Verify Testing Information

District and campus testing coordinators must:

❏ Ensure Staff Members Understand Their Testing Responsibilities

Training using the modules available in the Learning Management System (LMS) is recommended for technology requirements and test security.

Technology staff must:
- review applicable technology documents on the Secure Browsers webpage and all hardware and software requirements;
- ensure that the district’s network infrastructure and computers meet the Minimum System Requirements;
- follow the instructions for Setting Up TDS Workstations regarding firewalls, proxy servers, downloading and installing required software on testing devices (including installing the correct Spanish voice pack and testing the text-to-speech [TTS] functionality in Spanish before a test administration and ensuring that accessibility features used on Chromebooks for other assessments are disabled), and other technical and system requirements;
- disable any automatically launching applications, such as screensavers, scheduled virus scans, email notification alerts, detectors, instant messaging programs, and power management software warning of low battery levels;
- confirm that the network is secure, if testing via a wireless network;
- alert network users at each campus to the schedule for online administrations and, if necessary, request that they avoid unnecessary or heavy bandwidth activities that might impair the local network during testing; and
- ensure that accessibility features are set up; refer to the Assistive Technology Manual.

Campus coordinators must:
- ensure that all eligible students are scheduled to test;
- update student demographic information in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE);
- verify that appropriate test settings and attributes are enabled for each student in TIDE;
- determine if test sessions will be proctored or unproctored;
- set up and manage test sessions;
- ensure test sessions include only operational assessments; and
- ensure campus staff know when and how to consolidate students who are still testing according to the campus consolidation plan.

Test administrators must:
- help students log in to and access their assessments;
- maintain test security, including active monitoring;
- not duplicate, record, or electronically capture (e.g., photograph or screenshot) confidential test content unless specifically authorized to do so by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) or procedures outlined in the test administrator manuals;
- manage any interruptions during testing, such as restroom breaks or student illness;
- allow students who have completed their assessments to leave the testing room during consolidation; and
- complete seating charts, including all required information.

❏ Verify Student Information in TIDE

Review student information, including student name, demographic information, and test attributes.
Use the View Student History feature to review updates made by TIDE users to students' records, including edits and file uploads, and to see when and by whom the updates were made.
Refer to the Verify Student Information page for more information.

❏ Ensure Students Are Familiar with the Online Practice Tests

Students should be provided with opportunities to use the online practice tests available on the Practice Test Site. The test directions in the operational assessments assume that students are familiar with the online testing environment. The practice tests give students experience using the online interface and tools and allow them to become familiar with various assessment question formats.

Schedule Test Sessions

District and campus coordinators must:

❏ Plan and Organize Test Sessions

Review the scheduling test administrations information for the applicable program in the Program Overview section.
Establish a schedule of administration dates for each assessment within the state testing window on the Testing Calendar. TEA highly recommends that district testing personnel plan to test early in the testing window to ensure that all students have an opportunity to test in case of absences or if technical, weather, or emergency issues arise.
Ensure that a campus plan is in place to consolidate students who are still testing after a certain point. The plan should include relocating students and testing materials from one area to another while maintaining test security.
Determine if proctored or unproctored test sessions will be used. Refer to How to Create Test Sessions for more information.
Schedule sufficient time (i.e., three to four hours) for each test session. District testing personnel should begin testing within one hour of the start of the school day. Students may continue testing until the end of the regularly scheduled school day but may not spend more than seven hours working on the assessment.
Because students taking online administrations can be grouped across grades and subjects, courses, or language domains, organize test sessions so that students are not confused by differences in directions read aloud or accommodations provided.
Allow students who use certain accommodations that might distract other students or compromise the confidentiality of the assessment to complete the assessment in a separate setting.

District coordinators should contact Texas Testing Support one week prior to a signed or oral administration to request that a test administrator providing such an administration be allowed access to the assessment within the secure browser.

❏ Create Test Sessions

Schedule test sessions in the Test Administrator Interface of the Test Delivery System (TDS) up to three weeks before the testing window opens. Sessions can also be created at any point during the administration. For specific dates, refer to the Calendar of Events.

Districts Start Creating Test Sessions.png

Use the Test Administrator Practice Site to become familiar with setting up test sessions.
Create a test session and determine the assessments to be administered in the session. Be sure to select only operational assessments for the test session.
Determine how many days the test session should be open. Keep in mind test security requirements when determining test session durations.
Determine how many hours the test session should be open. Students have a maximum of seven hours to complete an assessment. Keep in mind test security requirements when determining test session times.
Specify the start date, start time, end date, and end time for each test session. Be sure to adjust the a.m. and p.m. settings as necessary.
Ensure that the session start and end dates and times are within the state testing window on the Testing Calendar and that they conform to the testing room schedule and consolidation plans.
Add test sessions to individual calendars by clicking the Add to Calendar button from the Session Information pop-up message that appears after a session has been scheduled.
Export details of all active and upcoming sessions to a spreadsheet for reference by clicking the Export button in the Create and Manage Test Sessions screen.
Refer to the TDS User Guide for specific instructions for creating test sessions.

Prepare Areas for Online Testing

Campus coordinators must:

❏ Arrange for Testing Areas

Confer with the campus principal to arrange appropriate testing areas, including consolidation testing areas, and ensure that the areas are properly prepared.
Ensure that students are sufficiently separated from each other that they can work without distraction and cannot see one another’s monitor. Refer to the sample seating charts on the Security Forms page of the Test Security section.
Ensure that enough devices are available to accommodate the established testing schedule.
Ensure that one headset is available for each student receiving a speech-to-text (STT) accommodation when multiple students are tested in the same room.
Avoid scheduling activities that would interfere with testing conditions.
Consult with technology staff to ensure sufficient Wi-Fi access for wireless connected devices. The maximum recommended number of wireless devices per wireless access point is 20.
Consult with technology staff on the day of testing to verify that computers are ready for testing, as changes might occur after initial setup and before testing begins.

STAAR

Ensure a Spanish voice pack is available for students testing with a TTS accommodation in Spanish.
Ensure that one pair of headphones is available for each student receiving a TTS accommodation when multiple students are tested in the same room.
Ensure that students recording answers using the STT accommodation are seated far enough apart that background noise does not cause interference.

TELPAS

Ensure that one headset is available for each student taking a TELPAS listening and speaking assessment.
Ensure that one pair of headphones is available for each student taking a TELPAS reading and writing assessment.
Ensure that students taking TELPAS listening and speaking or recording answers using the STT accommodation for reading and writing are seated far enough apart that background noise does not cause interference.

Manage Test Materials