Massachusetts PAL Rules of Assessment Participation

By registering for PAL, you are agreeing to abide by the current Rules of Assessment Participation for PAL and all procedures and policies contained on the current www.ma-pal.nesinc.com website and/or in the current PAL Candidate Assessment Handbook.

1. PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT: I understand that this assessment is administered for the purpose of fulfilling a requirement for state principal licensure and is only to be taken by individuals to fulfill this requirement. I certify that I am taking this assessment for which I have registered for the purpose of initial school principal/assistant school principal licensure.

2. CONFIRMATION OF ORIGINALITY: I understand that by submitting my PAL materials, I am confirming either A or B:

A.

1. I am the sole author of the submissions, including written artifacts, video artifacts and commentary unless one or more of my submissions is the product of a collaboration as described in B. below.

2. I am the person who has completed the assessment and all of the submitted task work products, and I clearly explain my role in leading the teachers, staff, and other individuals for the four tasks that comprise this assessment.

3. The video clips submitted show the class I observed and my post-observation conference with the teacher about the class I observed; the materials and student work included as other documents are related to the class I observed and were completed during the observation or other lessons in the same unit of study documented in this assessment.

4. I have not shared my submissions with any other candidate or potential candidate of PAL.

5. I have attributed all materials in the assessment whose sources are from published text, the internet, or any other source, including other educators. I have identified the sources for documents included in my task submission and acknowledged authorship for documents that were created by me or other individuals or organizations.

B.

1. In the event that I am collaborating with any other individual in any aspect of PAL, I have identified any and all points of collaboration with any other individual[s]; included the rationale or purpose of the collaboration; clearly stated my role in the collaboration and the role[s] of my collaborators; and attest that my submissions, including written artifacts and commentary are entirely my own original product and not the product of anyone else.

2. The video clips submitted show the class I observed and my post-observation conference with the teacher about the class I observed; the materials and student work included as other documents are related to the class I observed and were completed during the observation or other lessons in the same unit of study documented in this assessment.

3. I have not shared my submissions with any other candidate or potential candidate of PAL.

4. I have attributed all materials in the assessment whose sources are from published text, the internet, or any other source, including other educators. I have identified the sources for documents included in my task submission and acknowledged authorship for documents that were created by me or other individuals or organizations.

3. PERMISSIONS AND CONFIDENTIALITY: I have protected the identity of people featured in my submission by removing any identifiable information including the name(s) of my district, school, institution, faculty, staff, and students. I understand that I am responsible for obtaining appropriate consents from the teacher(s) and parents/guardians of the students who appear on the video clips I submit. I agree to maintain such consents according to my preparation program policy for retaining them. I have ensured confidentiality of individuals appearing in the video clips I submit by uploading the video only to the designated Pearson ePortfolio system. I understand that I may use my assessment materials according to the parameters of the release forms obtained for children and/or adults who appear in the video. I will not display videos publicly (i.e., personal websites, YouTube, Facebook).

4. DISTRIBUTION AND POSTING OF ASSESSMENT MATERIALS: I acknowledge that I am not permitted to reproduce any of the information or materials from the PAL handbooks for commercial purposes or otherwise display publicly (i.e., personal websites, YouTube, Facebook). If I do reproduce information or materials from the PAL handbooks for personal use, I will properly attribute the copyright of such materials to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (the Department or DESE) and authorship to Bank Street College of Education.

5. USE OF ASSESSMENT: I agree that my PAL submission, including text, images, and video or audio recordings, without the use of my name or other identifying information, may be used by Pearson or other entities authorized by DESE for PAL program development and implementation. Entities must be authorized by DESE; I understand that this means I may not provide my submission, including text, images, and video or audio recordings to be used by my educator preparation program or to any potential PAL candidate for the purposes of preparing future candidates. If I provided consent as part of my response to registration questions, my submission, without use of my name or other identifying information, may also be used for continued PAL program activities conducted by authorized entities such as future validity and reliability studies and other assessment-related research of the PAL. These authorized entities will not show candidate materials publicly, make them available in a non-secure way, or use them as exemplars for marketing purposes.

6. LIABILITY OF VENDORS AND DEPARTMENT REGARDING PAL: I understand and agree that the liability for assessment activities, including but not limited to the adequacy or accuracy of assessment materials, the registration processes, scoring, score report accuracy, and information provided to me in connection with PAL, will be limited to score confirmation or PAL retake. I understand and agree that liability for data loss or file corruption associated with my PAL submission will be limited to an additional PAL submission. To the extent allowed by Massachusetts law, I waive any and all rights to all other claims, specifically including but not limited to claims for negligence arising out of any acts or omissions of Pearson and/or the Department (including the agents, employees, contractors, or professional advisors of Pearson and the Department).

7. CHANGES TO PROGRAM OR PROCEDURES: I understand that the PAL assessment and associated policies and procedures are subject to change at the sole discretion of Pearson (with Department approval) and/or the Department. The Department may make changes to their policies and requirements related to the PAL at their discretion.

8. COMPLIANCE WITH PROCEDURES: I understand that if I fail to comply with the rules, requirements, submission requirements and policies specified on the current www.ma-pal.nesinc.com website, including these Rules of Assessment Participation, or if I take any prohibited actions, or if my submitted artifacts, commentary videos, and/or other documents do not comply with the current rules and submission requirements as specified, my submission or portions thereof may not be scored, my results may be voided, my registration may be canceled, and I may be prohibited in the future from registering for PAL. In addition, I understand that assessment fraud may be grounds for denial, revocation, suspension or other sanction of any educator license issued by the Department. Legal proceedings and actions may be pursued as well as other remedies deemed appropriate by Pearson, or the Department, as appropriate. If my submission cannot be scored due to a system error upon submission, I will have the opportunity to resubmit my assessment materials. I understand that my submitted assessment materials, or a portion thereof, may be reviewed by authorized individuals at the Department in order to investigate compliance with the Rules of Assessment Participation, as needed.

9. RULES: I understand that should any of these rules or any other requirement or provision contained on the current www.ma-pal.nesinc.com website be declared or determined by any court to be illegal or invalid, the remaining rules, requirements, and provisions will not be affected and the illegal or invalid rule, requirement, or provision shall not be deemed a part of the current PAL website. The headings of each of the Rules of Assessment Participation for PAL are for convenient reference only. They are not a part of the rules themselves; they do not necessarily reflect the entire subject matter of each rule; and they are not intended to be used for the purpose of modifying, interpreting, or construing any of these Rules of Assessment Participation for PAL. I agree that any legal action arising in connection with my registration for or participation in PAL shall be brought in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and federal courts and I consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.