Assessment Rules

Same Form Post-test 

Rule:  Back-to-back assessments without an alternating instrument/form/level in between cannot be saved without selecting an error/override comment.

A back-to-back assessment is one that is entered with the same instrument/form/level with no alternating assessment in between.  

• The number of days between assessments is irrelevant.  Number of days is not limited to the same fiscal year or a specified number of days.

• The only exception is the BEST Plus 2.0 / Computer adaptive assessment.

For example:

1. Student is pretested with CASAS Math GOALS 2 / 921M / A 

2. Student is post-tested with CASAS Math GOALS 2 / 921M / A 

The CASAS Math GOALS 2 / 921M / A assessments are back-to-back since the pre and post tests were given with the same instrument/form/level. 

In this scenario, the user must select an error/override comment on the assessment card in order to save the assessment record. 

The error/override comment selection on the list display:    

• Incomplete test on alternate form

In this example, CASAS Math GOALS 2 / 921M / A is NOT a back-to-back assessment since an alternate assessment was given in between.  The error/override comment message will not display. 

1. Student is pretested with CASAS Math GOALS 2 / 921M / A 

2. Student is post-tested with CASAS Math GOALS 2 / 922M / A               <----------ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT

3. Student is post-tested with CASAS Math GOALS 2 / 921M / A 

Hours or Credits Between Assessments

Hours Between Assessments

The assessment overrides are based on the hours dates after the pretest. For example, 45 hours are required to be CASAS posttest eligible. If a student’s pretest and hours are on these dates:

1. Pretest: 7/1/2024

2. 10 Hours: 7/1/2024

3. 10 hours: 7/15/2014

4. 10 hours: 8/1/2024

5. 15 hours: 8/15/2024

The student would not have enough hours to be eligible for a posttest until 8/16/2024.

Notice above that the pretest and the first hours date are on the same date of 7/1/2024. 

Hours on the same date as the assessment are counted in the Instr Hrs Since Last Assess in Subj Area.

A posttest on 8/15/2024 would not have enough hours since the hours on 8/15/2024 are counted in the hours SINCE last assessment.  But there are 45 hours between 7/1/2024and 8/15/2024 so a posttest may be entered on 8/16/2024without triggering the override reason. 

The error/override comment selection on the list display:    

• Taking last GED test

• Transferring institutions

• Exiting the program

• Needs updated test score

Five Credits Between Assessments

Credits in LACES

Rules for the 5-credit minimum override:

For an enrollment credit to count for a posttest, the start and end date of the enrollment must overlap the period between the pretest and posttest. 

1. When the end date of the class is before the pretest assessment date, the class enrolled credit does not count. 

2. When the start date of the class is after the posttest assessed date, the class enroll credits do not count.  

3. Classes with start and end dates that overlap multiple assessment periods may count towards multiple posttests. 

To verify the number of Enrollment Credits a student has:

1. Select the enrollments tab. 

2. Change the enrollments view to “Enrollment Grades” to see the Enrolled Credits column. 

3. Only enrollments with Start and End Dates that overlap the period between the pretest and posttest will count towards posttest eligibility.

A student must have a total of 5+ Enrolled Credits that overlap the period between the pretest and posttest will count towards posttest eligibility.  This can be a single enrollment that has 5 Enrolled Credits or multiple enrollments that have a combined number of Enrolled Credits that is 5 or more.

Assessment Integrations

Assessments sent from external vendors are also affected by the assessment rules outlined above.  

A back-to-back assessment will not be imported, and an error message will display:

*The learner's last assessment with this vendor and subject was administered on this same form/level, and no override reason provided. 

An assessment will not be imported if the student has too few hours or too few credits between assessments and the error message will display:

*Student does not have the minimum required hours (45.00) nor enrollment credits (5.00) for this assessment, and no override reason was provided.

When an error message displays, the import file may be downloaded and the error/override comment entered on the import file, then manually re-imported at the local agency.