Information and Reporting Services
This memorandum is to inform Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), public school districts, and charter schools of the appropriate reason code to be entered in the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Student Information Repository System (SIRS) Level 2 Data Warehouse (L2DW) if students do not test in Spring 2022 for COVID-related reasons.
Please share this information with BOCES, district, and school personnel who are responsible for assessment administration, data reporting, and data verification processes of data as reported via the NYSED SIRS L2DW. The Office of Information and Reporting Services (IRS) has updated the SIRS manual to reflect the appropriate code protocols for each of four situations that schools may encounter this spring.
Not Tested Reason Codes for Students Who Do Not Test in Spring 2022 Due to COVID-Related Situations
NYSED (or “the Department”) is aware of several situations in which students may not be able to take tests in Spring 2022. This includes the Grades 3-8 ELA and Math, Grades 4 and 8 Science, New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), and New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA). The offices of Accountability, Curriculum & Instruction, Information & Reporting Services, Bilingual Education and World Languages, Special Education, and State Assessment have worked in collaboration to ensure this guidance appropriately addresses anticipated situations while maintaining a consistent protocol for reporting requirements throughout the State and are in line with the reporting and use of data required by the United States Department of Education.
COVID-Related Situations
Shown in the table below are descriptions of potential situations and the associated Department guidance on coding.
|
Situation |
Department Guidance on Coding |
|---|---|
|
Student has medical documentation stating that they should not participate in in-person instruction. |
Because the student has medical documentation that prevents them from participating in in-person instruction, and the tests are only available for in-person administration, the student may be coded as “Medically Excused.” Medically excused students are not included in the participation rate and academic performance calculations for accountability. |
|
Student has elected a remote option for the 2021-22 school year as offered by the school or district. |
Students may be coded for testing as “Receiving Entirely Remote Instruction” as the tests are only available in person. Entirely remote students are counted as not tested for participation rate and Level 1 for the “Weighted Average Achievement” calculations for academic performance for accountability. |
|
School building must close during the test administration due to COVID-19. |
If the school has pivoted to providing entirely remote instruction during the test administration window (including make-up periods), students may be coded for testing as “Receiving Entirely Remote Instruction” as the tests are only available in person. Students marked as “Receiving Entirely Remote Instruction” are counted as not tested for participation rate and Level 1 for the “Weighted Average Achievement” calculations for academic performance for accountability. |
|
Student is quarantined or in isolation during the test administration, including make-up windows. |
In the event that a student is unable to test due to quarantine or isolation, the determination of coding is dependent on how the school records their attendance.
As a note, this situation should be infrequent given the availability of makeup dates in the testing windows for most assessments and the CDC’s and State Health Department’s shortening of recommended quarantine periods. Students marked as “Receiving Entirely Remote Instruction” are counted as not tested for participation rate and Level 1 for the “Weighted Average Achievement” calculations for academic performance for accountability. |
Support and Additional Assistance
For overall general assistance with data reporting, verification or questions about data contained in SIRS for public and rest of state charter schools, please contact your RIC or Big 5 Data Coordinator. For information concerning SIRS reports and resources, please refer to the L2RPT support page. If you need any further data related assistance, please contact the Office of Information and Reporting Services (IRS) by entering your question via the blue “HELP” icon at the bottom right corner of each IRS subpage.
For New York City Schools:
If you need additional support, please reach out to your Borough Field Support Lead with the NYC DOE. The Office of Information Reporting Services or Datasupport will not be able to assist you.
For All New York City Charter Schools:
All NYC Charter Schools should contact the NYCDOE Charter School Help Support Desk and submit a ticket.
We thank you for the countless hours, outstanding efforts, and unending dedication to the health and safety of the students of New York during this time. We appreciate the work you do every day that makes a difference in the lives of all New York State stakeholders.
