1. Guidelines and Tips for New Test Chairs Office of Assessment, Research, and Data Analysis September 2015

2. District Staff AdministratorEmail Maria Bruguera Mara Ugando mbruguera@dadeschools.net mugando@dadeschools.net Felicia Mallory Denetra Collins fmallory@dadeschools.net collinsd@dadeschools.net Mayda CabezaMCabeza@dadeschools.net Kathleen Sierraksierra@dadeschools.net Office Phone # (305)995-7520 Dr. Sally Shay, District Director

3. Testing Distribution Center (TDC)  Personnel: o Magaly Hernandez o Maria Vargas  Address: 13135 SW 26 St  Phone: (305)995-3743

4. Your Role The school assessment coordinator, or test chairperson, is responsible for organizing and monitoring testing programs at the school level in accordance with the procedures outlined for each program.  Plan and Prepare  Supervise and monitor the assessment  Pack up and return materials

5. Communications from the District  Review Testing Calendar  District Briefings o Alerts about upcoming assessments o Notifications of training  District Test Meetings (face-to-face)  Screencasts (only for selected programs)  Emails from Student Assessment o Dr. Sally Shay o Barbara Bentancourt Make monthly versions of Testing Calendar

6. Program Guide Each testing program has a Program Guide or Test Administration Manual  Testing window  Who is tested  How it is delivered (paper or computer)  Procedures and guidelines  Accommodations for SPED and ELL

7. District Applications  File Download Manager (FDM) Identify students to be tested and to create your testing roster  SPED EMS Identify Students' specific testing accommodations  Student Performance Indicators (SPI) Look up all student scores  ISIS Look up student information Make sure you request access to these from your principal

8. Test Platforms and Websites  Gateway 2 Data (G2D) – formerly Thinkgate Testing platform for Baseline and Mid Year Assessments (contact: Denetra Collins & Felicia Mallory)  Pearsonaccess Testing Platform for EOCs and FCAT Retakes (contact: Maria Bruguera & Mara Ugando)  TIDE Testing Platform for FSA, FSA EOCs and FSA Retakes (contact: Maria Bruguera & Mara Ugando)  Cambridge Site used to order AP and PSAT Materials (contact: Montserrat "Montse" Parradelo)  Collegeboard Site used to order AP and PSAT Materials (contact: Montserrat "Montse" Parradelo)  College Measured Success Testing Platform for PERT (contact: Mayda Cabeza)

9. Key School Personnel  Principal and School Administrators  Technology Coordinator  SPED and ELL Program Supervisors  Instructional Coaches  School Counselors  Registrar

10. Accommodations  SPED o Use SPED EMS to ensure students are receiving the correct accommodations o Check for 504 plans (temporary accommodations)  ELL o Make sure ELL students (levels 1-4) have correct heritage language dictionary. Not providing correct accommodations for a student will result in an invalidation.

11. Creating Room Assignment Rosters Download FDM file into MS Excel  Select criteria by using the “Test Chairs” button or use the menu on the left to custom select criteria and open file in Excel  Sort and Filter Most common criteria to consider when sorting and filtering:  Test being administered  Course/Course Code  Grade Level/Cohort Year  ESOL/SPED/STND Students  Previous test results

12. Creating Room Assignment Rosters (cont.) Determine how to best arrange your testing sessions based on the population and the number of students to be tested:  By Curriculum Groups  By Class vs. Alpha  Should you isolate SPED and/or ESOL?  Should you shut down the school for testing? TRY MIXING & MATCHING! For example, test ELA Grade 9 by class, but extract SPED students to test on a designated day and organize alphabetically.

13. Creating Room Assignment Rosters (cont.) Determine Testing Locations  Consider class relocations and/or student displacements  Computer Labs Select Test Administrators/Proctors  Consider teachers from the content areas that are being tested,  co-teachers,  teachers from departments that can offer department coverage such as TMH or P.E., and  teachers with smaller classes that will require fewer students be displaced.

14. Creating Room Assignment Rosters (cont.) Notify students and teachers of testing dates and locations  Create testing assignment notices for students and teachers by using MS Word Mail Merge and/or Excel  Send e-mail notifications  Posts lists on your website  Post lists on wall NEVER include the FL Student ID, the D.O.B., ESE Exceptionalities or ESOL Levels on posted lists When posting lists on walls, bulletin boards or websites, ONLY include the following information: Student ID Grade Test Date Room Number Remember to sort the list by Student ID for quick reference.

15. Sample Testing Notices (generated with MS Mail Merge) A comprehensive student pass that informs the students of their assigned test date, location and testing policies minimizes scheduling confusion and student infractions.

16. Sample EMAIL List of Testing Assignments (generated with Excel) By including homeroom numbers on your list, you can quickly locate students the morning of testing! If your testing roster includes multiple test dates, remember to include the date on your email list to avoid confusion. You may also want to color code the fonts or the cells to highlight the different dates. This emailed list enables all teachers to assist with notifying students of their testing dates and locations.

17. Sample Teacher Lists for Testing Assignments (generated with Excel) This Excel sheet was used to create teacher- specific lists that are placed in mailboxes the afternoon prior to the test day.

18. Sample Test Admin/Proctor Notification Notify Teachers and staff of the Test Administrator/Proctor assignments and training date and location. This Test Administrator Notice was generated using MS Mail Merge and can provide as much information as you deem necessary. For instance, it could detail the proctoring assignment, instructions for student displacement or class coverage, what the procedures will be to collect/return materials, when to report to the testing room, what to do in the event of error codes, etc.

19. Sample EXCEL Work Folder Original FDM student data download Filtered, Sorted and formatted Student Testing Roster Proctoring Assignments, Coverage plan and Materials sign in sheet Email Testing List and daily Homeroom Teacher Lists Excel allows you to use the same data to create multiple documents that will serve various needs. This work folder demonstrates how the original FDM student data download was used to create the testing roster; the Test Administrator Assignment, Coverage plan, and Materials Received/Returned sign in sheet; the Testing List distributed via email detailing students’ testing assignments and the daily individual Homeroom Teacher List placed in mailboxes the night before the test

20. Preparation and Notification of Assignments  Check all testing classrooms for working air condition, intercoms, clocks and proper lighting, pencil sharpeners  Notify faculty and staff of training dates  Send parent notification letters home  Create bins and folders for test administrators

21. Receiving/Opening Test Materials  Document the date and time testing materials arrived  Verify the number of boxes and ensure that they all belong to your school  Locate the packing list and count the actual testing materials received without opening any shrink-wrapped test booklets  Report any discrepancies to Student Assessment and Educational Testing (SAET)  Order additional testing materials (if needed) from Testing Distribution Center (TDC)  Store all testing materials in a locked storage room

22. Preparing Test Materials (Paper)  Maintain Chain of Custody form at all times  Open shrink-wrapped test booklets as outline in test chair training packet  Verify that the following five elements are correct on labels 1. Student name 2. Florida ID number 3. District number 4. School number 5. Grade level  Utilize test group list to count out and place labels on test booklets/answer folders  Bubble demographic information for students without a label

23. Preparing Test Materials (CBT)  Work with school-site microsystems technician to make sure all computers and computer labs to be used for testing are running ready for testing o keyboard damage, headphones, mouse, required icons on desktop  Dividers for computer stations  Conduct Infrastructure Trial  Print student tickets (secure document)  Prepare packets/bin for test administrators  Ensure required signs are posted (No Electronic Devices, Do not disturb and Session 1 or 2 – when applicable)

24. School-site Training Create training packets to include: (Testing schedule, roster list of test administrators, proctors, test groups codes, room assignments and training documents) Train all test administrators and proctors (all test administrators must be certified educators) Train additional personnel in case of absences (special area teachers, counselors, media specialists and reading/math coaches) After Training Ensure that all test administrators and proctors sign appropriate documentation.

25. Test Day  Arrive to school early to prepare for distribution of testing materials  Allow test administrators to count materials and sign them out on the count form  Verify that the correct number of materials are documented on the count form  Remind clerical staff not to use PA system during testing  Monitor each testing room to ensure that test administration, test security policies and procedures are followed

26. Test Day (cont.) As test administrators return materials  Count and verify that all test booklets/answer folders have been returned  Confirm that accommodations received have been bubbled on the test booklets/answer folders  Prepare make-up list for students who were absent  Ensure testing materials are accounted for, organized and ready for distribution the next day  Secure all testing materials in a locked storage room daily  Report any lost testing materials or security violations to Student Assessment and Educational Testing

27. After Test  Utilize the packing list to verify that distributed secure materials have been returned  Make copies of all required administration information o seating charts, security logs, record/security checklists, chain of custody form  Organize and pack testing materials as outlined in test manual  Deliver (To Be Scored) testing materials to TDC as outlined in training packet Regroup  Sharpen and re-bundle pencils  Inventory and re-bundle calculators  Collect and clean up the computer dividers  Inventory your labs/rooms and check computers for functionality, keyboards and necessary program icons. Report any repairs to your IP contact immediately.

28. Helpful Tips  Always plan ahead Avoid oversights, mistakes and chaos by identifying your examinees and determining dates and proctors early.  Utilize your resources Student Aides, CSI, TMH and/or Clubs are great sources of manpower for sharpening pencils, organizing NON-SECURE testing materials, running passes on testing mornings, setting up/removing computer dividers as well as a myriad of other time-consuming tasks that you will not have time for.  Communication is vital A well informed school community will be better prepared to manage the chaos that test administrations can cause.  Be consistent and organized Test Administrators and students will perform better when they are familiar with formats, materials and procedures. NEVER allow students to handle secure testing materials or be in the same area as the secure materials.

29. Organizing a Test - Workflow Download a list of students via File Download Manager and save it as an Excel Workbook. Notify faculty of their testing duties, room/area assignments, time, date, and location of training and test dates. Notify students of their testing time, date and locations. Prepare materials and rooms for the testing administration. Calculate the number of rooms needed for each group of testers (by grade level and curriculum group). Identify the testing area, the room numbers and teacher that will serve as test administrators. Also, designate an area for non- testers. Make sure all documents are correct and in place. From the student list, identify the curriculum groups that the students belong to. Identify the Students who will be testing and those who will not. Assign students to rooms according to their testing/non-testing designations. Check for updates or changes in enrollment. Assign students to rooms according to their testing/non-testing designations.

30. Important District Websites ARDA website:  http://oada.dadeschools.net/ http://oada.dadeschools.net/  Test Chair Information Page o http://oada.dadeschools.net/TestChairInfo/InfoForTestChair.asp http://oada.dadeschools.net/TestChairInfo/InfoForTestChair.asp Support Modules  http://oada.dadeschools.net/SupportModules/SupportModules. asp http://oada.dadeschools.net/SupportModules/SupportModules. asp

31. Software and Resources Microsoft Office: o MS Word o MS Excel o MS Access o MS Outlook (installed version) Technology Tools for Test Chairs: o http://oada.dadeschools.net/TestChairInfo/TechnologyToolsforTestChairs2.pdf http://oada.dadeschools.net/TestChairInfo/TechnologyToolsforTestChairs2.pdf Training Modules (Under “Archives” on Test Chair Information Page) o Basic MS Excel functions o How to use Mail Merge o How to use MS Access Support Modules http://oada.dadeschools.net/SupportModules/SupportModules.asp

32. Questions?