14 Del. Admin. Code § 101-12.0 - Invalidations and Special Exemptions
12.1 There may be invalidations for students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, students in grades 5, 8, and 10 in Science; and students in grades 4 and 7 in Social Studies; and high school students taking U.S. History (EOC). An Invalidation is a response to an event or situation that occurs during the administration of the assessments which may result in a statistically unreliable or invalid score report for a student. Invalidations may occur as a result of either: intentional student conduct, including but not limited to cheating and disruptive behavior; or unforeseen and uncontrollable events, including but not limited to onset of illness.
12.1.1 Reporting of events or situations that occur during assessment.
12.1.1.1 The school building principal or designee shall notify the District Test Coordinator in writing within 24 hours of events or situations that the principal reasonably believes may result in an invalid score report for a student(s).
12.1.1.2 The District Test Coordinator or School Test Coordinator shall notify the Department staff person assigned to the district or charter school for assessment security purposes as soon as the Coordinator learns of events or situations which may result in invalidation(s).
12.1.1.2.1 The District Test Coordinator or School Test Coordinator shall submit an Incident Report Form within three business days of the events. Written reports from the building principal or designee and any staff must be included with the Incident Report.
12.1.1.3 The State Director of the Office of Assessment for the Department shall determine whether the reported events warrant invalidating a student(s) score and such decision shall be final.
12.1.2 Consequences of invalidations.
12.1.2.1 Whenever the State Director of the Office of Assessment for the Department determines that a student's assessment score is invalid as a result of an intentional act of the student, the student may be assigned a Performance Level 1 or other action recommended by a review committee, made up of Department staff, and agreed upon by the Secretary of Education or designee, for that assessment. The assessment score of any such student shall be reported and counted in the assessment scores of the student's school for all purposes, including school and district accountability.
12.1.2.2 Whenever the State Director of the Office of Assessment for the Department determines that a student's assessment score is invalid as a result of an event which is unforeseen and beyond the control of the student and if the student is unable to participate in a make up assessment, the student shall not be subject to any of the consequences as would otherwise be imposed pursuant to law; the assessment score of any such student shall not be reported or counted in the test scores of the student's school for any purpose, including school and district accountability.
12.2 Special Exemptions for students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 for Reading and Mathematics, students in grades 5, 8, and 10 in Science; and students in grades 4 and 7 in Social Studies.
12.2.1 A special exemption may be available when one of the following applies:
12.2.1.1 The student is suffering from severe illness or injuries or the student has recently experienced severe traumatic events;
12.2.1.2 The student is receiving services at an out-of-state residential program that is approved by the student's Individual Education Program (IEP), is medically admitted, or is ordered by the court;
12.2.1.3 The student is receiving services at an in-state program that is not a Consortium Discipline Alternative Program (CDAP) as defined in 14 DE Admin. Code 611, or is not under the supervision of the Division of Services for Children, Youth and their Families (DSCYF). The exemption may apply to a student serving time at an adult prison; or
12.2.1.4 Other situations identified by the school, and evaluated and approved by the Department.
12.2.2 The District Test Coordinator or School Test Coordinator shall submit a Request for Special Exemption to the State Director of the Office of Assessment at the Department within ten (10) days of the date the school becomes aware of the student's issue. A copy of the healthcare provider's statement shall be required for 12.2.2.1 in the preceding subsection and shall be maintained as documentation at the school or district.
12.2.2.1 The State Director of the Office of Assessment shall convene a review committee of not less than three Department staff to review requests for special exemptions.
12.2.2.2 The Office of Assessment shall decide whether a request for a special exemption should be granted. The Office of Assessment shall notify the District Test Coordinator or School Test Coordinator of the decision. The Office of Assessment decision shall be final.
12.2.3 Consequences of Special Exemptions.
12.2.3.1 Any special exemption granted by the Department is limited to the assessment period for which it was requested and does not carry forward to future assessment administrations.
12.2.3.2 Students who are granted a special exemption shall be included in the participation rate calculation for school and district accountability pursuant to 14 DE Admin. Code 103.2.4.
12.2.3.3 Students who are granted a special exemption shall not be subject to any of the student testing consequences, as applicable.
Notes
8 DE Reg. 425 (9/1/04)
10 DE Reg. 676 (10/01/06)
10 DE Reg. 1425 (03/01/07)
14 DE Reg. 1340 (06/01/11)
18 DE Reg.
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