2014

STAAR

Test

Administrator

General

Training

1

Please note:

This training does

NOT take the place

of

reading the

manual.

2

Test Security and Confidentiality

Requirements

* Test security involves accounting for all

secure materials and confidential student

information….

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

….each test administration.

* Confidentiality of the state testing

program involves protecting the contents

of all…

Test booklets

Completed Answer Documents

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BEFORE the TEST

• All testing personnel who meet the

requirements to participate in state

testing must undergo training and

must sign the appropriate security oath

affirming that they understand what

is considered confidential.

• All tests must be administered in strict

accordance with the instructions

contained in the test administration

materials.

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Testing Room Make sure that the room you

are testing in meets the

following requirements:

-Testing rooms should be well

lit, well ventilated, quiet and

comfortable.

-No characteristic of the

environment should hinder

student test performance.

-All materials that could

provide instruction should be

covered.

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DURING the TEST

•No person may view, reveal, or discuss the

contents of a test booklet before, during

or after a test administration unless

specifically authorized to do so by the

procedures outlined in the test

administration materials.

•No person may duplicate, print, record,

write notes about, or capture by any

electronic means portion of a secure

assessment instrument (paper or online)

without prior approval from TEA.

•No individuals, other than students,

during an assessment may perform

calculations, solve or respond to test

items.

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dUrinG the test (con’t)

•Test administrators

conducting oral admin must

be aware that they are viewing

secure content, and that

responding to test items,

recording the information

they see, or discussing the

content of the test at any time

is strictly prohibited.

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AFTER the TEST

•Account for all materials

•No discussion of student responses or other

assessment information

•Report any testing irregularities to the

Campus Testing Coordinator (PC). Each person

participating in the state assessment program

is directly responsible for reporting

immediately any violation or suspected

violation of test security or

confidentiality.

•Failure to report violations can result in sanctions for individuals.

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Testing

Irregularities

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Testing Irregularities

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STATE CSISD

Serious 147 0

Procedural 4836 15

Non-violations 229

Total 5212 15

Examples of Serious

Irregularities

•Directly or indirectly assisting

students with responses

•Tampering with student responses

•Viewing secure test content before,

during, or after an assessment

•Discussing secure test content, student

responses, or student performance

•Scoring student tests, formally or

informally

•Duplicating, recording, or capturing

confidential test content

•Failure to report to an appropriate

authority that an individual has

engaged in the conduct listed above

Procedural

Irregularities

Less severe, more common,

and are typically the

result of minor deviations

in testing procedures.

Usually are unintentional

human errors.

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Examples of Procedural Irregularities

•Eligibility Error

Example:

eligible students not tested

•IEP Issue

Examples:

student administered wrong test

student did not receive required

accommodation

•Improper Accounting for Secure materials

Examples:

secure materials were not

returned/checked in/accounted for at the

end of the day.

lost or misplaced answer documents/test

booklets or other materials

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Examples of Procedural Irregularities

•Monitoring ErrorS

Test Administrator left room unattended

with students or secure materials present

Materials were not kept secure during

lunch/breaks

Failure to monitor during breaks

•Procedural ErrorS

Failure to issue correct materials

An untrained personnel handling

materials

Testing beyond the time limit

Failure to read the script verbatim

Student provided an unallowable

accommodation

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Penalties for Prohibited Conduct

Any person who violates, assists in the violation

of, or solicits another to violate or assist in

the violation of test security or

confidentiality, and any person who fails to

report such violation, may be subject to the

following penalties:

• Placement of restrictions on the issuance,

renewal, or holding of a Texas educator

certificate, either indefinitely or for a set term

• Issuance of an inscribed or non-inscribed

reprimand

• Suspension of a Texas educator certificate for a

set term

• Revocation or cancellation of a Texas

educator certificate without opportunity for

reapplication for a set term or permanently.

• Release or disclosure of confidential test

content could result in criminal prosecution

under Texas Government Code and Texas Penal

Code. The State Board of Educator Certification

may take any of the above actions based on

satisfactory evidence that an educator has

failed to cooperate with TEA in an

investigation.

• A breach of test security or confidentiality

may result in the invalidation of stUdents’

scores.

15

Read your manual

before test day.

STAAR Test

Administrator Manual

- Grades 3-5

Must be retained for the

Reading and Math

administrations!

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Test Security Webpage http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/security/

- 2014 Test Security Supplement

- Web-based Test Administrator Training Modules

- Oaths of Test Security and Confidentiality

Web-based Texas Test Administrator

Online Training Modules

www.TexasAssessment.com/TAonlinetraining

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Web-based Texas Test Administrator

Online Training Modules

www.TexasAssessment.com/TAonlinetraining

*Required if you were not teaching in CSISD last year OR

you did not complete the online training last year.

I must have your online certificates from last year to be

exempt from the modules!

You can review any of the 3 modules if you wish!

Module 1: Active Monitoring

Module 2: Distribution of Test Materials

Module 3: Proper Handling of Secure Materials

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Active

Monitoring

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Active Monitoring:

Ensuring Proper Testing Procedures

•Trained test administrator

must be present at all times.

•Materials cleared from desk

•cell phones/internet devices

not permitted.

• Confirm students are

working on only on the

section of the test being

administered that day and

they do not have access to

unallowable materials.

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Active Monitoring:

Ensuring Proper Testing Procedures

•Periodically remind students to

record their responses on their

answer documents. This must be

completed within the four hour

time period. Check answer

documents as students turn them

in to see if they have recorded

their responses.

•Only students are allowed to

erase their stray marks or darken

answer-choice circles and only

during the scheduled test session.

•Reinforcing, reviewing for,

and/or distributing testing

strategies during an assessment is

strictly prohibited.

25

Active Monitoring:

Ensuring Proper Testing Procedures

•Students must remain seated during the testing

•Students are not allowed to return to a test

administered on a previous test day.

•Communicate (in writing) the amount of time

left to test in one-hour intervals and in shorter

intervals during the last hour.

• Students will not be permitted to record

answers on the answer document after the time

limit has ended.

•During breaks or lunch students must not

discuss the content of the test, and test booklets

must be closed (breaks) or collected (lunch).

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STAAR Writing Tracking

Method

• A graphic is used on all STAAR

writing tests to help students

correctly link each prompt in the

test booklet to its corresponding

lined page in the answer document.

• The graphic is located at the top of

each prompt page and the top of

each lined page.

• The graphic is a 3½-inch rectangle

containing a unique set of symbols

(triangles, squares, or diamonds) for

each composition students have to

write.

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READ the following quotation.

A famous businessman once said,

“Players win games; teams win

championships.”

THINK carefully about the following statement.

Sometimes you can accomplish good things by yourself but

better things with other people.

WRITE an essay explaining whether it is better to work by yourself

or with a group.

Four-hour Time Limit

• The four-hour time period begins after

the test administrator reads the “saY”

directions and tells students to begin

working on their tests

• test administrators must use a clock or

timer

•Complete the required seating chart

•start and stop times must be recorded on

the seating chart

•students must record all responses by the

end of the four-hour time period

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Time Limits

Breaks Included in the 4 Hour Time Limit

(not allowed to stop the time clock)

- water breaks - bathroom breaks

- snack breaks - short physical

mental breaks

Breaks NOT Included in the 4 Hour Time

Limit (required to stop and restart the

time clock)

- lunch - emergencies

- movement of students - medical breaks

Remember to record stop and restart times

on the seating chart.

31

What can I say to a

student?

examples:

“YoU have not recorded all of

your responses on the answer

document. Please go back and mark

YoUr answers on it now.”

“i can’t answer that for YoU; jUst

do the best YoU can.”

“remember that YoU mUst record

your responses on the answer

document. Be sure to erase any

stray marks that you might have

accidentally made on your answer

docUment.”

32

Make sure

you are

reading the

directions

for the test

you are

giving each

day!

Example:

STAAR or

STAAR M test

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Reference Materials for

Mathematics

Consists of formulas, constants,

conversions, periodic tables, etc.

Are used for:

Grades 3-8 Mathematics

The reference materials Will be

embedded in the paper test booklets and

perforated so students can tear them

out.

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Work Space for Mathematics

•Paper test will have blank space around

test questions for students to make

notes and perform calculations

•Math test will have graph paper

embedded in the paper test booklets and

perforated so students can tear out. (

Must be returned with materials to be

destroyed.)

•Campuses may print copies of the graph

paper from the TEA website and

distribute to students to use during

test. (Must be returned with materials

to be destroyed.)

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DISTRIBUTION OF

SECURE

MATERIALS 36

Distribution of Testing Materials

•In the days prior to picking up your

materials…..

ask questions regarding grouping or

accommodations

•If you have a question or see an error

please contact the principal and the

coordinator.

•Remember, giving a student a wrong test

or an inappropriate accommodation can

invalidate scores and is a testing error.

•Do not post groups with confidential

information attached.

•Check, recheck and triple check that

the test booklet matches the answer

document.

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Distribution of Testing Materials

•Check, recheck and triple check that a

student requiring STAAR M has a STAAR M

booklet and STAAR M answer document.

•Before leaving the checkout room,

count all materials issued to you.

•siGn “oUt” on the materials control

sheet only after you have confirmed

that it is correct. If a correction needs

to be made to the Materials Control

sheet, wait until the correction has been

made and initialed before signing out.

•When materials are returned we will

siGn them “in”. i hiGhlY recommend that

you watch us count and sign the

materials in and watch us initial in the

“in” box before leavinG.

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PROPER HANDLING

OF SECURE

MATERIALS

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Testing Bins

Testing Do Not Disturb Sign

Door Hanger

Restroom Pass

Test Administrator Checklist

Attendance Rosters

Seating Chart

Bin Order Diagram

Accommodation Verification Forms (if

necessary)

Pencils

Erasers

Answer Documents

Test Booklets

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A

BIG THANKS

To

PTO

For the door prizes

and refreshments 43

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45

Security Oaths

and

Confidentiality

Statements

46

Thank you for

everything you

do to make

testing a success!!

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Answer

Documents

48

STAAR Answer Documents

Grade 3-answer document, not a

scorable booklet

Precoded labels-Grade 4

all STAAR M

Precoded answer documents-STAAR

grade 3-4 reading, mathematics,

Score Codes

“s”-tested

“a”-absent

“o”-other (illness, testing

irregularity

“*”-STAAR/STAAR Modified

ssi score codes: “P”, “r”, “Pw”

For each subject area, only one

score code should be gridded.

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Bottom of answer

document

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Answer

Documents

•TEST TAKEN INFO field —

information about the

language version (English

or Spanish) must be

recorded in this field.

• “en” or “sP” for Grades 3 and

4

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STAAR M STAAR

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Accommodations

53

Oral

Administration

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Allowable Test Administration

Procedures and Materials

These are available to all students, but should

not be given to every student. Students

cannot be required to use them. These should

be “tried and trUe” when UsinG.

These include:

* Reading aloud a writing prompt (if student

asks)

* Making assistive tools available including:

scratch paper, place markers, colored

overlays, magnifying devices, highlighters,

colored pencils, or crayons

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Allowable Test Administration

Procedures and Materials

* Using tools to minimize distractions,

such as stress balls

* Allowing individual and small group

administration.

* Gently reminding students to stay on

task.

* Reading assistance on grade 3

mathematics

*Reading test aloud to self

These will be marked on our local

Testing Accommodation Sheet but will

not be required to be marked on the

answer document.

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Read Entire Test Aloud

• Anyone viewing secure

material and must follow

all the security and

confidentiality guidelines.

• NEVER READ THE READING

SELECTIONS ON A STAAR

READING TEST!

• NEVER READ ANY PART OF THE

STAAR WRITING TEST! (Writing

prompt may be read at

student request only.)

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For all

other

accommodations

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The Accommodation Triangle

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What do we need to do to document Accommodations?

• Mark GA, BR, LP, OA, XD, and/or LA in the bubbles for each subject.

• Mark each accommodation that is documented and made available to a student, even if the student did not use the accommodation during testing.

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What do we need to do to document Accommodations?

GA = general

accommodation

BR = braille administration

LP = large print

administration

OA = oral administration

XD = extra day

LA = linguistic

accommodation

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Read your manual

in its entirety.

Have your manual

on the day of

testing.

Be prepared!!

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