2014 4th Grade Writing Prompt Study ASSESSMENT/RESEARCH/EVALUATION DEPARTMENT

DISCLAIMER Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014 This PowerPoint does not eliminate your requirement to read the Test Administrator Manuals. READ THE MANUALS!!

Overview of the Prompt Study  Selected campuses will participate in English version  All 4 th grade students who will take the STAAR Spanish grade 4 writing are required to participate  Most students will be able to complete this study in approximately one to two hours; however, students may have additional time if needed  Test is composed of one essay and some multiple choice questions  Test will be administered on March 3 rd Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Test Administration Manual  Be sure to address the following information during the campus training  Responsibilities of testing personnel  Test security and confidentiality requirements  An overview of the STAAR grade 4 writing prompt study  Preparation for test sessions  Information about monitoring and completing test sessions  Test administration directions  Sign oaths Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Responsibilities of Testing Personnel  Have the test administration directions and read them PRIOR TO and DURING the prompt study  All testing personnel involved in the study must receive a copy of the administration directions  CTC’s must be on hand to answer question during the administration Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Test Security and Confidentiality EACH PERSON PARTICIPATING IN THE STATE ASSESSMENT IS REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN AND PRESERVE THE SECURITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF THIS INFORMATION. Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Test Security  All test materials must be handled in strict accordance with the test administration directions and the Test Security Supplement  All testing personnel must be trained in STAAR security and confidentiality requirements  Test administrators MUST hold the educator credentials detailed in the manual  Test Administrators must sign a security oath Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Test Security  Keep tests in locked storage when not in use  Immediately after session return test materials to the campus coordinator Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Confidentiality  Confidentiality refers to protecting the contents of each test booklet and answer document  Do not reveal or answer any questions relating to the content of the test at any time  Do not  review student responses  change a student’s answer in the answer document  instruct a student to change their answer  Be sure to administer the test exactly as instructed in the manual Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Confidentiality  Each person with access to test materials shall maintain and preserve the security and confidential integrity of the test.  No unauthorized viewing, discussing, scoring the contents of a test at any time  No one must view  the test booklets  answer documents Before, during or after a test administration Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Testing Irregularities SERIOUS PROCEDURAL STUDENT CHEATING Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Serious Irregularities  Directly or indirectly assisting students with responses to test questions  Tampering with student responses  Viewing secure test content before, during, or after an administration  Discussing secure test content, student responses, or student performance  Scoring student tests, either formally or informally  Duplicating, recording, or capturing electronically secure test content without permission from TEA Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Procedural Irregularities  Eligibility Error  IEP Implementation Issue  Improper Accounting for Secure Materials  Monitoring Error  Other Procedural Errors Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014 All suspected incidences of testing irregularities should be reported immediately to the Campus Testing Coordinator, who will submit reports to the District Testing Coordinator.

Summary of Responsibilities TESTING COORDINATORS TEST ADMINISTRATORS Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Summary of Responsibilities CTC’s  Be familiar with test administration directions  Train staff to carry out their duties  Ensure oaths have been signed  Identify all students who will participate  Schedule and prepare the rooms for the study Test Administrators (TA’s)  Read manuals  Review administration directions  Review and sign oath  Prepare test environment  Ensure proper testing procedures  Administer writing prompt study Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014 Report any irregularities to the CTC immediately

Prepare for Testing TESTING ENVIRONMENT SEATING CHARTS MATERIALS Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Testing Environment  The room should be:  Quiet  Well-lighted  Well-ventilated  Comfortable Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Testing Environment  Have all bulletin boards and instructional aids covered or removed  Have “ TESTING-DO NOT DISTURB ” signs posted  Have a trained TA present at ALL times  Have enough space for each student to work without distraction  No characteristic of the room’s environment should hinder any student’s test performance Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Seating Chart Rule  Seating Charts are required for all test administrations.  Seating Charts must include:  The first and last names of each student and their locations in the room  The first and last names of all test administrators/monitors involved in the session.  Location of testing session(district, campus, room) and a brief description of the testing area (classroom, library, etc.)  The assessment being given including grade and subject.  Starting and ending time of the session  Ending time for each student. Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Receive and Prepare Materials  Test booklets will be issued out to test administrators and recorded on the Materials Control Form  An initial in the Materials Control form signify that the TA has received the test booklets and has signed the oath  Remember - Test Security Modules must be viewed by all personnel NEW to testing  Campus Testing Coordinators must ensure the test administrators have all the required materials on the day of testing  Two No.2 pencils with erasers per student  One test booklet  One answer document per student  One answer document for demonstration purposes Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Monitor Test Administration PROPER TESTING PROCEDURES BREAKS EMERGENCIES DEFECTIVE TEST MATERIALS ANSWER STUDENT QUESTIONS COLLECT TEST MATERIALS Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Proper Testing Procedures  A trained TA must be present in the testing room at all times  There must be at least one TA for every 30 students  The TA may read aloud or sign the writing prompt to any student who requests this assistance  Reading or discussing student composition is not allowed at any time  If using electronic devices, features such as spell check and word predictability must be disabled unless the student is eligible for the spelling assistance accommodation

Proper Testing Procedures  The TA must NOT  Elaborate on prompts  Give students opening and/or closing sentence  Give students an outline for organizing their compositions  Give students ideas about how to develop their compositions  Translate the prompts into another language (except sign language) Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Proper Testing Procedures  The use of cell phones or other two-way communication devices is prohibited during testing for students and test administrators  The reason is that cell phones can….  disrupt the testing environment  be used to cheat by obtaining unauthorized assistance on test content by students, and can  be used to image secure tests and compromise the confidentiality of the test with their camera feature by students and teachers. Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Proper Testing Procedures Active Monitoring Means:  Watching students during testing. The focus of the teacher’s attention is on the students and not elsewhere.  Walking around to better observe what students are doing. ( Are students… marking answers on the answer document, not cheating, not using cell phones, not talking or communicating with other students, etc.?) Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Proper Testing Procedures  Hand out pencils and answer documents to students PRIOR to reading the directions  Remind students periodically to record their responses on their answer document  Encourage the students to stay on task  Remind students to erase any stray marks  Monitor students so that they do not talk to one another  Test a student who arrives after the session has begun if sufficient time remains in the day to provide the student with the allowed time for testing (however, student may test only if he or she has not interacted with another student who has already completed the same test Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Test Administrators - Verify, verify, verify!  During test day, if you think the student is  Taking the wrong test (English/Spanish)  Should not be using an accommodation  Should be using an accommodation that they were not given Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014 Any concerns? - Inform the Campus Testing Coordinator ASAP!

Dictionaries  ELL’s are eligible to use dictionaries as a linguistic accommodation in grades 3-12  Dictionaries are an allowable accommodation in an ELA for eligible students with special needs in grades 3-5 Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014 Dictionary used in test day must be the same type of dictionary used during instruction

During Test Administration  Ensure each student receives the correct test booklet and answer document  Ensure all Test Administrators are actively monitoring at all times  Ensure all testing personnel understand that they may NOT :  Provide assistance  View the tests without authorization  Discuss confidential student information  Check for strategies Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Breaks  Breaks are not mandatory  During breaks students must not discuss the content of the test  If a student leaves the testing room for an extended period of time and returns, the CTC must investigate and determine whether confidentiality has been breached Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014 TA’s may allow students to take brief breaks during a session

Know what to do about  Emergencies  Transcribing  Changing testing rooms  Special test situations  Each campus will have to follow their own regulation in the event of an emergency situation Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Answer Student’s Questions  TA’s may answer questions bout the test directions or procedures.  TA’s may respond: “I can’t answer that for you; just do the best you can.”  TA’s are NEVER allowed to answer any questions related to the content of the test itself.  Unless specifically directed to do so, TA’s are NOT allowed to:  Translate test questions or passages  Rephrase or add information to questions  View or discuss test questions with anyone  Score test questions and discuss with students how they performed Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Collect Test Materials  TA’s should quickly scan answer documents only to verify that responses are marked  TA’s may not look at or comment on answers to individual test questions or point out individually skipped test questions.  Before a student leaves the room, the TA must scan the completed answer document. If the student has not done so, the TA must say, “You have not recorded your responses on the answer document. Please go back and mark your answers on it now.” Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Collect Test Materials  Make sure the name of each student is written on his or her test booklet before collecting it  Remove the answer documents from the test booklets  Collect all scratch paper used  Verify that all test booklets and answer documents are accounted for  Ensure that the TEST TAKEN INFO field on the student’s answer document has been completed Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

RETURNING MATERIALS Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Returning Materials to CTC/DTC  TA’s must return all test materials to the CTC immediately after the test session  TA should:  Return all answer documents  Return any voided answer documents  Return unused answer documents  Return used and unused test booklets  Sign the oath upon completion of testing (if applicable)  All materials are due back to the A.R.E. warehouse by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, March 3, 2014 Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Document Retention  Campuses are required to maintain the following documents for a period of 5 years following a test administration  Testing irregularity and investigation documentation  Inventory and shipping records  Signed security oaths for all testing personnel  Seating charts  Miscellaneous mandatory testing forms Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014

Any Questions? Assessment/Research/Evaluation - Spring 2014