Section:
Most Recently Amended by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education: August 15, 2022
(1) A score appeal addresses a claim concerning:
(a) mis-scoring of a student's response to one or more MCAS grade 10 English Language Arts or Mathematics test items (multiple choice, short answer, composition); or
(b) miscalculation of a student's total raw score, scaled score, or both, for the MCAS grade 10 English Language Arts or Mathematics test.
(2) A score appeal on behalf of a student may be filed only by the superintendent of schools for the school district in which the student is enrolled, or by the superintendent's designee. For a student who is enrolled in a public education program that is not part of a school district, including but not limited to a charter school, an approved special education day or residential school, an educational collaborative, or a state-operated school or institutional program, the administrator of the school or program who is equivalent to the superintendent of schools shall file the score appeal. The score appeal shall be available to any student who has taken the grade 10 MCAS test or the grade 10 MCAS Alternate Assessment in English Language Arts or Mathematics. If the superintendent declines to file a score appeal on behalf of a student, the student's parent or guardian may appeal the superintendent's decision to the school committee.
(3) The superintendent shall include in the score appeal the following documentation:
(a) If the appeal concerns possible mis-scoring of test items, the superintendent submits a rationale for the request to re-score the student's responses.
If the appeal concerns the student's score on the English Language Arts composition, the rationale shall be supported by evidence from the student's composition and the MCAS Scoring Guide and student compositions (benchmarked papers) posted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to represent each of the composition score points.
If the appeal is based on results reported in the MCAS final test item analysis other than the English Language Arts composition, the rationale shall include specific evidence of the student's prior performance on the particular learning standard(s) addressed by the test item(s) at issue in the appeal.
(b) If the appeal concerns possible miscalculation of the total raw score, scaled score, or both, the superintendent submits a copy of the student's MCAS finaltest item analysis.
(c) The names and positions of district or school personnel who conducted the initial evaluation of the student's score;
(d) The student's name, state-assigned student identification number (SASID), gender and date of birth;
(e) Written consent from the student's parent or guardian to submit the score appeal;
(f) The name and code of the student's school and district;
(g) The date (month and year) of MCAS test administration for which re-scoring is requested;
(h) The student's grade level at time of testing; and
(i) The name and signature of the superintendent.
(4) The superintendent shall send the score appeal to the Commissioner as soon as possible and no later than 60 calendar days (not counting summer vacation) after the school receives the student's test results.
(a) For the English Language Arts composition test, the superintendent shall send the score appeal no later than 60 calendar days after the date the school receives the student's final MCAS results.
(b) For the English Language Arts test, and for the Mathematics test, the superintendent shall send the score appeal no later than 60 calendar days after the school receives the student's final MCAS results.
(5) The Commissioner shall review the score appeal request to ensure that it meets the requirements of 603 CMR 30.04 and any guidelines issued by the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall determine whether the student's response(s) shall be re-scored based upon the information presented by the superintendent. If the Commissioner decides that the student's response(s) should be re-scored, two professional MCAS test scorers using the established scoring method for all MCAS grade 10 English Language Arts and Mathematics tests will re-score the response(s). The re-scoring process may result in a score increase, a score decrease, or no change in score. The decision of the Commissioner shall be final.
(6) The Commissioner will, within 30 calendar days after he receives the completed score appeal request from the superintendent, notify the superintendent of his decision and the results of the re-scoring, if any. Within 21 calendar days after receipt of the Commissioner's decision, the superintendent may respond, including seeking reconsideration of the Commissioner's decision. If the re-scoring results in an increase or decrease in the student's score, the Commissioner shall correct and re-issue the MCAS Student Report for Parents/Guardians.
Regulatory Authority: 603 CMR 30.00: M.G.L. c. 69, §§ 1B and 1D; St. 2003, c.140, §119.
Disclaimer: For an official copy of these regulations, please contact the State House Bookstore, at 617-727-2834 or visit Massachusetts State Bookstore.
Last Updated: November 2, 2022
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
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