In response to the ongoing challenges schools have faced due to COVID-19, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 67 that allows juniors and seniors to use course grades in place of or in addition to test scores for the 2020-2021 school year to meet graduation requirements.
In response to the ongoing challenges schools face due to COVID-19, the Ohio General Assembly passed an amended version of House Bill 67. HB 67 includes language that allows juniors and seniors to use course grades in place of or in addition to test scores for the 2020-2021 school year to meet graduation requirements. Please review the policy documentation on ODE’s Career-Technical Education Assessment System webpage.
Once details are finalized WebXam will announce and provide data submission templates and grade submission deadlines for participating school districts. School districts must provide the required data during the allowed timeframe to ensure proper reporting. There will be no additional windows for reporting grades.
End-of-course assessments are a way to assess technical knowledge and skill attainment by the students. Teachers can analyze end-of-course assessment data to identify student performance gaps. After identification of student learning gaps, teachers can provide interventions and remediation to students to close the performance gaps. Documentation of technical attainment can allow teachers to better prepare, ultimately improving teacher effectiveness, which is beneficial to the student, the teacher, local programs, and to Ohio business and industry. Schools should post-test juniors and seniors first, and if the grade substitution is advantageous for the student for the 2020-2021 school year, districts may use the grade substitution option.
The Ohio Department of Education and WebXam are pleased to announce that WebXam tests now may be retaken in the same school year by graduating students after allowing for additional instruction time. This change enhances opportunities for students to demonstrate technical skills attainment for the purpose of graduation and report cards. The policy for WebXam same-year retakes includes:
Graduating students may retake most WebXam tests once in their final school year;
A retake must be scheduled at least 30 days after the original assessment was performed;
Field tests may not be retaken due to the length of the tests and earlier closing of the field test window.
Released December 16, 2020, the December newsletter featured topics on:
Winter Pretesting Window Extended
No Pretesting for Construction Technologies
Posttesting Reminders
Participate in Upcoming Item-Writing Workshops
WebXam 2020-2021 Calendar
CTE COVID-19 Information
Correction:
In the December email newsletter the “Posttesting Reminders” article originally listed April 9th as the last day for posttesting for school districts participating in teacher effectiveness reporting. The correct deadline is April 23, 2021. Pretesting and teacher effectiveness are both optional. ODE does require post tests for Ohio’s CTE and FCS programs.
An archived version of this email newsletter is available here.
Info: All WebXam Construction Field Tests have been released and are available for testing as of 1/28/21.
As October wraps up and we move into November, an important date on the WebXam calendar is approaching fast. On November 2nd, all posttests and field tests will be available.
During the shutdown as a result of the pandemic, some of the test development process for writing new assessments in the Construction Technologies career field was not completed. However, this process has begun again and we are happy to inform teachers that the following tests are available for field testing starting November 2nd.
Number
Course Name
178000
Construction Technology – Core and Sustainable Construction
178001
Carpentry and Masonry Technical Skills
178002
Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Systems
178003
Structural Systems
178004
Structural Coverings and Finishes
178007
Construction Electrical Systems
178008
Residential Electrical Systems
178009
Commercial and Industrial Construction Electrical Systems
178012
Heating and Cooling Systems
178013
HVAC Refrigeration
178014
Sheet Metal
178018
Construction Safety and Crew Leadership
178019
Plan Reading
178022
Construction Management
178023
Remodeling/Renovation
178026
Heavy Equipment Operations
178027
Construction Site Preparation
178030
Principles of Woods Construction
178040
Fundamentals of Architecture
These tests contain approximately 90 items, so it is important to schedule the appropriate time frame for students to finish the testing in one sitting.
When the shutdown occurred, we had a number of Construction courses that were not completed. These courses are not currently available, but will be made available as soon as they are ready.
Number
Course Name
178005
Masonry
178006
Concrete and Residential Masonry
178010
Plumbing and Pipefitting Systems
178011
Residential and Commercial Plumbing Systems
178015
Telecommunications/Low Voltage Systems
178016
Alternative Power Generation Systems
178017
Powerline/Hi-Voltage Power Transmission
178020
Architecture Design – Structural and Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing
178021
Architecture Design – Site and Foundation Plans
178024
Facility and Building Maintenance
178025
Custodial Services
178028
Interior Design
If you are interested in participating in the item-writing process for these courses, please contact us at: cete-recruiting@osu.edu.
Be sure to complete your field testing before April 23rd, 2021.
For more information the testing schedule, please refer to the WebXam Calendar.