Test Security (Required for DTCs, STCs, and TAs)

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Test Security(Required for DTCs,STCs, and TAs)
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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

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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.

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Test Security
Test Impropriety Statistics

• Some numbers from the 2012-13 school year
• 107 districts reported at least one test
  impropriety
• 567 total improprieties were reported
• 1,068 student tests were impacted
• Test Impropriety Trends
• Non-allowable resources (including cell phones)
• Retesting students in grades 3 8 without
  explicit parental consent
• 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

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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 allowable resources
• 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

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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
• 200 reported instances accounting for 19 of all
  reported improprieties in 2012-13

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Test Security
Student Coaching, contd

• 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 the Reading or ELPA
• test or improperly reading aloud the
• Math test

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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.

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Test Security
Dos and Donts
Dos

• TAs must ensure that students use the correct
  SSID and take the correct test.
• TAs must receive explicit parental consent prior
  to retesting students at grades 3 8 who have
  already met or exceeded the standard
• TAs must securely shred test materials such as
  printed test items or reading passages, 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_at_state.or.u
  s, 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.

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Test Security
Dos and Donts, contd
Donts

• 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 OAKS users)

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Test Security
Promising Practices

• Non-allowable resources
• TAs closely review the allowable resource tables
  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 such as read-aloud.
• TAs do not require students to show their work or
  
• otherwise provide students with feedback during
• testing.

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Test Security
Promising Practices, contd

• Mishandling of Secure Test Materials
• Using colorful materials to identify which
  students have printed reading passages remaining
  at their stations.
• When setting up the test environment, the TA
  should ensure that the TAs 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.

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Test Security
Promising Practices, contd

• Student given wrong test
• TA works with STC and other appropriate staff to
  identify students designated to take the Extended
  Test or to take OAKS 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 OAKS 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

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Test Security
Promising Practices, contd

• Student tested under wrong SSID
• For young students or newcomer ELLs, the school
  includes student picture on student SSID card
• TA carefully reviews student names before
• approving students to test
• Student in grades 3 8 retested without parental
  consent
• Check performance reports to identify which
  students have already met or exceeded and provide
  alternative activities for these students while
  their peers are testing
• Place a restriction in TIDE for all students who
  have met or exceeded to block them from retesting
  accidentally
• When retesting is deemed appropriate, obtain
  explicit parental consent prior to testing and
  document who has received explicit consent,
  removing the TIDE restriction for those students

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Test Security
Promising Practices, contd

• 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 shipping / 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
  published by ODE

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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 or Accommodations 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
  ODE within 1 day of learning of them.
• Report form is available online

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DTC Training
Online Resources

• Test Administration Manual and Best Practices
  Guide httpwww.ode.state.or.us/go/tam
• Promising Practices http//www.ode.state.or.us/se
  arch/page/?2444
• Test Security Forms http//www.ode.state.or.us/go
  /testsecurity

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Test Security
Acorns for Storage

• Why is test security so important?
• How might you or your students be affected if
  someone else violates test security or
  administers tests incorrectly?
• 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?