Online Test Security Training for Districts

Agenda Items

• Welcome
• Communication and Support
• Policy and Key Terms
• Scheduling
• Monitoring
• Preventing Plagiarism
• Testing Students with Accommodations

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Welcome

Welcome

Purpose

This presentation is designed to provide test coordinators and administrators with an overview of test security procedures for online assessments.

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Objectives

Through this overview coordinators and administrators will be prepared to:

1. Maintain test security during administration of state online assessments.

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Communication and Support

Communication and Support

• Multiple avenues exist to acquire information and/or receive assistance during test administrations.

• Contact your school test coordinator
• K-3 Literacy Screener – School Reading Interventionist
• LEAP Testing – Principal Designee
• District Test Coordinator
• Cody Cole
• ccole@beau.k12.la.us
• Backup Test Coordinator
• Taurie Burnett
• thburnett@beau.k12.la.us

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Policy and Key Terms

Access: Definition and Processes

Definition:

Access is defined as handling the materials, reading, reviewing, or analyzing test items or student responses, either before, during, or after testing except where providing approved accommodations.

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Processes for limiting access:

• Limiting keys to locked secure areas
• Conducting all precoding and sorting of materials in central secure locations

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Secure Materials: �Definition and Procedures

Definition:

Secure materials are test materials that contain administration test items or student responses and to which access is restricted.

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Secure test materials include:

• student test booklets,
• student answer documents, and
• any other materials containing test items or student responses (e.g., scratch paper).

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Processes to ensure the proper accounting of materials:

• Materials to remain with security trained personnel or locked away

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Violations of Test Security: �Related Policy

Violations of test security are defined in Bulletin 118 and include:

• Administering tests in a manner that that would give examinees an unfair advantage or disadvantage
• Giving examinees access to test questions prior to testing
• Examining any test item at any time (except for providing certain accommodations)
• At any time reproducing or discussing all or part of any secure materials
• Coach or interfering examinees in any manner during testing
• Altering or interfering with examinees’ responses in any manner
• Administering previously administered or current forms of any state-wide assessment
• Failing to account for and secure test materials
• Conducting testing in alternate environments without approval
• Failing to report any testing irregularities
• Participating in, encouraging, or failing to report any violation

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Violations of test security can result in the revocation of a teaching or leadership certificate as defined in Bulletin 746.

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Testing Irregularities: �Definition and Reporting

Definition:

A testing irregularity is any incident in test handling or administration that leads to a question regarding the security of the test or the accuracy of the test data.

Process for reporting:

• All testing irregularities must be reported in writing to the School Test Coordinator, who must then send the written reports to the District Test Coordinator.
• Districts may only send the following information to LDOE
• Louisiana Secure ID (10 Digit ID from JCampus)
• First letter of first name
• First three letters of last name
• Birth date only (excluding birth month and birth year)

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Testing Irregularities: Examples

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Scheduling

Scheduling Guidance

Scheduling practices that limit interaction between tested and untested students as well as maintain a secure environment lessen opportunities for testing irregularities to occur. Examples of good scheduling practices include:

• Limiting reopened test sessions by having students complete test sessions within a single seating
• Scheduling students participating in the same test to be assessed at the same time or within the same day with no interaction
• Administering make-up test on the day the student returns in order to eliminate interaction with others already tested
• Utilizing a proctor to maintain security of any student that needs to leave the testing environment during the test

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Submitting Schedules

Testing Dates: Set by school test coordinator

Schedules must include:

• Dates of testing for the school
• Approximate time testing will begin each day
• Subjects that will be tested that day

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Monitoring

Active Monitoring: Definition

Definition:

Active monitoring means that test administrators should be actively engaged in observing students’ behavior at all times during the administration of state assessments.

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Practices to ensure active monitoring:

• Active monitoring involves moving about the testing area so students’ actions can be viewed from multiple vantage points.
• Test administrators should not be engaged in other activities that would distract or prevent them from accomplishing this task.
• Test administrators should glance down at the tops and margins of the test booklets to ensure that students are working in the correct portion of the test, but should not read any portion of the test.
• Test administrators must maintain test security during breaks by limiting the interaction students have with each other.
• Test administrators testing in a small group should pay attention to ensure students receive the appropriate accommodations at the appropriate times.

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Active Monitoring: �Violations of Test Security

It is considered a violation of test security for test administrators to do any of the following:

• View test content for any reason other than to ensure students are working on the correct area
• View test content long enough to determine the essence of a question or prompt
• Look at the test booklet to determine if a student marked responses for every question
• View a testing booklet to see if a student used a strategy
• Memorize test questions
• Copy test questions
• Examine a graph or illustration

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Preventing Plagiarism

Plagiarism: �Definition and Preventative Practices

Definition:

Plagiarism occurs when a student duplicates another student’s response or an external source. Examples include similar responses across multiple answer documents and use information from internet resources.

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Practices to prevent plagiarism:

• Administer the assessment to students taking the same test within the same day
• Limit exposure of the tests by scheduling in such a way that all students are testing at the same time
• Prohibit or limit the presence of cell phones and other electronics within the testing environment
• Limit access to backpacks and other belongings during the administration

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Testing Students with Accommodations

Testing Students with Accommodations

Test administrators testing students with accommodations should be provided with the following:

• Documentation identify necessary student accommodations.

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Test administrators testing students with accommodations, including small group, are expected to actively monitor during administration including moving about the room and ensuring limited student interaction during any breaks.

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