If you are a STEM or related discipline teacher please take a look at the contest information sent into us by Butler Tech IT Instructor Thomas O’Neill.

• Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM Contest

The workshop was completed on October 11, 2018. You may view a recording of online session by going to https://news.webxam.org/users-workshop/.

Every August, WebXam, the online testing portal maintained by the CETE Assessment Services Team, launches a one-month fall pretesting window. This window also occurs in January although the fall window is by far more popular.  During this window, CTE educators have the option to administer course pretests to their students as part of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES). These tests, under Category B use in OTES, support evaluation of teacher effectiveness in terms of gain from pretests to post-tests. Under Category C (local usage) pretests can be utilized with Student Learning Objectives or SLO to tailor courses more closely to standards and competencies that guide those objectives and to demonstrate gain.

During the 2018-19 fall pretesting window from August to mid-September, WebXam delivered the highest number of pretests given in this window since inception in 2014. A total of 48,561 pretests were given to 29,240 students (there are an estimated 125,000 participants in Ohio CTE programming). Comparing the fall pretesting totals of last year (41,270) to this year (48,561) indicates a 15% increase. In fact, this number is only 47 pretests different from the total number of pretests taken during the entire 2017-18 school year!

The top five courses for pretests taken in the fall window are as follows:

Why it Matters

While pretesting is currently optional for CTE programs, it is a great way to review knowledge retained by the student from previous courses to help teachers prepare their courses to allow students to be more effective during the current school year. It is a recognized way to document student gain. This documentation of student gain, as previously stated, can allow teachers to better prepare, ultimately improving teacher effectiveness, which is beneficial to the student, the teacher, local programs, and ultimately to Ohio business and industry.

Released 9/14/18, the September newsletter featured topics on:

• Close of Fall Pretesting window
• Post Testing Window Opening in October
• WebXam User’s Workshop
• Share Your Expertise in Cybersecurity – Be a SME!
• Teacher Review Workshops
• Teacher Effectiveness/Student Gain report

An archived version of this email newsletter is available here.

The Assessment Services Team at CETE has begun the process of developing the item-writing workshops for the 2018-19 school year. These item-writing workshops are when subject-matter experts work to develop new items for exams CTE students take using the WebXam online testing portal. These workshops, along WebXam technical support, are conducted in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE).

For the 2018-19 school year, the Assessment Services team will host item-writing workshops for test development by subject-matter experts (SMEs) in the career fields of Engineering and Manufacturing to develop item banks for 21 courses. We will also be hosting workshops to develop 3 item banks for a new Cybersecurity pathway in the Information Technology career field.

Participation by subject-matter experts (SMEs) is the most important element of test development. New test items do not get written without the knowledge, expertise, and participation of SMEs – thus our motto, “SMEs are KEY!”. If you are in the Engineering or Manufacturing career fields, please reach out to the CETE recruiter for more information, or visit the Registration Survey to sign up. For more details, please visit our SME Resources page or you can download our Recruitment detailer.

Released 6/14/18, the June newsletter featured topics on:

• Preparing for End-of-Year Reporting
• Visit us at Ohio ACTE Conference in July!
• WebXam User’s Survey
• Test Validation Sessions for Information Technology
• We’re looking for a few great SMEs!
• Testimonials Needed – we want to hear from you!
• Graduation Requirements/Reporting

An archived version of this email newsletter is available here.

Released 5/17/18, the May newsletter featured topics on:

• Preparing for End-of-Year Testing
• End of Year Reporting
• Kathy Summerfield Retirement
• WebXam User’s Survey
• Forms Finalization
• Test Validation Sessions for Information Technology
• Testimonials Needed – we want to hear from you!
• Graduation Requirements/Reporting

An archived version of this email newsletter is available here.

Released 4/16/18, the April newsletter featured topics on:

• Preparing for End-of-Year Testing
• WebXam User’s Survey
• Field Testing Counts
• Update on Teaching Professions Testing Requirements
• IT Item-Writing Workshops – Validation Approaching
• Graduation Requirements/Reporting

An archived version of this email newsletter is available here.

Released 3/20/18, the March newsletter featured topics on:

• Preparing for End-of-Year Testing
• Update on Teaching Professions Testing Requirements
• Field Testing Counts
• WebXam User’s Survey
• IT Item-Writing Workshops – Validation Approaching
• Testimonials Needed – we want to hear from you!
• Last Teacher Test Review of Year

An archived version of this email newsletter is available here.

Released 2/15/18, the February newsletter featured topics on:

• Teacher Test Reviews
• 2017-18 Pretest-Posttest Survey
• IT Item-Writing Workshops – Validation Approaching
• Learn more about being a SME
• Graduation Requirements/Reporting
• Deadline Changes for Field Testing

An archived version of this email newsletter is available here.