Nebraska Department of Education’s Elementary and/or Elementary Special Education
Comprehensive Statewide Assessment
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that elementary teachers new to the profession, beginning in 2006-07, demonstrate subject knowledge and teaching skills in the core academic areas of the elementary school curriculum. In 2005-06, the Nebraska Department of Education’s Elementary/Elementary Special Education Comprehensive Statewide Assessment was developed to document Nebraska’s elementary education and elementary special education teacher’s subject knowledge and teaching skills in the core academic areas of the elementary school curriculum. The Statewide Assessment is based upon Nebraska’s teacher preparation program requirements (Rule 20) and contains 14 categories related to content knowledge and teaching skills. The Statewide Assessment was administered to all elementary grade level candidates (regular and special education) in Nebraska teacher preparation institutions for the 2005-06 academic year. The Statewide Assessment is being submitted online to the Nebraska Department of Education. Candidates scoring a minimum of 14 points with no category receiving a score of 0 will be considered NCLB qualified. Additional information about the process can be found below.
What endorsements/grade levels are included?
Early Childhood Education: B-3
Elementary Education: K-6 (K-8 in self-contained classrooms)
Early Childhood Unified (viewed as a SPED assignment): B-3
Special Education–Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education: PK-3, PK-12, K-9, K-12
Special Education–Visual Impairment: PK-12
Special Education-Behaviorally Disordered: PK-12, PK-6, PK-9
Special Education-Learning Disabilities: PK-12, PK-6, PK-9
Special Education-Mild Moderate Disabilities: K-12, K-6, K-9
Preschool Disabilities: B-K
Special Education-Early Childhood Special Education: B-3
An assessment should be completed and submitted online for EACH student teaching experience that is tied to one of the endorsements listed above. The form includes an “Assignment" field. It only provides an elementary or SPED elementary choice because that is the area for which the NCLB qualified status applies. The endorsement/levels fields provide additional information about the candidate. The Early Childhood Unified endorsement should be completed as a Special Education (SPED) elementary assignment.
The site won’t open--what is the problem?
Check with your network administrator to make sure port 9001 is available.
What is the status of social security numbers?
NDE would like to connect this assessment to the teacher certification system only for the purpose of documenting that a teacher is NCLB qualified. This is NOT to say the assessment will impact certification decisions, nor will the NCLB qualified status appear on certificates. Our vision is that an individual seeking documentation of the NCLB qualified status of a teacher could search a 'to be developed' section of the online teacher certification system. The process of connecting the online statewide assessment to a teacher will be significantly easier and accurate with social security numbers.
What do we do with the paper version?
YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED to use (or maintain) the paper version. Paper versions should not be submitted to NDE.
Who will have access to this information?
NDE will have access to all entries. The institutions will be able to view and print reports only for their entries.
The paper form includes space for comments. Will this be added to the online version?
No. We assume that institutions will do what they want with comments. NDE is only collecting the quantitative information.
What if there are two entries for a candidate?
The system will assign a new number for each entry.
How controlled will the institutional password need to be?
This is an institutional decision.
Will a candidate’s record save if there is less than 14 points?
Yes. It is possible for you to submit an assessment for a candidate who does not obtain the required 14 points (with no category receiving a score of 0). A candidate who receives a score of 0 in any category will not be considered NCLB qualified.
What are future plans for documenting NCLB qualified teacher graduates?
Beginning with the 2006-07 academic year, elementary and elementary special education graduates will take the Educational Testing Services EECIA test to become NCLB qualified. The Statewide Assessment tool will no longer be used.
Click here to access the Elementary and/or Elementary Special Education Comprehensive Statewide Assessment Form