning can begin for a particular exam. Notifications will be sent to all key school contacts and Assessment/Data Liaisons. Central Office will also update ATS News when scanning can begin.

6 FAQ’s - SCANNING Is it okay if schools do not scan multiple choice items on the first day? Answer: Schools should wait until the entire Regents Exam is scored before scanning begins. Schools DO NOT have to scan multiple choice items on the first day. How should the answer document be scanned? Answer: The answer document should be face up, with the bar code inserted into the scanner first. See image below How should the schools scan the exam documents after scoring? Answer: After scoring, it is strongly recommended to scan different exams separately. For exams with 2 page answer documents, it is recommended to separate and scan all page 1 answer documents in one batch and then all page 2 answer documents into another batch. Schools can scan page 1 and 2 together, but the speed of the scanning will be slower than separating all page 1s and then all page 2s in a batch.

7 FAQ’s - SCANNING For all Math and Science Regents, do all scores between need to be rescored? Answer: Yes, all students who get a score between need to be rescored. Please contact your Network Assessment Liaison or Boro AID with additional questions. What color paper should be used for scanning? Answer: White paper. No color paper should be used.** If the student is absent on the day of the exam, should the school scan the answer document? Answer: Yes, the school should fill out “Absent” on the first page of the answer document and scan the page with all of the other answer documents. Note: if it’s a two page answer document, only the first page (with the “absent” bubble) needs to be scanned.

8 FAQ’s - SCANNING When do schools need to complete scanning of all Regents? Answer: Date to be announced. What is the backup plan if a school’s scanner goes down? Answer: If a school’s scanner goes down, please make arrangements to go to a neighboring school to use their scanner. If there is a citywide issue, additional guidance will be given from central office. How will schools be notified when they can begin scanning? Answer: Schools should not begin scanning until they receive a notification from Central Office indicating that scanning can begin for a particular exam. Notifications will be sent to all key school contacts and Assessment/Data Liaisons. Central Office will also update ATS News when scanning can begin.

9 FAQ’s - ANSWER DOCUMENTS Will ELL and Accommodation sections be pre-slugged for June? Answer: No, the ELL and Accommodation sections will not be pre-slugged for the June rollout. The accommodation actually used should be bubbled on the answer document. For the Student Declaration, can students also sign it in pencil, or do they need to continue to sign in pen? Answer: The DOE is currently trying to get additional clarity from NY SED on this topic. Until further guidance is provided, please continue to have students sign their declaration in pen.

10 FAQ’s - GENERAL QUESTIONS Who should Networks and Schools contact with any questions related to the Regents Scanning Pilot? Answer: If Schools and Networks cannot resolve an issue, the next points of contact should be: DIIT Service Desk ( ) or the Accountability Service Desk ( ) How long should the school keep the Regents Exam Answer Documents and Test Booklets at the school? Answer: This process hasn’t changed from previous years. Schools should keep the Students’ Regents Answer Documents and Test Booklets for one year after the end of the school year. Will schools be penalized if they over schedule students to take the Regents? For example, they schedule 30 students for a class, but only 15 students take the exam? Answer: No, there is no penalty for schools. But, we encourage schools to do their best to only schedule students for Regents who intend to take the exam and have completed requirements.

FAQ’s - Using Data to Inform Instructional Decisions ITEM REPORT Questions this report could help you to answer Which students scored the highest? Which students scored the lowest? Which students will have to retake this Regents exam? Which questions did individual students have trouble with? Are there any patterns in terms of what skills these questions focus on? Next Steps Plan instructional interventions for students who will need to retake the Regents Support students who passed the Regents with further mastery of the areas that they had trouble with **Keep in mind that you will need to have a copy of the corresponding Regents exam to see the actual questions which correspond to the data. 11