Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS)

FY2020 BEST Plus 2.0 Recertification Instructions

If your program uses the TABE CLAS-E Writing for pre- and post-testing, please review the recertification instructions below to be aware of the requirements your staff must complete between February 3 and March 31, 2020.

All practitioners eligible for recertification should have received a copy of the instructions from the UMass Amherst Center for Educational Assessment (CEA). The instructions were sent to the email address the CEA had on file for each practitioner, which you had a chance to review between January 6 and January 21, 2020. If you did not receive an email from the CEA titled "Please Respond: Recertification Status," please email aclstesthelp@educ.umass.edu" as soon as possible.

In April, after the recertification period is over, you will receive an email with the status of all CLAS-E Writing scorers in your program. As a reminder, CLAS-E Writing scorers must recertify annually. The only group that is exempt are practitioners who became certified during the current fiscal year (i.e., those who passed the initial certification test after July 1, 2019).

The materials needed for recertification are listed below. If your program is missing any of these materials, they must be purchased as soon as possible using a DRC order form.

Please remember that practitioners must complete the CLAS-E Writing Scoring Recertification Test individually.

CLAS-E Writing Scoring Recertification Instructions

CLAS-E Writing Scoring recertification involves conducting a Scoring Refresher, completing the FY2020 CLAS-E Writing Scoring Recertification Test, and submitting recertification test answers online.

The only group that is exempt from recertification this year are practitioners who became initially certified after July 1, 2019.

Scoring Refresher

In order to prepare for the Winter/Spring 2020 CLAS-E Writing Scoring Recertification Test, ACLS highly recommends completing the attached Refresher Packet. The packet includes 20 writing samples from last year's recertification test to practice scoring with, a blank score sheet, and the scoring key for the 20 writing samples.

CLAS-E Writing scorers may use the packet as part of a Scoring Refresher session. They may score the writing samples individually or as a group and check their answers using the scoring key. To score the 20 student writing samples, practitioners must use the following materials:

1. The CLAS-E Expository Writing Rubrics with the embedded Notes to the Scorer
2. The Supplementary Scoring Guide for the CLAS-E Expository Writing Assessment
3. The TABE's CLAS-E Writing Scoring GuideSample Responses (pages 13-61)

When determining the score for a writing sample, the Rubrics are the most important item to use. The Supplementary Scoring Guide is meant to support scorers' understanding of the Rubrics and should also be considered.

A CLAS-E Writing Scoring Refresher webinar took place in 2019. A recording of the webinar, a Q&A document, and all scoring materials with the exception of TABE's CLAS-E Writing Scoring Guide are available on the ACLS Test Help blog. To find them, click on "Protected: CLAS-E Writing Scoring Materials" under Recent Posts and enter the password binder.

CLAS-E Writing Scoring Recertification Test

Practitioners will have two months to individually score 20 writing samples and submit their answers online. Answers must be submitted between Monday, February 3 and Tuesday, March 31.

Practitioners not meeting this deadline will not be certified to score the TABE CLAS-E Writing in FY2021 unless they retake the CLAS-E Writing Scoring training.

The FY2019 CLAS-E Writing Scoring Recertification Test Packet is attached. Practitioners must use the score sheet on pages 2 and 3 to list their scores and provide clear rationales in the space provided based on the scoring materials listed above (Rubrics, Supplementary Scoring Guide, and TABE's CLAS-E Writing Scoring Guide). When ready, practitioners must enter their score sheet online at www.tinyurl.com/CLASErecert2020.

The scores provided will be scored based on exact matches to the answer key. A minimum score of 70% (with six or fewer items incorrect) is required to pass. Scores between 60%-65% (with seven to eight items incorrect) require phone remediation. Scores lower than 60% (with nine or more items incorrect) require taking another CLAS-E Writing Scoring training to be able to score in the new fiscal year. Practitioners will be notified of their recertification status, along with their Program Director, within five business days of submitting their score sheet.

Contact Information

For technical assistance and questions about recertification requirements, please contact the UMass Amherst Center for Educational Assessment at aclstesthelp@educ.umass.edu.

For assessment policy matters, please contact Dana Varzan-Parker, ACLS Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Specialist at dvarzan-parker@doe.mass.edu.

c: SABES, ACLS Staff