Unproctored Sessions

You can schedule multiple test sessions at a time. Please note that only the tests that you include in a test session will be available to students who join that session. You can schedule a test session ahead of time or start a test session immediately.

You can schedule or start test sessions by following the steps below:

1. Log in to the Test Administration Site. The Create and Manage Test Sessions page appears (refer to Figure 13).

2. To create a new test session, select Create Session. The Create and Manage Test Sessions pop-up window appears (refer to Figure 14).

3. In the Start and End fields, enter a start and end date and time for the session. The time will be displayed in the time zone at which your computer is set. For example, if your computer is set to Central Standard Time, the times you select will also be in Central Standard Time. If you would like the test session to end at a particular time, for example, by the end of a class period, enter the time in the End field. If you do not enter an end time, the session will remain open for 23 hours and 59 minutes. Note: The maximum time a session can remain open is 2 weeks.

   Students will be able to log in to a test session using the same session ID as long as the test session remains active. Once the test session ends, i.e., the session end date and time have been reached, students are automatically logged out. Students may also pause or submit their tests before the test session ends. For information on how students can pause or submit their tests, please refer to the sections How Students Pause Tests and How Students Complete a Test.

4. Once you have specified the test session start and end dates, select Next. The Test Selection window appears.

5. From the list of color-coded test categories, such as Beginning-of-Year Assessment, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®), and the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS), select the category from which you wish to administer tests. This will display the tests or test groups available for the selected test category. The Test Selection window only displays tests and test categories that you are eligible to administer. For example, since teachers are not eligible to administer Beginning-of-Year Assessment, teachers will not see the Beginning-of-Year Assessment test category in the Test Selection window. Please refer to Table 1 for a list of the tests that each user-role can administer.

6. Optional: Expand a test subgroup to view the constituent tests. All test groups and subgroups appear collapsed by default, and you may have to expand the test group in order to view individual tests.

   1. To expand a test group, select (or Expand All).

   2. To collapse an expanded test group, select (or Collapse All).

   3. To expand or collapse all the groups within a test category simultaneously, select .

7. To select the tests you wish to administer, do one of the following:

   1. To select individual tests, mark the checkbox for each test you want to include.

   2. To select all the tests in a test group, mark the checkbox for that group.

      Note: You can select more than one test to administer in a test session. For example, if you want to administer a grade 3 RLA interim test to Student A and a grade 5 mathematics test to Student B, you can do so in the same test session by selecting both tests.

      Once selected, the tests are displayed under their respective test categories in the right-hand side panel of the Test Selection window (refer to Figure 16). Note: If viewing on a smaller screen, the test selection count is displayed at the bottom of the Test Selection window (refer to Figure 17). To expand the selected tests section, select .

8. Optional: If you need to remove selected tests, from the Test Selection window (refer to Figure 16), do one of the following:

   1. To remove an individual test, select  for each test you want to remove.

   2. To remove all the selected tests, select Clear All.

9. To add tests from a different test category, from the Test Selection window (refer to Figure 16), do the following:

   1. Select Back at the bottom of the Test Selection window to return to the test categories view (refer to Figure 15).

   2. Repeat steps 5–8 to select the necessary tests.

10. Optional: When adding tests to your session, you may filter available tests on the basis of grade level and subject associated with the tests. To filter tests, perform the following steps:

    1. From the Test Selection window (refer to Figure 16), select . The filter panel appears.

    2. Expand the available filter categories and check the grades and subjects that you wish to filter by. The selected filters are listed on top, as shown in Figure 19.

       1. You can remove a filter by selecting the applicable filter.

    3. Select Apply Filter(s) to apply your selected filters. The test list then updates to display the tests that match your filter criteria.

11. Optional: You can also search for specific tests by their labels. To search for a test:

    1. Select the magnifying glass icon () in the upper-right corner of the Test Selection window (refer to Figure 15 or Figure 16) to bring up the search panel shown in Figure 20.

    2. In the Search Term field, enter the full or partial test label and select Go. The tests matching the entered label will be displayed. Note, the search term must be at least three characters long.

    3. To close the search panel, select Close at the bottom of the panel.

12. Once one or more tests have been selected, the Session Settings fields appear (refer to Figure 21). Perform the following steps:

    1. In the Session Name field, enter a name for the session.

    2. Select Save Session. The exact label for this button may vary depending on whether you are starting a practice or operational session. The Session Information window appears.

13. The Session Information window provides the session ID and link teachers need to share with students so students can join the session when it starts. Students using the secure browser application enter their first name, TSDS ID, and session ID when signing into the Student Interface to take the test. Except for summative tests, which must be taken via the secure browser, all other tests are permitted to be taken using conventional web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. For tests taken on a conventional browser, students click the link and are taken to the Student Interface where they can log in with their first name and TSDS ID to take the test.

    1. To add the session information to your calendar, select Add to Calendar. A .ics file containing all the information displayed on the window including the start and end date and time will be generated. You can save the file to your desired calendar application.

    2. To copy the information displayed in the Session Information window, select Copy. Once the information is copied to your clipboard, the button name changes to Copied to clipboard.

    3. To close the Session Information window, select Close.

14. The Create and Manage Test Sessions page appears displaying your active and upcoming test sessions. You can do any of the following:

    1. To retrieve the session ID and link to the session again, select Share Link (). The Session Information window appears displaying the session ID and link.

    2. To edit a session, select Edit (). For information on how to edit a session, please refer to How to Edit a Test Session.

    3. To delete a session, select the Delete button () and then select OK. Please note that if you delete an active session, students logged into the testing session can continue testing. However, other students will no longer be able to log in to the session.

    4. To export information about your active and scheduled sessions, select Export (). The information displayed in the table on the Create and Manage Test Sessions page (refer to Figure 24) will be exported as a CSV file.

Once the session date becomes current, students can log into the Student Interface to take their test. For information on how students log in to take tests, please refer to the section How Students Sign In to the Student Interface and How Students Complete a Test.