Jordan Administrative Memos

DATE: 
Thursday, August 11, 2022

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:     
KEEP Entry Administration and Materials

Principals are asked to pass this information, along with the materials included with this memo, to their kindergarten teachers as soon as possible.

KEEP Entry administration for the 2022-23 school year is still required by the state. The KEEP Entry assessment window ends on Thursday, September 8, 2022. Data entry into the Data Gateway is due by Friday, September 30, 2022. Those who are administering the KEEP Entry (including kindergarten teachers and classroom aides) should have been trained. Test administrators can access training in one of two ways:

• Self-guided Canvas course
• Recorded webinar on YouTube

Only kindergarten teachers and instructional coaches will have access to enter data into the Data Gateway. Classroom assistants will not have access to KEEP data entry in the Data Gateway.

Included with this memo are the following materials:

• KEEP Entry Test Administration Manual (TAM) – Kindergarten teachers should use this manual to access the script they should read while testing. The manual also contains instructions on how to administer and score the assessment.
• KEEP Entry Student Materials – Schools will be responsible for printing their own student materials booklet for each KEEP Entry test administrator. No changes to the assessment have been made, so teachers may use last year’s student materials.
• KEEP Entry Score Sheet – Kindergarten teachers may fill out the scoring sheet online in their Data Gateway account while administering the assessment. They may also fill out the attached scoring sheet and then enter the data in the Data Gateway at a later time.
• KEEP Entry Data Entry – Getting Started – This document provides a brief explanation of how to enter KEEP Entry data into the Data Gateway.

If you have questions about the KEEP Entry assessment or the data entry in the Data Gateway, please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability.

KEEP Entry Administration and Materials

DATE:  
Thursday, August 11, 2022

TO:  
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:    
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
BOY Acadience Reading and Math Testing Reminders

The beginning-of-year Acadience Reading and Math testing window opens on the first day of school and closes on Friday, September 30th. As we prepare for Acadience testing, there are a few friendly reminders that help the district testing teams be as efficient as possible while they are at your school testing students:

• Because our assessment teams are still not fully staffed, we are asking that instructional coaches plan to assist with testing on your school’s scheduled day(s) again this year. Full-time personnel from Evaluation, Research & Accountability will also be assisting with testing.
• Please avoid scheduling kindergarten and first grade classes back to back, when possible. They take longer because assessment assistants are administering both the reading and math measures. Staggering them between second and third grade classes helps the team stay on time.
• Encourage your teachers to be flexible. They need to be prepared to come early or late to their allotted time.
• Be sure to have an adult runner available who knows the school and can quickly get the next class to come to the testing area, distribute student cards, and help the testing run as efficiently as possible. If schools don’t have a runner available, a parent who knows where teacher classrooms are is a viable option. If there is no runner, one of our assessment assistants has to do it, which means she is testing less students.
• Because Kindergarten students will not be in school the first six days of the testing window, there is very little time for district assessment assistants to come back to your school to do absent testing. While we will do our best to complete testing with students who were absent on test day, please plan on having school personnel help to complete absent testing.

Change to Accommodations Policy:
Please note that USBE has updated its accommodations policy for both Acadience Reading and Math. They are no longer allowing us to translate the instructions provided for each measure for English Learners. All EL students, regardless of language proficiency level, will be given the measure instructions in English.

Please contact Ben Jameson or Shannon Johnson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions or concerns about the reminders listed above as well as the change in USBE’s accommodation policy.

BOY Acadience Reading and Math Testing Reminders

DATE: 
Thursday, August 11, 2022

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:   
Acadience Training Options for Instructional Coaches, Teachers and ESPs

We recognize that with the start of the new school year comes personnel who are new to their positions. Instructional coaches, some classroom assistants, and grades 4-6 teachers will all have varied responsibilities to administer Acadience benchmarks and progress monitoring probes. Personnel new to their positions this year should be trained on administering the Acadience measures. There are both online and in-person training options. Principals are asked to pass the following information on to relevant personnel.

Please see the memo below for all the details.

Acadience Training Options for Instructional Coaches, Teachers, and ESPs

DATE:    
May 19, 2021

TO:   
Elementary Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Sharon Jensen, Consultant Student Support Services
Michelle Reyes, Prevention Specialist

SUBJECT:
Attendance Brochure for Back to School Night

Principals,

Please remember that Back to School Night is the best time to stress the importance of regular attendance to school and the benefits for learning. Please print some of the enclosed brochures and have them visible around the school during your Back to School Night. The brochures are available in both English and Spanish.

Research shows that Back to School Night is often the only point of contact for new families and parents who may not come to the school at any other time. Studies also show that when principals talk about attendance and the link to learning in the Back to School Night meetings it makes a difference in the communities’ perception of the importance of attendance.

We hope that your Back to School Night is wonderful and very well attended.

Attendance Brochure for Back to School Night

ATTEND. LEARN. SUCCEED

Spanish Version ATTEND. LEARN. SUCCEED