Introduction

This document is intended to help district and campus personnel and test administrators understand and meet the unique testing needs of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Districts should plan accordingly to ensure that those who are administering a test to a student who is deaf or hard of hearing receive training to prepare for this type of test administration and sign an Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality prior to the test administration. Unless otherwise indicated in this document, regular test administration procedures should be followed when testing a student who is deaf or hard of hearing.

Who Can Serve as a Test Administrator?

Certified and noncertified staff members who are currently employed by the district and routinely work with students in the classroom may serve as test administrators, monitors, or assistants only if they are trained in test security and administration procedures and sign an Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality. Noncertified staff members must be supervised, either directly or indirectly, by a certified staff member on the same campus throughout the test administration. If a noncertified staff member is responsible for a violation of test security or confidentiality, the supervising certified staff member is subject to penalty. Refer to the Test Administrator Training page for more information.

If a student’s primary access to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) is provided by a deaf educator in a classroom setting, then the deaf educator should administer the test. In some cases, a certified sign language interpreter may be needed to facilitate communication between the test administrator and student. Deaf educators and certified sign language interpreters who are employees of the school district should follow the general guidelines and understand the responsibilities outlined in the appropriate test administrator manual, which can be found on the Test Administration Resources webpage.

Certified sign language interpreters who are not employees of the district may only facilitate communication between the test administrator and the student. They are not allowed to administer tests and may not be left unattended with secure testing materials. However, because of exposure to secure test content, a certified sign language interpreter who is not employed by the district must be trained in test administration procedures, sign an Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality, and be supervised at all times by a certified district staff member.

Sign Language and Oral Interpretation

Test administrators who are providing a signed or oral interpretation support for an administration of an online STAAR assessment can view the student screen using a second monitor connected through HDMI.

The district testing coordinator may contact Texas Testing Support one week before the administration begins to request a code that allows them to view the same test opportunity that is being provided to the student for oral or signed administration purposes. The test administrator must use the secure browser to access the test, and the student must have Proctored Administration enabled in TIDE prior to starting the test. 

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) does not specify the sign language to be used during a test administration. The test administrator should use the sign language that the student routinely uses as part of daily instruction.

Designated Supports for Testing

Designated supports policy documents can be found in the Accommodations section of these Coordinator Resources. Designated supports used during a state assessment must be routinely used during classroom instruction and classroom testing. All materials and equipment needed by the student should be provided before testing begins. Educators must communicate with the campus testing coordinator regarding supports that are documented in each student’s IEP and that are allowed or approved for use during the state assessments.

There are a number of designated supports for testing that are commonly used during a test administration for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing and are eligible for an oral or signed administration with content and language supports will take STAAR online. A signed administration is allowed for parts of the test that can be read aloud but cannot be accessed through text-to-speech. Test administrators must use these guidelines for signing test content.

TDS provides ASL videos for students eligible for an oral or signed administration. This support is available for administrations of all grades and subjects or courses of STAAR in English. Students who receive this designated support will select the “American Sign Language Video” option from the context dropdown menu that appears to the right of the question, and a video of a person signing applicable test content with a closed captioning option will appear. Students will have the ability to play the video as many times as necessary and will also be able to pause, fast-forward, and rewind the video. A student is allowed signing support from a test administrator in addition to the ASL videos (e.g., the student does not understand a sign being used in the video), as long as the requirements for a signed administration are adhered to. These functionalities are available in the Practice Test Site for students to become more familiar with the videos.

It is important to note that ASL videos are not available for content and language supports. In these instances, the test administrator may sign test content as previously indicated.

Sign Language Dictionary

When a dictionary is a required part of standard test administration procedures, a sign language dictionary may be used. Refer to the STAAR Dictionary Policy. The dictionary must be commercially produced. Teacher-made, student-made, and subject-specific dictionaries are not allowed.

Transcribing a Student’s Signed Responses to the Constructed-Response Questions

For students who have a TEA-approved accommodation request, a trained test administrator may record a student’s signed response to the constructed-response questions in TDS (for an online administration) or the Data Entry Interface (DEI) (for a paper administration). Refer to the Complex Transcribing designated support policy. The student’s responses must be recorded exactly as the student signs, according to all procedures outlined in this document. Translating the student’s responses into English prior to recording them in TDS or DEI is not allowed.

Test Administration Directions: Signing, Orally Interpreting, Projecting, Photocopying, or Amplifying

Allowable accessibility features including signing or orally interpreting test administration directions can be found in the Accommodations section of these Coordinator Resources. Test administration directions may be further clarified or interpreted as long as the substance of the directions is not changed. This applies to directions given either before or during the test. When signing test administration directions, there is no need for the test administrator to view confidential test materials.

Test administration directions do not contain secure information and therefore may be projected or photocopied for students who want to read the print directions as the test administrator signs them.

A student who is deaf or hard of hearing may use an amplification device, such as a frequency modulated (FM) system.

Test Content: Projecting or Photocopying

When a student is eligible for an oral or signed administration and needs test content interpreted through sign language or speech reading, it may be necessary for the test content to be projected onto a screen so that the student can access the test. Projection devices that do not involve the photocopying of secure test content are preferred and are allowable accessibility features.

Projection devices that involve the photocopying of secure test content require the submission of an Accommodation Request Form for an Other accommodation.

Test Content: Signing, Orally Interpreting, or Amplifying

Test content can be signed, orally interpreted, or amplified for students who are deaf or hard of hearing if the student meets the eligibility criteria for an oral or signed administration. The general test administration procedures intended for all students must also be followed for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Any test administrator providing an oral or signed administration must be trained on the oral administration guidelines and examples. Refer to the specific accommodation policies in these Coordinator Resources for information about when the test administrator may sign or orally interpret all or only certain parts of a state assessment. Test administrators conducting an oral or signed administration must be aware that they are viewing secure test content. Responding to test items, making notes about test questions, and discussing the content of the test at any time are prohibited. Any type of administration in which the test administrator must view a secure state assessment requires that the test administrator sign a specific part of the security oath.

Procedures Specific to Signing Test Content

The sign language used for signed administrations should be consistent with the sign language used during classroom instruction. When providing a signed administration of a test to a student who is deaf or hard of hearing, the objective is to provide the same level of access to the printed information that would be provided to a hearing student who receives an oral presentation.

The following are guidelines for deciding what sign to use when signing test content during a state assessment.

• If a sign for a word or phrase exists, the test administrator should use the sign when the word or phrase occurs in print on the test. Signs that are commonly used in sign language are allowable in the signed administration of state assessments.

  • Occasionally, a commonly used sign that is “conceptually accurate” may appear to give the student an unfair advantage; however, conceptual accuracy is a critical component of ASL and most sign systems. Conceptually accurate signs incorporate meaning in the production of the sign. For example, if an item asks the student to identify a triangle, the commonly used sign is a pantomimed drawing of a triangle. This is the commonly accepted sign used in conversation and instruction and therefore should be the sign that is used when the English word “triangle” appears in the test. Finger spelling is not an acceptable substitution because it increases the difficulty of the item by requiring the student to recognize “triangle” by its spelling. A hearing student would not be required to recognize a word by its spelling in an oral administration; therefore, it should not be required of a student who is deaf.

• If a sign for a word or phrase has been locally developed and routinely used in instruction, the test administrator may use the sign when the word or phrase occurs in print on the test. For much of the vocabulary used in instruction, there are not commonly used signs. In many cases, teachers or sign language interpreters will develop signs for frequently used vocabulary with the understanding that these are locally developed signs for a particular instructional setting. These locally developed signs may be used in a signed administration if they are used during instruction regularly.

  • An example of a locally developed sign might be for the English word “fission.” It is not a commonly used word, and it would be extremely rare to find it in any sign language dictionary. However, if “fission” is used frequently during science instruction, the teacher or sign language interpreter might develop a sign to be used only in the instructional setting. The concept of “splitting apart” might be incorporated into the formation of the sign. It would be allowable to use this locally developed sign in the testing situation. Conceptual accuracy in a sign that exists or in a sign that has been locally developed is a key component of sign language and should not be denied to the sign language user.

• If there is no commonly accepted sign for a word or phrase and a local sign has not been developed, the test administrator must determine if the word or phrase is or is NOT the concept being assessed.

  • If the word or phrase is the concept being assessed, the test administrator must finger spell the word. It is not acceptable to create new signs or to use an equivalent or expansion to explain vocabulary that is being assessed. Consider this sample question: “Which best describes one of the subatomic particles that could be found at location X in the model of an atom shown above?”

  • The phrase “subatomic particles” is the concept being assessed. Therefore, if a sign for this word does not exist or has not been locally developed, the test administrator must finger spell it.

  • If the word or phrase is NOT the concept being assessed, the test administrator may use a reasonable equivalent or expansion. The test administrator has more flexibility when signing words or phrases that are not the concepts being assessed. Consider this sample question: “What is the range of the sale prices for a Stunt-Pro bicycle at these stores?”

  • It is unlikely that a sign exists or has been locally developed for “Stunt-Pro.” However, because this is not the concept being assessed, the test administrator may provide a reasonable equivalent or expansion.

Following these guidelines may require a test administrator to preview test content to properly prepare for a signed administration. Previewing test content is allowed only on the day the test is administered and should be done in strict accordance with all standard test security policies and procedures outlined in the Test Security section.