District testing coordinators are required to have procedures in place to prevent student use of personal electronic devices during assessment administrations. When districts are using allowed or approved technology, including technology-based accommodations (i.e., designated supports and accessibility features), the following guidelines for test security and validity must be followed in reviewing the technology prior to its use during an assessment.
Appropriate review requires knowledge of both the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for the specific grade level and subject and the capabilities and functions of the device or software that will be used during the assessment. Some technology may be useful during daily academic settings; however, that technology cannot be used during a state assessment if its functionality creates a security concern that cannot be addressed. District or campus personnel must conduct additional reviews of technology, including technology-based accommodations, after an upgrade or update to determine if it continues to meet Texas Education Agency (TEA) guidelines for use during a state assessment.
Technology Use Guidelines
Test administrators must actively monitor the use of technology, including technology-based accommodations, during an assessment. All technology used during state assessments must adhere to the following guidelines.
For a device or software to be considered appropriate for state assessment use, it must:
be set in a mode that locks the user into a specific software program; and
block the user from accessing functionality or features that may violate test security, such as:
the ability to send secure test content (e.g., messages, captured images, videos);
the ability to send or receive any person-to-person communication about secure test content (e.g., chat, video); and
the ability to save secure test content.
District testing personnel must ensure that applications on a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer do not provide functionality that compromises the curriculum assessed.