of Standards of Learning Test Security for Examiners and Proctors

‘S ofStandardsofLearningTest Securityfor Examiners and Proctors Office of Student Assessment 2013-2014

Standards of Learning Tests • High-stakes tests. • They represent: • accountability for student learning. • important decisions that can precipitate significant consequences for students and schools.

Building Security • Tests, writing prompts, student answer documents, and pre-ID labels MUST remain under lock and key while in each building. • The school test coordinator, the assistant principal overseeing testing, and the principal should be the ONLY people with a key to the testing materials.

Counting P/P Materials • Test booklet packages for each test may be opened, counted out, and resealed for distribution NO EARLIER than after student dismissal the afternoon before that test is administered. • Test prompt packages may be opened, counted out, and resealed for distribution NO EARLIER than the morning of testing, preferably within a half hour of distribution.

Counting Materials • Test booklets/prompts/test tickets MUST be counted when signed out to test examiners. • Test booklets/prompts/test tickets MUST be counted when signed in from test examiners. • The Test Booklet/Prompt Transmittal Form/ Discrepancy Report MUST account for all test booklets/prompts. • The online test ticket transmittal form MUST account for all online test tickets.

Counting Materials(cont.) • All test examiners, within the building and homebound, must sign materials out and back in on the same day. • No test examiner may keep materials overnight.

Document Security SECURITY DOCUMENTS • School Division Personnel Test Security Agreement. • Virginia General Assembly 22.1-19.1 Actions for violations of test security procedures. • Virginia General Assembly 22.1-292.1 Violation of test security procedures: revocation of license.

Document Security(cont.) • All test examiners, proctors, and hall monitors must be trained and must sign the state-generated security documents. It is imperative that they read every statement of each security agreement before signing the test security agreement.

Document Security(cont.) • Using unreleased test items in any form is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. • Copying, printing, or photocopying any test items is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. • Scoring student tests, formally or informally, is prohibited.

Document Security(cont.) • Examiners may not use the student’s mouse or keyboard to navigate the test for the student • Examiners may not prompt students to go back to any questions, including unanswered or flagged for review questions • Examiners may tell a student to make sure he/she used the pointer tool to indicate an answer if a questions appears to be unanswered

Document Security(cont.) • Help must not be given on specific test items. Examples of prohibited help include but are not limited to: pronouncing words, rewording the question, providing hints and clues, giving reminders, giving verbal indications or non-verbal cues about the correctness of a student’s answer.

Document Security(cont.) • Examiners/proctors may not spend time reading any test items, creating any type of answer key to the test items, copying test items or portions of test items, taking notes about test items, recording student responses to test items, or discussing test items with anyone .

Document Security(cont.) Virginia General Assembly 22.1-19.1 Actions for violations of test security procedures • Permitting unauthorized access to secure test material. • Divulging contents of any portion of a secure test. • Altering test materials or examinees’ responses in any way.

Document Security(cont.) Virginia General Assembly 22.1-292.1 Violation of test security procedures: revocation of license • The Board of Education may revoke or suspend the administrative or teaching license it has issued to any person for violation of test security procedures.

Document Security(cont.) • All persons are prohibited from providing a student with any type of cues or assistance that could be interpreted as helping him/her with the test. Examiners and proctors may not: • answer any questions other than those related to the instructions. • use sounds, pointing, or body language to provide a clue or a hint to a student during a test. • allow a group of students to leave the test site on their own during testing for any reason. • dismiss a student from an online session until his/her test ticket and all scratch paper has been collected. • dismiss a student from a testing session until his/her test booklet/prompt and all scratch paper has been collected.

Document Security(cont.) • No testing information shall be discussed between students and/or staff. • Test items may NOT be discussed at any time before, during, or after testing. • At no time should anyone review/read student writing responses/answer documents. • Changing test locations, the test examiner and/or proctor must transport the test materials, and students must not talk to each other.

Examiner Training • All test examiners, interpreters, proctors, and hall monitors must be trained on acceptable test procedures and protocols. • Additional personnel should be trained as examiners in the event classroom teachers are absent or an additional examiner is needed for an accommodation group.

Examiner Training(cont.) • Examiner’s manuals must be distributed prior to the first day of testing. • All personnel who may serve as an examiner or proctor for oral or read-aloud test administrations MUST be provided training on acceptable procedures.

Faculty Assistance • Non-testing faculty assist in maintaining quiet testing hallways by not allowing non-testing students on those hallways: • to visit lockers. • to use the restroom. • to travel to their next class(es) unmonitored.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff • Although SOL tests are untimed, they must be completed in one school day. • Notify the main office, security desk, and assistant principal in charge of fire drills of the testing schedule. • No music can be played during testing. • No food, candy, or drink may be present or consumed during testing.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) • Testing breaks: • occur in response to IEP, Section 504, or LEP directives. • occur in response to VDOE directions. • occur ONLY after test booklets/prompts have been temporarily collected. • do NOT include talking or eating.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Testing Groups • Small testing groups with no oral accommodation (neither teacher nor student reads or answers orally), should be no larger than ten students.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Testing Groups • Small oral testing groups should include: • no more than seven students. • students similar in ability and be small enough that no student is adversely affected by another student’s ability level.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Reading Directions In All Settings • Examiners MUST be provided with the appropriate Examiner’s Manuals PRIOR to the day of testing. • Examiners MUST read and become familiar with the Examiner’s Manual and test-specific directions. • Directions MUST be read verbatim. • If you make a mistake in reading a direction, stop and say, “No, that was wrong. I must read it to you again. Listen again.”

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Manipulative Use Dictionaries • Dictionaries are permitted for the paper/pencil writing prompt only. • Dictionaries must not include a thesaurus section. • Online spell checkers must NOT be automatic. The student must select that feature. • Bilingual dictionaries must be hard copy only.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Manipulative Use Calculators • Calculators must be only those models identified in the Examiner’s Manuals. • Calculators should be the model the student uses daily in the classroom. • Graphing calculators must be cleared prior to the start of testing.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Distributing Materials In All Settings • Test booklets, prompts, scratch paper, and manipulatives MUST be distributed to each student separately. • Student names MUST be written on test booklets, writing prompts, and every sheet of scratch paper.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Collecting Materials In All Settings • Whether in the regular test setting or in an alternate site, at the conclusion of testing, test booklets, prompts, scratch paper, and manipulatives must be collected from each student separately to ensure that all materials are returned, including the same number of pieces of scratch paper as he/she received.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Make-Up Testing • Students who miss the non-writing or either portion of the online Writing test will use a main test form for make-up testing. • Students who miss the short paper prompt for the Writing paper/pencil test will use an alternate Writing prompt form for make-up testing.

General Guidelines for Testing Staff(cont.) Irregularity Make-Up Testing • Students involved in a testing irregularity that necessitates retesting will use an alternate test form for the affected test: writing prompt, writing multiple-choice, and non-writing multiple-choice.

Handling Secure Test Materials • The school test coordinator, the assistant principal overseeing testing, or another principal-designated administrator MUST be present when: • test booklets/prompts/tickets are counted and separated for classrooms, • test booklets/prompts/tickets are being distributed to and collected from teachers, and • test booklets/prompts/tickets are being packed for return.

Instructions for Test Site Preparation • All instructional materials on walls and windows must be removed OR covered. • All instructional materials in the hallway must also be removed OR covered. COVER WITH NEWSPRINT, BULLETIN BOARD PAPER, OR CONSTRUCTION PAPER.

Instructions for Test Site Preparation(cont.) Appropriate Physical Conditions Place a “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on the door of each testing site.

Instructions for Test Site Preparation(cont.) • Test locations should be quiet, well-lighted, and ventilated. • Arrange desks to provide space for all necessary testing materials: an open test booklet, answer document, a laptop, and any materials required for the test including any specified accommodation(s).

Instructions for Test Site Preparation(cont.) • Desk arrangement should prevent visual access from one student’s work to another. • Computer monitor screens must be blocked from view of other students for online testing.

Justification for Accommodations • Students should ONLY receive allowable accommodations they receive on a regular basis during classroom instruction and assessment. • Adding new accommodations may impede the students’ ability to demonstrate achievement.

Keep a Proctor With an Examiner • All test sites with students receiving accommodations: • Student dictation to scribe on the direct writing test. • Any individual student testing. • Calculator use.

Keep a Proctor With an Examiner(cont.) • All test sites with students receiving accommodations (cont.): • Read-aloud test administration. • Verbal answer test administration. • Student reads aloud to self. • Dictation to a scribe. • All test sites with oral responses or read-aloud administrations must be tape recorded.

Leaving the Room • Students who leave the testing room to go to the restroom or the clinic may return and complete testing IF: • they are accompanied the entire time by an adult. • they do not discuss the test.

Leaving the Room(cont.) • Test examiners may not leave the room unless another adult trained in testing procedures is present. • A plan must be in place to address an emergency situation when a test examiner must leave the room due to unanticipated illness, etc. • The plan must include: • steps for securing temporary monitoring by personnel trained in testing procedures. • a method for notifying the STC.

Monitoring Test Administrations • Test examiners and proctors are expected to actively monitor students during the test administration. • Examiners and proctors should not engage in activities that distract them from monitoring students such as: • checking email • reading • grading papers • typing, etc.

Monitoring Test Administrations(cont.) • students daydreaming/off task, • students’ wandering eyes, • students using hand-held electronic devices,

Monitoring Test Administrations(cont.) • students using inappropriate manipulatives, and • students are not accessing notes or consulting textbooks for information.

Necessary Steps to Address Irregularities • All irregularities MUST be reported to the STC. • The STC will consult with the Office of Student Assessment (OSA) to determine the appropriate course of action.

Necessary Steps to Address Irregularities(cont.) • Irregularities that involve retesting are assigned an alternate form of the test. • Irregularities that involve a security breach MUST first be reported to the STC.

Necessary Steps to Address Irregularities(cont.) • An irregularity occurs when a student: • becomes ill. • cheats. • refuses to test. • does not receive IEP, 504, or LEP -identified accommodations. • receives the wrong accommodation.

Necessary Steps to Address Irregularities(cont.) • Irregularities occur when an examiner: • provides improper assistance. • leaves a test site without another examiner to relieve him/her. • turns off the tape recorder during a“read-aloud” session. • provides a non-approved calculator or fails to clear the calculator prior to a test session, if required.

Necessary Steps to Address Irregularities(cont.) • Irregularities occur when: • a test book/prompt/ticket/pre-ID label is missing. • an answer document with demographic information and/or answers is missing. • any secure material discrepancy is found during the return of test material to STC.

Online Testing • Online test sessions must have at least two adults in the testing location.

Problems With Writing Prompts/Test Items • If a student asks a question that refers to the mechanics of testing, it can be answered. • If in doubt, when a student asks a question, say, “I can not respond.”

of Standards of Learning Test Security for Examiners and Proctors