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Learn how to ensure the security of test materials, avoid and respond to test improprieties, and create a secure testing environment.
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Test Security Objectives • Understand principles of secure test administration • Understand how to maintain security of printed test materials • Learn how to avoid and respond to test improprieties
Test Security Definition and Purpose • Purpose: To protect the integrity and confidentiality of secure test items, prompts, and passages. The security of these materials is necessary so that they can be used in later years to measure trends in performance. In addition, test security helps to ensure test results can be used in accountability reporting. • Definition: A test impropriety is any instance where a test is not administered in a manner consistent with the Test Administration Manual or OAR 581-022-0610 Administration of State Tests.
Test Security Test Impropriety Statistics Some numbers from the 2013-14 school year: • 133 districts reported at least one test impropriety • 730 total improprieties were reported • 1,000 student tests were impacted Test Impropriety Trends: • Non-allowable resources (including cell phones) • Student coaching • Student given the wrong test • Student cheating and talking • Unsecure test environment • Mishandling of secure test materials • Breach of student confidentiality • Missing the shipping / data entry deadline • Student tested under wrong SSID
Test Security Secure Testing Environment • A quiet environment, void of distractions and supervised by a trained test administrator • Visual barriers or adequate spacing between students • Student access to only those supports listed in the Oregon Accessibility Manual • All paper test materials collected and accounted for after each testing event – including printed reading passages (or test items) • Student data is treated as confidential – no e-mailing names and SSIDs together
Test Security Student Coaching Definition: Providing students with any type of assistance that may affect how a student responds; includes both verbal cues and nonverbal cues to the correct answer Examples: • Leading students through instructional strategies such as Think Aloud • Asking students to point to the correct answer or otherwise identify the source of their answer • Requiring or rewarding students for showing their work • Requiring students to raise their hands and receive permission before moving on to the next item • Reading aloud test content for which the read-aloud or text-to-speech are not approved designated supports or accommodation
Test Security Potential Consequences • Test opportunities may be invalidated in cases where test validity was compromised. Students will not receive additional test opportunities. • If the district determines that the testing impropriety qualifies as gross neglect of duty, then the district must report it to TSPC within 30 days. Personnel may then be subject to disciplinary action as determined by TSPC. • Districts may also evaluate cases according to their own Human Resource policies. • Private schools and programs may have their access to state tests revoked.
Test Security Do’s… • TAs must ensure that students use the correct SSID and take the correct test. • TAs must securely shred test materials such as printed test items or reading passages, draft responses, scratch paper, or other paper hand-outs written on by students after each testing event. • Test materials must be securely stored at all times. • Test improprieties must be reported within 1 day of learning of them to ode.testsecurity@state.or.us, and the district investigation must be completed within 30 days. • If a DTC cannot investigate an impropriety, the district must assign someone else to the task.
Test Security …and Don’ts • TAs must not review or analyze secure test items • Students must not access non-allowable resources such as notes, text books, cell phones, iPods, or e-mail • Students must not remove test materials from the test environment • TAs must not copy or retain any test materials, including secure test booklets, writing prompts, or reading passages • DTCs, STCs, and TAs must not share their OAKS log-in information with anyone (even other authorized users)
Test Security Promising Practices Non-allowable resources • TAs closely review the Oregon Accessibility Manual prior to testing and examine the test environment to ensure that all non-allowable resources are removed. This includes covering up posters that contain non-allowable content. • TAs remind students of the rules and post reminders outside the lab. For cell phones, TAs create procedures for collecting all cell phones before students enter the test environment. Student cheating • TAs provide space or visual barriers between students. • TAs circulate through the test environment to monitor students. Student coaching • TAs limit interactions with students to the verbatim student directions in the Test Administration Manual and appropriately administer accommodations. • TAs do not require students to show their work or otherwise provide students with feedback during testing.
Test Security Promising Practices (cont’d) Mishandling of Secure Test Materials • Using colorful materials to identify which students have printed test materials remaining at their stations. • When setting up the test environment, the TA should ensure that the TA’s computer is set to print in the computer lab where the students are testing. • The TA uses the class roster to mark which students received printed test materials (e.g., reading passages or test items) and how many each student received. The TA then matches the class roster to the printed test materials collected at the end of the testing event to account for all printed test materials.
Test Security Promising Practices (cont’d) Student given wrong test • TA works with STC and other appropriate staff to identify students designated to take the Extended Test or to test in Braille or English-Spanish. For students on an IEP, TA reviews IEP to identify needed accommodations • STC and DTC ensure that student settings are updated in TIDE to restrict access to online tests for students taking the Extended Test and to update other test settings (e.g., language, print size) for students • Before approving students to start a test, the TA reviews student settings Student tested under wrong SSID • For young students or newcomer ELs, the school includes student picture on student SSID card • TA carefully reviews student names before approving students to test
Test Security Promising Practices (cont’d) Unsecure test environment • TA does not leave the test environment unsupervised or allow untrained staff to enter the test environment (this includes substitute teachers). Missing data entry deadline • DTC communicates with staff ahead of time about upcoming deadlines. • In case of unplanned staff absences, staff cross-train. • Several days before the deadline, the DTC ensures that all necessary materials are collected. TA review/analysis of test items • If students have a concern about a test item, the TA reads the script from the Test Administration Manual directing the student to the Student Comment Feature. • To identify content covered on the test, the TA refers to the Test Specifications and Blueprints
Test Security In a Nutshell • Only authorized staff who have signed an Assurance of Test Security Form may have access to the test environment or secure test materials. • TAs must limit interactions with students during testing to what is permitted by the Test Administration Manual and Oregon Accessibility Manual. • Scratch paper and all other printed materials written on by students during testing must be collected and securely shredded at the end of each testing event. • DTCs must report all test improprieties to ODE within 1 day. Report form is available online
Test Security Online Resources • Test Administration Manual and Best Practices Guide: http://www.ode.state.or.us/go/tam • Oregon Accessibility Manualhttp://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=487 • Promising Practices: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=2444 • Test Security Forms: http://www.ode.state.or.us/go/testsecurity
Test Security Acorns for Storage • Why is test security so important? • What are some strategies to minimize the risk of test security violations or test improprieties in general? • If you think an impropriety has occurred, what steps should you take?
