COLORADO STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Department of Education
RULES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE RATING
1 CCR 301-75
Authority:
This regulation is adopted pursuant to Article IX, Section 1, Colorado Constitution. 22-2-106(1)(a) and (c); 22-2-107(1)(c); 22-7-409(1.5); and 22-7-604(3)(e)(I) and (II), of the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.).
1.00	Statement of Basis and Purpose.
The statutory basis for these rules is found in 22-2-106(1)(a) and (c), State Board Duties; 22-2-107(1)(c), State Board Powers; and 22-7-604(3)(e)(I) and (II), (C.R.S.).
Section 22-7-604(3)(e)(I) and (II), C.R.S., requires the State Board of Education to promulgate rules as necessary for the implementation of paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of 22-7-304, C.R.S., including defining inadvertent errors in the administration of an assessment.
2.00	Definitions.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
2.00(1)	Department: The “Department” refers to the Colorado Department of Education that was created and exists pursuant to section 24-1-115, C.R.S.
2.00(2)	Error [in test administration]: An “error” in test administration shall be any action taken by a proctor, examiner, or staff member (who has access to a state assessment or ACT or their proctoring materials) that is not expressly permitted in assessment manuals or in state procedures or processes.
2.00(3)	Inadvertent Error [in test administration]: An “inadvertent error” may include any obviously unintentional test administration action not expressly prohibited in the written assessment manuals, state procedures, processes or laws.
2.00(4)	Misadministration: A “misadministration” shows a lack of compliance with respect to observing protocols concerning the administration of state sponsored tests. Resulting in the invalidation of a student score, a misadministration refers to the action of a proctor, examiner, or staff member (who has access to the tests and test proctoring materials) that is non-standard or unethical practices according to the state assessment manuals and state assessment training presentations published each year by CDE and the test vendor.
2.00(5)	What is not included in a definition of an “Inadvertent Error” : Foreseeable mistakes “are not inadvertent errors.” When an individual displays a lack of care, the resulting error is not considered inadvertent.
2.00(6)	State Board: The “State Board” refers to the Colorado State Board of Education that was created and exists pursuant to Section 1 of Article IX of the Colorado State Constitution.
2.01	Implementation Procedures.
2.01(1)	Inadvertent Errors. Beginning with scores calculated pursuant to 22-7-604 (3), C.R.S., using the results of assessments administered in the 2007-08 academic year, the Department shall identify and implement alterations in the calculation method, or other appropriate measures, to ensure that, to the fullest extent practicable, a public school is not penalized in the calculation of the school’s CSAP-area standardized, weighted total score by inadvertent errors committed in the administration of an assessment. The decision by the commissioner of education that an error is or is not inadvertent shall be final and shall not be appealable to the State Board.
2.01(2)	Actions not considered Inadvertent Errors. This list is illustrative. It describes actions that show a lack of care and consequently cannot be called inadvertent errors:
1.	Makes copies, by any means, of a copyrighted test and/or test item(s), or copies any part of the test, including student responses (whether or not the copies were distributed and or used or not);
2.	Administers a test in a manner not in accordance with the instructions in the test proctor manual, examiner manual and/or in the test itself;
3.	Posts materials in the test area guiding students to correct responses;
4.	Administers a section of the test other than the required section during a set time;
5.	Reads the reading prompts to a student or students;
6.	Does not follow the time limits of the assessment (exclusive of proper accommodations for extra time);
7.	Gives oral or visual prompts to students (exclusive of proper accommodations for such prompts);
8.	Asks student or students to change answers or take the test again; or
9.	Loses control of or not able to account for an assessment or assessments during the test window (chain of custody of assessment materials).
2.01(3)	Performance Rating Notation. If the Department cannot calculate a public school’s CSAP-area standardized, weighted total score without penalizing the public school for inadvertent errors committed in the administration of an assessment, the Department shall include on the public school’s school accountability report a notation specifying what the school’s overall academic performance rating would have been had it been calculated without including the scores that resulted from the misadministered assessment.
2.01(4)	Ruling on a District Claim of an Inadvertent Error. Before the Colorado Department of Education may rule on a claim of an inadvertent error, the Commissioner of Education must receive a written request on behalf of the school from the Superintendent for the local district. The written request for the Commissioner to review the case must describe the grounds giving rise to the requested review. Before submitting such a request, the district superintendent must conduct a comprehensive investigation, must find that the error was inadvertent, and then must submit the documentation for review to the Colorado Commissioner of Education at the Colorado Department of Education. The decision by the Colorado Commissioner of Education shall be final and cannot be appealed to the State Board of Education.
2.01(5)	Training Preparations: Each school year, the Colorado Department of Education provides a Procedures Manual, accommodations manuals for English language learners and for students with special needs and general accommodations. Training and materials include a confidentiality agreement. The vendor provides comprehensive test proctor and examiner’s manuals that must be understood and used in the course of administering the assessments. All training must be provided by the District Assessment Coordinator, the School Assessment Coordinator or a designated, licensed staff member charged with training responsibilities.
2.01(6)	Calculation of the SAR. Should the Colorado Commissioner of Education determine that there was an inadvertent error in the administration of the test or tests, the scores for those tests shall be removed from the calculation of the SAR. Without a valid score, hypothetical scores shall not be contrived for inclusion in the rating of the school.