Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), enacted in the 2009 Kentucky General Assembly, required a new public school assessment program beginning in the 2011-12 school year. These assessments were collectively named the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) tests.
The assessment for grades 3-8 is a blended model built with norm-referenced test (NRT) and criterion-referenced test (CRT) items which consist of multiple-choice (mc), extended-response (er) and short answer (sa) items. The NRT is a purchased test with national norms and the CRT portion is customized for Kentucky.
NCS Pearson has been awarded the contract to provide all assessments for grades 3-8 and writing on-demand at high school.
NCS Pearson currently provides large-scale assessment services in more than 25 states and for the U.S. Department of Education.
New in 2016
Inclusion of Special Populations Regulation Update – Student-Initiated Removed
General Information: Kentucky’s procedures for the inclusion of special populations in the state-required assessment and accountability programs, found in state regulation 703 KAR 5:070, have historically required that accommodations be student initiated, not teacher initiated. The February 2014 revision of the regulation placed greater emphasis on student initiation with the broad goal being for students to gain independence and self-advocacy skills. In the regulation, school staff were required to make accommodations available to students and ask if students would like to use their accommodations. It was considered student initiated if a student responded in an affirmative or negative manner.
However, the Kentucky Department of Education is directing districts and schools ¬to cease the practice of requiring that accommodations be student initiated. Schools and districts should make available and provide all accommodations as determined by the student’s placement team or Admissions and Release Committee (ARC), unless the student specifically refuses such accommodations. All other guidance for the administration of accommodations, as defined in 703 KAR 5:070, remain unchanged.
Comparison of 2014 & 2015 Calculator Policies
2016 Accountability Calculator
Guidance on Using K-PREP in Gifted & Talented Identification
K-PREP REFERENCE SHEETS
ON-DEMAND WRITING
ODW Rubric
ODW Rubric
Scoring Criteria
Pre-Writing Space
SCORING GUIDES