Appeals In the normal flow of a test, a student takes the test in the test delivery system, which is known as TDS, and then submits it. Next, TDS forwards the test for scoring. Then ORS reports the tests scores. Appeals are a way of interrupting this normal flow. A Test Administrator may want to invalidate a test because of a hardware malfunction or an impropriety. You should consult the Test Administration Manual for policies and procedures. The pages under the Appeals tab provide these activities. Please note that appeals will not be available in TIDE until November 2, 2015 when the first operational tests of the school year go live for the Fall Retake administration.

Create Appeals — Retrieving The Create Appeals tab is where you create an appeal for a test. The first step is to select the type of appeal you want to create. The TIDE User Guide lists the available appeals and explains the implications of each. The second and third steps set search criteria for a given test result. In this example, we are searching for test results associated with a student whose SSID is 999999999. You can also search by result ID, request date, or case ID. When you click Search, TIDE displays all the test results satisfying the criteria.

Create Appeals — Entering When TIDE retrieves the matching test results, you type a reason in the text box and then click Create. TIDE places the appeal in a list for an administrator to review and approve.

Status of Appeals Appeal Status Description of Status Error Occurred An error was encountered while the appeal was being processed. Pending Approval Appeal is pending approval. Processed Appeal was successfully processed and the test opportunity has been updated. Rejected Appeal was rejected. Rejected by System Test Delivery System was unable to process the appeal. Requires Resubmission Appeal must be resubmitted. Retracted Originator retracted the appeal. Submitted for Processing Appeal submitted to the Test Delivery System for processing. After you create an appeal, it moves through an approval process until it is finally disposed. This table describes the possible statuses an appeal can have. If an appeal is rejected, please direct the TA or SC to their DC. A DC can contact Kimberly DeRousie, State Test Coordinator.

View Appeals You can review submitted appeals from the View Appeals tab. You select search criteria and then click Search. In this example, we are searching for appeals to invalidate a test associated with a student with SSID 999999999, whose appeal’s status is Submitted for Processing.

View Pending Appeals The View Pending Appeals tab displays those appeals awaiting disposition. You can apply one of the following dispositions to an appeal: Process—This approves the appeal, after which TIDE, TDS, and ORS update the test opportunities and results accordingly. For example, if the appeal was to invalidate a test, then the number of test opportunities the student has decreases by one, and the student can retake the test if any opportunities remain. Reject—This rejects the appeal, and the test results’ processing continues as if the appeal were never submitted. Retract—This retracts an appeal.

Upload Appeals Another way to create appeals is to compose an upload file in Excel or CSV format and then upload that file to TIDE. This method is easiest if you have many new appeals and you don’t want to add them one at a time under the Create Appeals tab. The upload file includes the appeal type, search criteria for a result ID, and a reason for the appeal. The best way to compose an upload file is by downloading one of the available templates and then following the instructions in the template.