Testing Donut Hole: Students With No Level- May/June 2025 Special Instructions

Updated 4/29/2025

This article describes the testing donut hole and why it happens. It also has instructions for how to identify donut hole tests and apply the correct solution.

What is the testing donut hole?

Tests are used to set student entry Educational Functioning Levels (EFLs) each year. But we have two different reporting periods:

• the Federal Program year (July-June) and
• the state Contact Hours year (May-April)

This reporting date mismatch causes a problem. Tests that are OK to set the EFL for the current Federal Program year might be too old to set the EFL for next year’s Contact Hour year. SiD will not allow test results to be entered when a student is re-tested too soon for the current Federal Program year. 

It's also a problem because students may appear on next year’s Table A with no level, but won’t be blocked from entering 12+ hours until July 1 of the new Program year.

We call this the Testing Donut Hole.

Why does it happen?

SiD uses the first date of the previous Program year to choose tests for setting EFLs. On May 1, 2025, the Contact Hour year test lookback date changes for next year’s Table A. It moves from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024. But for the months of May and June, the Federal Program year test lookback date is still July 1, 2023, which affects SiD input and display screens. Until July 1, there’s a difference in which tests can be used to set EFLs for the two reporting periods. 

Few students fall into the donut hole. But you do want to test those who are eligible and attending now before they disappear.

Find students with no level

1. Make sure your attendance is up to date. Students appear on Table A only after attendance hours have been entered for the report date range.
2. Run Table A for new Contact Year: From the Reports> Attendance Reports section, select Table A (or the “No EFL” Report). Use a Start Date of 5/1/2025, and End date of 4/30/2026; view report.
3. Click the plus + to open the No Level Assigned (not tested) row.

• If no students are listed, all of your current students have valid tests for the 25-26 Contact Hour year. Stop here - you have no students with donut hole tests.
• When student names appear, click on the badge ID of the first student to go to their student record. Continue with the instructions below.
  

Identify No EFL students with donut hole tests

On the Students>Summary screen, look at the tests in the Last Test in Subject box. The box below explains each possibility:

When a test name is in red type, the student has fewer than 40 hours since the last test*. These are donut hole students/tests and need priority attention.

Dealing with May/June students with donut hole tests

For each student with a donut hole test, determine the scenario. Pay careful attention to two different numbers: (1) hours in new Contact Hrs year (since May - find these on Table A) and (2) hours since last test (on the Students>Assessments screen)*.  Then apply the appropriate solution:

Approved and expiring tests

The chart below shows the tests that are approved for use after 7/1/25.

If you run into trouble, contact [e-mail] for help.

^ǂGreen type means students are eligible to test. It does not mean students must be retested in all test families (e.g. CASAS and TABE) and all subjects in which they are eligible.

*The 40 hrs between tests rule does not apply to students who have a 40 hr waiver.