The Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment and Accountability Program (ACTAAP) requires that alternate assessments be used for eligible students with disabilities for whom the Alternate Portfolio Assessment is appropriate under the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that an alternate assessment system for eligible Special Education students be in place for the 2007-2008 school year. All schools with eligible Special Education students in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 shall participate in the Alternate Portfolio Assessment this school year. There is also an alternate assessment for Special Education students in mathematics at grade 9 and science at grade 10, as required by No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
The training for implementation of the Alternate Portfolio Assessment System for 2007-2008 will be September 14, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for testing coordinators and/or teachers of Special Education students. The compressed videoconferences will be broadcast at each of the sites listed on the attachment. Districts are required to send a representative to receive updated information for this school year.
Participants need to BRING the Administration Manual received by the district to the videoconference. Manuals may also be downloaded from the Arkansas Department of Education website, http://arkansased.gov by following these steps:
*Click the Testing Logo
*Choose ACTAAP, which is located on the left menu
*Click on Student Assessment, also located on the left menu
*Select Alternate Portfolio System
*Scroll down to the Administration Manual for Students with Disabilities
Please submit a registration form for each district representative attending the training session by going to http://ArkansasEd.org/reg/alternate.htm. Registration forms must be submitted via the web site, no later than September 12, 2007.