Pathway 6: Assessments
Many nonpublic schools, even those that elect not to participate in State assessments, have
incorporated standardized assessments of various kinds into their instructional plans. Like their
public school counterparts, nonpublic school leaders use these tests to assess students’ progress
against uniform benchmarks and to identify areas of strength and weakness in instruction.
Standardized assessments are those that employ a systematic method of gathering information
from objectively scored items that allow the test taker to select one or more of the given options
or choices as their response. While NYSED recognizes that no standardized test or group of tests
measures all the important aspects of learning, assessments nevertheless provide an objective
perspective of teaching and learning. When nonpublic schools use standardized assessments as a
pathway, we would expect to see evidence that both functions – evidence of student progress and
a tool for improved instruction – are part of the schools’ instructional process.
The regulation establishes the following criteria for the use of this pathway:
• Assessments must be approved by the Department for the purpose of demonstrating
compliance with the requirements of Part 130,
• The assessments demonstrate students’ academic progress as they move from grade to
grade,
• The assessments are regularly used by the nonpublic school as part of its instructional
program, and
• Nonpublic schools need to demonstrate an overall student participation rate on any
approved assessments, regardless of grade level or subject, which is equal or greater to the
three-year statewide average most recently available public school participation rate for the
State Grade 3-8 Math and ELA assessments. The statewide average State assessment public
school participation rate will be available on the NYSED at
https://www.nysed.gov/nonpublic-schools ... quivalency.
There are a wide range of standardized assessments in use in New York public and nonpublic
schools that are used for a variety of purposes. They include the New York State 3-8 English and
Math exams, Regents exams, over 30 Advanced Placement exams, exams used for diagnostic
purposes, interim measures of growth and progress through unit tests, mid-terms, etc. As
explained below, however, only end-of-the-year summative/cumulative assessments are
applicable for purposes of this pathway. Approved by the Department
Approved Tests: While the Department develops a comprehensive list of approved assessments,
it should be noted that State administered assessments such as Regents exams, 3-8 Mathematics
and ELA assessments, Grades 5 and 8 Elementary and Intermediate-Level Science Tests, NYSAA,
and the NYSESLAT assessments may be used to demonstrate compliance. The list of approved
assessments will be posted on the NYSED website at
https://www.nysed.gov/nonpublicschools/ ... quivalency. Note that only summative/cumulative assessments will be
acceptable for demonstrating compliance with this pathway. Assessments that are only used in
the capacity of diagnostic, interim, or formative tests will not be included on the list of those
approved.
Approval for new tests: NYSED will post a list of other summative/cumulative assessments
which may be approved on its ORISS website. School leaders who wish to request consideration
for approval for a summative/cumulative assessment not yet approved may contact the ORISS
office at
SEsupport@nysed.gov.
Tests will be reviewed by a NYSED team consisting of those with appropriate subject matter
expertise to evaluate the design, validity, rigor, and correspondence to the subject matter covered
of the test(s). This may require documentation from, and the cooperation of, the test’s developers.
Demonstrate Students’ Academic Progress as They Move From Grade to Grade: In order to
demonstrate academic progress as students move from grade to grade the assessment should
contain a measurement of growth that shows students moving toward, or remining in, proficiency
as measured by the assessment.
Cumulative/Summative Assessments: The assessments used must be end-of-the-year cumulative
assessments or end-of-the-year summative assessments in order to demonstrate student progress
at the end of a grade level to demonstrate grade-to-grade progress.
Note: Other types of assessments do have value. Diagnostic (before instruction to identify skill
gaps), interim, and formative assessments are important tools and often inform a school’s
curriculum, staffing, etc. While they are not applicable for the assessment pathway, they may
certainly be considered within the context of traditional LSA review pathway.
At a minimum, the summative/cumulative assessments proposed by a nonpublic school to satisfy
this pathway must be validated and designed to demonstrate student academic growth across grade
levels over time. They may be culturally sensitive, they need not be in use by the local LSA, and
no specific learning standard with a covered subject must be included.
Multiple Tests: Not all standardized assessments or families of assessments address the required
subjects at the full range of grade levels, so nonpublic schools may use a combination of approved
assessments to meet the requirements of this pathway. This is acceptable as long as each
assessment is approved, administration meets the criteria above, and a sufficient number of
students participate in the assessment.
Proficiency Rate: The regulations do not specify any minimum proficiency rate, but consistent
lack of proficiency over a span of years may inform consideration of whether the tests and analysis
of the results are regularly part of the school’s instructional program, as discussed in the next point.
Regularly Used by the Nonpublic School as Part of Its Instructional Program: Consideration
of this criteria involves both regularity of use and relationship to instructional program.
Nonpublic schools proposing to use the Assessment Pathway must provide the following
information to the LSA:
• Identification of the approved (or approvable) assessments given across multiple grade
levels. Some form of end-of-year summative/cumulative assessment(s) should be
administered for each grade from 3 through 12 (though different assessments may be used
in elementary/middle/high school if necessary). Note: Assessments are not required for
kindergarten through grade 2. If a nonpublic school only serves kindergarten through grade
2, another pathway must be used.
• The assessments must cover the core subjects (that is, at least mathematics and English
language arts in the elementary grades; and additionally, science in intermediate and
secondary school, and social studies in secondary school).
• The assessments should be administered at intervals comparable to, but not necessarily
identical to, State assessments and include the core subjects. For example:
o Elementary- and intermediate-level students: New York State provides the Grades
3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests, and Grades 5 and 8 Elementary
and Intermediate-Level Science Tests;
o High School Students: New York State provides Regents examinations in ELA,
Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies; and
o English language learners (all grades): New York State provides the New York
State English as a Second Language Test (NYSESLAT) which is composed of four
sections, speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
• Describe how assessments relate to the school’s curriculum.
• Describe how results are incorporated into the school’s improvement efforts, i.e., how the
school addresses evidence of student progress, or the lack thereof, both for individual
students and improved grade-level instruction overall.
NOTE: Determining whether the school’s assessment models are regularly used and bear a
relationship to the instructional program is the only area in which an LSA should engage in
additional investigation.
Participation Rate:
The current three-year statewide average State assessment public school participation rate will be
posted at
https://www.nysed.gov/nonpublic-schools ... quivalency.
Best Practices of Test Security and Assessment:
Assessments must be administered to students in a manner that is consistent with best practices
of test security and assessment. While it is presumed there will be regularity in the testing
process, use of this pathway grants the Department, or its designee, the right to review the
integrity of the testing process. Concerns may be identified through such means as a credible
complaint to the Department about a school’s use of the tests, through the normal test analysis
process conducted by assessment developers, or by the Department. If a complaint is
substantiated, the school may be directed by the Department to use another pathway to determine
its substantial equivalence.