No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)

• knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing, reading/language arts, writing and mathematics [34 CFR 200.58] ; or
  
  
• knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing, reading readiness, writing readiness and mathematics readiness. [34 CFR 200.58]

The assessment must address these areas of knowledge and abilities to comply with federal statute and regulations.

• "The law does not require a paper and pencil test." "SEAs and LEAs have flexibility to determine the content and format of any assessment of paraprofessionals. For example, while an appropriate assessment might be entirely a written test, it alternatively could be a combination of a written test on content (reading, writing, and math) and a demonstration of competence in instruction (assessed through observations via a series of rubrics)."
  

• "There must be evidence that the assessment is valid and reliable." "…the assessment should be rigorous and objective. "
  

• "Each evaluation should have a standard that the candidate is expected to meet or exceed. These standards for evaluation must be applied to each candidate in the same way."
  

• "The results of the assessment should establish the candidate's competence as a paraprofessional relative to the standards in section 1119(c)(1)(C) of the NCLB, or target the areas where additional training and staff development may be needed to help the candidate succeed at meeting the standard before being hired."
  

• "The assessment results must be documented - i.e., there needs to be a record of the assessment and the individual's performance on that assessment." "The results should be documented and the LEA should retain that documentation."
  

• "The content of the assessment should reflect both the State academic standards and skills expected for a child at a given school level (elementary, middle, or high school), as well as the ability of the candidate to assist in instructing students in the content." (SED disagrees with this.)
  

• "The paraprofessional assessment is expected to evaluate paraprofessional candidates at a level equivalent to the second year of college. Having skills at the level of the second year of college is the intent of the law." (SED disagrees with this.)
  

National Evaluation Systems (NES) has developed the NYSATAS for candidates who apply for a State teaching assistant certificate after February 1, 2004 and for NCLB purposes. The first NYSATAS administrations will be on June 21, 2003 in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, Westchester, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Plattsburgh and on August 2, 2003 in the same sites except Plattsburgh. Registration for these test dates will be available in late April by Internet or phone only. Registration information and test preparation materials are available at http://www.nysatas.nesinc.com. In addition, questions about the NYSATAS can be sent to SED at HEATAS@mail.nysed.gov.

SED is not mandating the use of the NYSATAS. LEAs may also use a local assessment.

POSSIBLE VENDOR OPTIONS FOR NCLB PURPOSES ONLY

The following two assessments from national vendors are possible options that would meet the NCLB's requirements. Please note that these options will not satisfy New York State certification requirements for teaching assistants certified after February 1, 2004.

• WorkKeys Proficiency Certificate for Teacher Assistants. ACT of Iowa City, Iowa offers a new WorkKeys Proficiency Certificate for Teacher Assistants to help LEAs comply with the NCLB. The ACT system combines testing, training and on-the-job observation and evaluation of paraprofessionals. Further information can be obtained at the ACT website at http://www.act.org/workkeys/profcert/index.html or by calling 1-800-WORKKEY.
  
  
• ParaPro. ParaPro is an assessment designed by the Education Testing Service (ETS) of Princeton, New Jersey. LEAs or consortia of LEAs working directly with ETS can administer the test, which may be taken online or in a written version. LEAs interested in using the ParaPro assessment may either call 609-771-7395 or send an email to parapro@ets.org. Some information is available at http://www.ets.org/parapro/index.html.

• the assessments address NCLB-required knowledge and ability, as defined in E1; and
  
  
• the LEA provides assurances that each locally-developed assessment it uses (or used in the past) addresses the NCLB-required knowledge and ability identified in E1.

Please note that locally developed assessments will not satisfy New York State certification requirements for teaching assistants certified after February 1, 2004.

• employment tests or interview protocols;
  
  
• paper-and-pencil tests;
  
  
• computer-assisted tests;
  
  
• tenure reviews, due to the evaluative nature of the tenure process;
  
  
• performance reviews; or
  
  
• a combination of the above and other approaches.

• consistently used for all candidates in the same school year;
  
  
• documented;
  
  
• signed and dated by the candidate and the evaluator, as applicable; and
  
  
• retained in each Title I paraprofessional's personnel file for at least six years from the end of the last school year in which the Title I paraprofessional is employed.