1. School Smarter Balanced Training
March 2016

2. Roles and Responsibilities
Responsibility
District Coordinator
Responsible for overall administration of the state assessments. Ensures that School Assessment Coordinators are trained and supported.
School Principal
Responsible for overall administration of the state assessments at the school. Appoints School Assessment Coordinator. Approves school testing plan and accommodations/designated supports.
School Assessment Coordinator
(in the TAM, this is the School Test Coordinator or SC)
Responsible for monitoring test schedule, process, and Test Administrators. Trains Test Administrators and ensures that testing is conducted in accordance with the TAM and guidance from the district office.
Test Administrator (TA)
AKA Proctors
School staff responsible for administering the assessments in a secure manner and in compliance with the TAM. Must be trained and have access to the Test Administrator system within the portal.
Roles and Responsibilities

3. “The Portal” Test Admin Resources: where to find info
Test Admin Certification: where to learn how to administer a test
Test Admin: where to administer a test
AVA: where to view actual interim tests (without administering them) SECURE TESTING MATERIAL!
“The Portal”

4. TA Certification
A test administrator certification course. This 30 minute interactive training course is recommended for TAs.
From the portal, click on “Test Administrator Certification”

5. Training, Practice, and Interim tests defined
Training Test
Practice Test
Interim Test
Purpose
An opportunity to become familiar with the test interface features and tools.
ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE A TRAINING TEST OPPORTUNITY prior to spring testing.
Not sure how to access? Go to:
A grade specific practice opportunity similar in structure and format to the spring operational tests.
An opportunity to give a real test prior to the spring testing.
Interim tests should only be accessed after specific training by the assessment office.
Grade Levels
Grade bands:
3-5
6-8
High school
Each grade 3-8, 11
Number and types of items
ELA: approx. 6 items
Math: approx. 8-9 items
No Performance Tasks (PTs)
ELA: 30 items
Math: 30 items
Math PT and ELA PT
Varies depending upon the interim test selected.
Access
AIR Secure Browser
Scoring
Not scored
Either machine scored or teacher scored, depending upon the test.
Security
Not secure. Feel free to discuss how to answer these items with students and to create practice opportunities. These tests are also accessible to the public via the portal.
Secure. These items need to be treated just like items on the spring test. Teachers should not help students with interim test items.
Training, Practice, and Interim tests defined

6. Test Administration Manual – your new DFA and ACM all in one!

7. School Schedules The window is wide: March 21 to June 10
Schools set their own testing schedule within the window
Technology folks will not be on site unless specifically requested and scheduled ahead of time
However …. All buildings will have at least one trained Tech Trouble-Shooter available to handle routine questions
School Schedules

8. Testing Times

9. School Readiness Checklist
All TAs are trained and ready
All TAs have taken the Training Test
All students have taken a Training Test
Students requiring Designated Supports & Accommodations noted and communicated to Assessment Office
Prep classroom/arena for testing (covering/removing any materials directly related to content)
Provide all materials needed (see TAM, page 35)
Confirm that all mice and headsets are working and you have an adequate number
Log in each device to be used for testing into the secure browser to test it (you can use the student training test as a way to do this efficiently)
School Readiness Checklist

10. Materials Needed (TAM, page 35)
CAT PT
ELA
Headphones for the listening portion and for students with text-to-speech
Scratch paper if needed.
Headphones for the performance task and for students with text-to-speech
Math
Headphones for students with text-to-speech or ASL videos.
Embedded calculator available for some items in grade 6 and up. Vision impaired students may need assistive device to substitute.
Scratch paper is required for all grades.
Graph paper required for grade 6 and up. Graph paper may be available for grades 5 and below.
All students should have access to a mouse for all parts of the test. Students are not required to use a mouse.
Materials Needed (TAM, page 35)

11. Before, During, After Testing (TAM, p. 14-15)
Instructional materials removed or covered
Literary definitions, formulas, etc
Student seating
Minimize opportunities for students to look at each others’ work
Signage
“Testing – do not disturb” signs (see resources page)
During Testing
Quiet environment
Minimize talking or other distractions
Student supervision
Students must be actively supervised, no electronic devices, no photocopying or photographing test content.
Access to allowable resources only
Students may access only allowable resources (see page 35 for more information)
Access to assessments
Only students being tested and test proctors should be in the room. Staff should not actively review or analyze items. No answer keys may be developed.
Before, During, After Testing (TAM, p )

12. All students, including students with disabilities, English learners should have equal opportunity to participate.
Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities (approx. 1% of students) will participate in the WA-AIM alternate assessment.
English learners who enrolled in school in the US within the last 12 months are exempt from ELA testing (not math) for one year.
A student counts as a participant once they have logged in to both the CAT and the PT.
Participation (TAM, p. 24)

13. Tools, Designated Supports, and Accommodations (NEW format!)

14. NOW OPTIONAL: Classroom Activities (TAM, p. 29-30)
CAT
Classroom Activity PT
NOW OPTIONAL: Classroom Activities (TAM, p )
Purpose: to introduce students to concepts so they are not disadvantaged in the performance task.
Students may take notes in the classroom activity but can’t use these notes during the PT.
Students should have the classroom activity before the PT. It can be the same day or up to 3 days prior to the PT.
Should last about 30 minutes. Not “secure” but should not be supplemented by a teacher.
Absent students should have a make up opportunity for the classroom activity prior to the PT.
We will ask schools to identify if they are doing the classroom activities in the Testing Plan. Strongly recommend a schoolwide decision on classroom activities.

15. This year printing test tickets is a school responsibility.
School assessment coordinator should review test tickets.
Test tickets themselves are not required… just the information on them.
Tickets are “secure” and need to be collected and safely stored.
Test Tickets

16. Day-of-Testing Handout for TAs (TAM, p. 38-46) This is the script!
Print appropriate pages for all Test Administrators to use on the day of testing. This tells them exactly what to say on the day of testing and how to begin a test session. This is the script. Please ask TAs to read it prior to testing, and during testing to read it as written. Not reading this aloud is a test irregularity and needs to be reported to the assessment office.
IMPORTANT: Make sure all Test Administrators WRITE DOWN the session number, both on a white board/overhead for students AND on a piece of paper for later reference. If the TA does not exit the test session properly, s/he will need the test session number to log back in and close the session before starting a new one.
Day-of-Testing Handout for TAs (TAM, p ) This is the script!

17. Tech trouble-shooting
Each building has at least one assigned Technology Trouble-shooter in your building. These folks are trained with the assistance of Technology to learn the common problems and how to fix them. Please contact them first with any issues.
Tech trouble-shooting

18. Problems. Impropriety, Irregularity, Breach. (TAM, p. 16-19)
Problems? Impropriety, Irregularity, Breach (TAM, p ) Appeals (TAM, p )
Unusual circumstances that may affect student performance, test security, or test validity, or security breaches…. Contact your school assessment coordinator.
Appeals to reset, reopen, restore, invalidate…. Contact your school assessment coordinator.

19. Each test has at least two segments
Each test has at least two segments. When a student is finished with a segment, the student sees a message that says: “You have reached the end of this segment. Please review your answers before you continue testing. You will not be able to come back to these questions later.”
Test Segments

20. Pause Rules for the CAT (less than 20 minutes)
If the CAT portion of the test is paused for less than 20 minutes, the student is:
Required to log back in
Can revisit any items in the current test segment and change their answers
Pause Rules for the CAT (less than 20 minutes)

21. Pause Rules for the CAT (TAM, p. 25)
If the CAT portion of the test is paused for more than 20 minutes, the student is:
Required to log back in
Presented with the page containing the items they were working on when paused (if the page contains at least one unanswered item) OR with the next page
NOT permitted to review or change any previously answered questions on a prior page, even if they are marked for review
Pause Rules for the CAT (TAM, p. 25)

22. Pause Rules for the CAT, part 2
Notes on the digital notepad will not be saved when a test is paused, regardless of how long the test is paused.
Highlighting will be preserved for students if a test is paused and resumed.
A single letter in an extended response question will be considered a response.
Pause Rules for the CAT, part 2

23. Pause Rules for the PT (TAM, p. 26)
There are no pause restrictions. If a test is paused for 20 minutes or more, the student can return to the section and continue entering their response.
When taking the Performance Task, global notes from the first section will be available to the student when they proceed to the second section (for ELA).
Pause Rules for the PT (TAM, p. 26)

24. Test timeout (due to inactivity) (TAM, p.26)
Students and TAs are automatically logged out of the test after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Before the system logs the student out of an assessment, a warning message will be displayed on the screen. If the student does not click [OK] within thirty seconds after this message appears, they will be logged out. Clicking [OK] will start a twenty-minute inactivity timer.
Test timeout (due to inactivity) (TAM, p.26)

25. Test Expiration (TAM, p. 26)
The CAT remains active for 45 CALENDAR days. However, Smarter Balanced recommends that students complete the CAT items portion of the test within five days of starting.
The PT is a separate test that remains active only for ten CALENDAR days. However, Smarter Balanced recommends that the student complete the PT portion within three days of starting.
Test Expiration (TAM, p. 26)

26. Time for Training! Use your resources!
All staff can access the Portal--no log-in is required
Time for Training!

27. Finding the training resources

28. Student Testing—how to log in students Test Administrator—how to log in for proctors

29. Training Time Next steps:
We recommend all TAs view the PPT on Test Administration (see previous slide) and then be given an opportunity to practice logging in on a Chromebook, laptop, and/or desktop. Logging in, and remembering passwords takes the most time!
We recommend all TAs view the PPT on the Student Interface (see previous slide).
If time allows, TAs can pair up and take turns being a student and a TA, using an INTERIM test (though DO NOT answer any questions).
Training Time

30. Test Security Staff Assurance Report and Training Log
Sign page one of the Test Security Staff Assurance Report and the Training Log to verify that all TAs have been trained
After testing, TAs sign page two of the Test Security Staff Assurance Report verifying that testing and security protocols were followed
Test Security Staff Assurance Report and Training Log

31. Who You Gonna Call? School Staff Assessment Office
School Assessment Coordinators
School Staff
Assessment Office (Sarah, Rachel, Trisha, Lisa)
Help Desk, OSPI, AIR
Assessment Office
Who You Gonna Call?