• Mission Statement

    The primary mission of the Office of Testing, Enrollment, and Accountability (TEA) is to provide data, support, and customer service to all stakeholders with precision, promptness and professionalism. 

     

    Objectives

    • Correctly implement and administer all assessments embedded within the State Testing Program.
    • Collect, analyze, and report data accurately that is easily accessible, understandable, and applicable for supporting the district’s goals and strategic plan.
    • Assist all schools with the Student Information System and Instructional Support Online Platforms to support continuous improvement for district, school, and student outcomes.
    • Provide families with the information needed for school registration, placement and transfers.

     

    Areas of Support

    ActiveParent  ActiveParent is a web-based application that parents can use to keep track of students’ records. Accounts can be requested by completing the ActiveParent Account Request Form at the time of registration.

    Compulsory Attendance  HCCSD is committed to identifying strategies to decrease absenteeism and truancy and increase the graduation rate. Mississippi law requires regular school attendance for every child who has reached the age of six on or before September 1 of the current calendar year and has not reached the age of 17 on or before September 1 of the current calendar year. As a result, we strive to educate our parents, students and community on guidelines, policies and procedures regarding attendance.

    Student Registration  Online registration will be available in the Spring of 2020. In the meantime, please contact the Office of TEA or the schools for more detailed Information about registration requirements.

     

    Assessments Required by the State of Mississippi

    ACT  The ACT assessment is a curriculum— and standards-based educational planning tool that assesses students' academic readiness for college. The ACT is administered to all students classified as eleventh grade students during the academic year. Ungraded students whose birthdays link them to the cohort of students identified as eleventh grade students will also be included.

    English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT)  The CTB LAS Links Assessment System is a secure, large-scale, English language proficiency assessment administered to Kindergarten through 12th graders who have been officially identified as English learners (ELs). This assessment is administered annually to monitor English learners' progress in acquiring academic English. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires that the Local Education Agency (LEA) must assess all ELs using the annual English language proficiency assessment, including those students whose parents have declined to enroll them in, or had them removed from, Language Instruction Education Programs (LIEPs).

    Kindergarten Readiness Assessment  The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment provides parents, teachers, and early childhood providers with a common understanding of what children know and are able to do upon entering school. The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment is also used to measure how well Pre-K programs prepare four-year-old children for kindergarten based upon the Mississippi Early Learning Standards for Classrooms Serving Four-Year-Old Children. The primary purpose of the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment is to improve the quality of classroom instruction and other services provided to students from birth to 3rd grade.

    Literacy-Based Promotion Act Assessment  Passed during the 2013 legislative session, the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA) places an emphasis on grade-level reading skills, particularly as students’ progress through grades K-3. Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, a student scoring at the lowest achievement level in reading on the established state-wide assessment for 3rd grade will not be promoted to 4th grade unless the student qualifies for a good cause exemption. The LBPA was amended in 2016 and includes changes such as an Individual Reading Plan (IRP) and increased expectations for 3rd grade students beginning in 2018-2019.

    Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP)  The Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) is designed to measure student achievement in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, and US History. Students are assessed in grades 3 through 8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, grades 5 and 8 Science, Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and US History. The results of all MAAP assessments provide information to be used for the improvement of student achievement.

    Mississippi Academic Assessment Program – Alternate  Mississippi is required under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) to provide high-quality alternate assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD). These alternate assessments must be aligned to academic content standards that apply to all students in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics in grades 3-8 and once in high school. They must also align to content standards for Science in at least one grade in each of the 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade ranges.

     

    District Required Assessments:

    Universal Screening  Universal screening assessments are administered to all students in the areas of Reading and Math three times during the year to provide an especially critical first look at individual students and help identify students who are at risk for learning difficulties. These brief assessments are a component of our response to intervention, which involves a strategic approach to providing tiered, evidenced-based strategies for students who are at risk for falling below grade-level expectations.

    Benchmark Assessments  Our Benchmark Assessments are designed to gauge the academic progress of students and to provide feedback that can be used by teachers to guide instruction. Benchmark assessments are administered in the areas of Reading, Math, Science, Biology I, and U.S. History at the conclusion of each nine-week each term. The goal of benchmarking is to identify students’ academic strengths and weaknesses and use that information to guide future instruction, and support success on State Level Assessments.