Remote Summative Testing

Background: District Coordinators need to ensure that all School Coordinators and Test Administrators have access to the Test Registration Tool and Test Delivery System to administer the state assessments. These actions can reduce test administration issues on test day.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators

Timeline: At the beginning of the school year to allow for the administration of interim assessments.

Action Items: 

• Upload the user role file to the Test Registration Tool to assign Test Administrator, School Coordinator and other roles.
• After you upload the file, reach out to users and ask them to immediately notify you if they are not able to log in or are assigned the incorrect school.
  • Include a screencast that shows how to log in and check your assigned school.

Considerations: In some cases, a user may show up as ‘inactive’.  In this case, adding a user through the test registration tool may not work and may require a user upload file.  Be sure you address all inactive users before test day.

Background: Families need to ensure they have the proper bandwidth and software for remote testing at their home or testing location.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators / School Coordinators working with families

Timeline: At the beginning of the school year so students can have access to technology for interim assessment access as well.

Action Items:

• Share the most recent bandwidth guidelines with families and ask them to ensure the internet connection in their home or testing location meets the requirements.   
  
  • Families can test bandwidth using a site such as Speedtest.
• Also send families directions and appropriate documentation to update their browsers and download the appropriate secure browser if they are using their own devices.  Contact information for technical support should also be provided.

Considerations:

• Note that software requirements regularly change so it is critical to share the most up-to-date information in a timely manner, preferably just before testing begins to avoid the need for families to verify updates more than once.  Communicate through multiple channels, including email, mass text message and a parent portal system your LEA uses. 
  
  • For example, as of March 2021, the Smarter Balanced secure browser will not install on a personal Chromebook device, only Chromebooks that are school issued.

Background: District Information Technology (IT) Coordinators need to ensure that all families have reliable internet access to test remotely.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators working with IT departments

Timeline: At the beginning of the school year so students can have access to technology for interim assessment access as well.

Action Items:

• Ask your district’s IT Coordinator to send out a survey via email or by phone for families to identify their needs regarding internet access.
• Create a plan to deliver and manage hotspots, (e.g. decide how to track the initial distribution, how additional hotspots will be distributed and tracked, how to ensure equitable distribution)

Considerations:

• Be sure to reach out through multiple modes of communication, including phone calls for families who may not have an email on file.
• It may also be helpful to include questions about the hotspot on the same survey as questions about computing device needs. These can be part of a checklist for families to confirm they have everything they need for remote testing.
• Check with mobile carriers regarding any internet access limits, data limits, or signal considerations as part of determining the best hotspot for the district’s local context.
• It may be helpful to place orders for hotspots at the same time, as demand around testing time may increase. Consider which providers are allowed for subsidized housing families as there may be restrictions.

Background: The District Coordinator partners with the District’s IT Coordinator to develop a distribution plan that best serves all sectors of the district.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators working with IT Coordinators

Timeline: At the beginning of the school year with adjustments made based on local context and needs.

Action Items:

• Develop a system that allows for technology (including assistive technology) to be distributed in an equitable and accessible way.
• The system should include: 
  
  • distribution points that allow for device pickup and support
  • distribution times that allow for working families to participate
  • information to families on how to support their child with device connection and operation
  • a process to manage updates for device applications and software

Considerations:

• Consider holding “depots” for technology distribution in multiple locations across the district, improving access geographically.  Students and families in socio-economically disadvantaged statuses may have limited access to transportation, therefore, they may need support from their school or district in accessing technology assistance locations.  Supports could include technology assistance times at local school sites or public transportation assistance.
• Communication of technology distribution plans should be clear and sent through multiple communication channels. Best channels for communication should be determined at the local level and could include social media postings, email, parent portal notifications, mailers, and information postings at school or community locations.
• Providing technical support at distribution points provides families with a “one stop shop” for accessing technology needs.

Background: There are materials needed for remote testing that are not technology embedded.  Plan for non-technology material distribution and individual student needs.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators working with School Coordinators

Timeline: Planning should take place at the start of the year, with adjustments made based on local context.  Implementation of non-technology embedded materials distribution should occur prior to testing.

Action Items:

• District Coordinators should determine the best distribution points for testing materials (e.g., scratch paper, multiplication table, 100s chart, other non-embedded supports).  This is often best done at the school site level, where teams can build materials bundles specific to the needs of the students and families.
• Materials bundles also provide an opportunity to include login information, testing schedules, and notes about the upcoming testing specific to the school or district context.

Considerations:

• Secure material distributions should include a method for tracking materials and returning materials.  A stamped and addressed return envelope can be included with material distribution.  Secure material return options can be incorporated into material distribution or support depot structures.  Secure materials that can be destroyed remotely per state/territory guidance (e.g., scratch paper) should be destroyed immediately following testing while on-camera with testing staff.
• Students and families in socio-economically disadvantaged statuses may not have access to non-embedded testing materials, therefore, they may need support from their school or district in accessing these tools.  Support in accessing non-embedded materials could include creating distribution points at local schools, mailing options, and combining material pick-ups with school-related services or meetings (e.g., special education services, parent-teacher conferences).
• Students requiring non-embedded supports should be provided with a materials bundle that includes the needed accessibility materials where these materials are appropriate for use in the remote testing environment.
• Multiple distribution points and times are recommended to make materials as accessible as possible.

Background: The District and/or School Coordinator identifies and trains staff to efficiently administer remote testing.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators working with School Coordinators and Test Administrators.

Timeline: Scheduling of training dates should take place at the start of the year to avoid conflicts with staff schedules. Actual trainings can take place months or weeks before testing starts.

Action Items:

• District Coordinators should communicate with School Coordinators to develop a protocol for identifying current Test Administrators and additional staff who may not have traditionally been utilized to administer the assessments in the past.
• Schedules should be created to ensure Test Administrators are not administering both remote and in person at the same time.
• Establish and schedule training sessions for Test Administrators who will administer tests remotely.

Considerations:

• Build out a help desk to support technology struggles (including assistive technology when needed) by either the Test Administrator or student.
• District and School Coordinators will also want to consider the technological capacity of potential remote Test Administrators.
• The number of students being tested remotely in each test session should be less than 10 which will impact the number of Test Administrators needed.
• Offer additional trainings for remote Test Administrators at various times to accommodate the different schedules and reduce the impact away from their other duties.
• Consider creating flexible teams to administer and move around as needed.

Background: The District and/or School Coordinator communicates protocols to Test Administrators, students, and families to ensure a secure and effective hybrid environment (e.g., part of the student’s test is administered remotely, and other parts are administered in-person).

Stakeholders: District and/or School Coordinators communicating to all other stakeholder groups (e.g., Test Administrators, additional staff, students, families).

Timeline:  District and/or School Coordinators should communicate in mass via email, text messages, letters sent home or phone calls to the families/guardians of students being tested in a hybrid environment prior to the first day of testing.

Action Item:  The communication should provide the schedule for remote and in-person testing and the necessary frontloading of remote testing requirements to ensure a secure and standardized environment for students to test.

Considerations:

• Staff proficiency and efficiency with technology (including assistive technology) should be carefully considered, especially when considering the remote testing environment.
• Utilizing the practice tests and/or Interim Assessments prior to summative testing will ensure the Test Administrator and students are familiar with the testing environment.

Background: The District and/or School Coordinator has a system in place to schedule assessments and administer make-up tests that need to be completed by students.

Stakeholders: District and/or School Coordinators

Timeline: Development of make-up schedule should occur at the same time as development of the testing schedule.

Action Items:

• Develop a schedule that provides enough flexibility and time for students to complete a test at a different time or have extended time if needed.
• Carve out time in the schedule to provide times for make-up tests and assign test administrators to administer make-up tests and/or tests that need to be completed.
• Create a plan to monitor test completion throughout the testing window (e.g., Create a running list of students that need to complete the tests and compare with lists from completion status reports).

Considerations:

• The number of students that may need to makeup tests or need extended time to finish testing may vary so have an ample amount of test administrators available to ensure the number of students being assessed is manageable for monitoring and test security purposes.
• Ensuring multiple people are monitoring the completion status reports helps prevent tests from expiring before make-ups can occur.

Background: The District and/or School Coordinator develops a system within an organization to document and monitor students that do not take assessments for various reasons.

Stakeholders: District and/or School Coordinators

Timeline: Development of the system should happen a few months before testing. Any training or communication about the system should happen prior to testing.

Action Items:

• Develop a system that houses the tracking and documentation of students that do not test including the reason why each student has not tested.  
  
  • Document the attempts to contact the student and families.
  • Keep track of the date, time, and place that in either a student information system or other database to be used for future reference if needed.

Considerations:

• Keeping a spreadsheet of the non-testers with additional demographic information (e.g., English Learner status, disability status, economic status, race/ethnicity, etc.) to monitor if any groups are struggling to test.
• Consider state and federal accountability student group thresholds as part of monitoring student completion rates.

Background: The District Coordinator prepares School Coordinators for test administration.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators working with School Coordinators

Timeline: Creation of materials, or updates to existing materials, should happen in the fall, to be shared with schools a few months before testing.

Action Items:

• Provide training resources (e.g., slides, videos, documents) that School Coordinators can use to train their Test Administrators as well as slides that Test Administrators can use with students.  
  
  • Include screencasts in the slide deck which can show how the newer features operate (e.g., any videoconferencing resources).

Considerations:

• Schedule office hour sessions during which School Coordinators and Test Administrators can ask questions.   
  
  • This can be particularly helpful for new coordinators and Test Administrators.
• Consider flexible training models, including time for questions to be asked within training sessions.  The models can include multiple modules with questions between them to allow participants to attend the modules that focus on the specific topics they need support with.
• An internal location to post training materials for reference is often helpful to School Coordinators and Test Administrators (e.g., an intranet portion of the district website, a cloud-based document such as a Google Doc).
• Practice opportunities in setting up test sessions is helpful when training staff new to testing, prior to practicing with students.

Background: Test Administrators and teachers should help prepare students for state testing.

Stakeholders: District and School Coordinators planning for and working with Test Administrators

Timeline: Practice test can happen any time in the year leading up to testing.

Action Items:

• Test Administrators set up a remote practice session with students so they can confirm that all their settings are working properly, including accessibility resources.
• Test Administrators confirm that assistive technology is functioning correctly for students who use assistive technology. If the assistive technology doesn’t function or isn’t available for remote test administration, plan for the student to test in-person.
• Make an inventory of devices, or work with school sites to make an inventory of devices, that did not work correctly and offer replacements well before the testing date.

Considerations:

• Use these practice sessions to confirm that both video and audio features work correctly. Troubleshoot with students as needed during practice sessions.
• In some cases, the student may simply need a better microphone instead of a new testing device.
• Use of interim assessments during instruction throughout the year will provide Test Administrators and students an opportunity to become familiar with the testing technology.

Background: District and/or School Coordinators prepare students and families for test administration.

Stakeholders: District and School Coordinators planning for and working with Test Administrators

Timeline: Developing a list of available resources and distribution plans to families should happen early in the school year.

Action Items:

• Create a resource which includes how-to screencasts, login information, and other critical information to share with students and families so they have a resource to refer to if technical issues arise.   
  
  • Include a screencast showing how to download the secure browser on several different devices and how to disable programs on those devices in order to run the browser (e.g., different screencasts for different devices).
• It will be helpful to link the resource to a QR barcode that they can scan to access the information.
• Update information on the resource and the same QR code will give them access to the latest information.
• Create a plan for how to distribute this information and when different modes of communication should be utilized for contact with families, including text messages, email updates, and parent portals.

Considerations:

• Make the QR code available online as well as on a flyer that is sent home.
• Consider having all family materials available in multiple languages, making the materials more accessible.

Background: Accessibility resource availability in remote settings may be different than during in-person testing sessions.  Universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations are available for participating students to meet their accessibility needs and preferences.  Educators and teams supporting students should consider the use of universal tools and designated supports for English learners, struggling readers, and other general education students needing accessibility resources.  In addition, Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 504 Plan teams should consider the testing method (including technology or bandwidth limitations) when determining which testing method best meets the student's needs.

Stakeholders: District and School Coordinators planning for, and working with, IEP, 504 Plan, and other student support teams

Timeline: IEP meetings, 504 Plan meetings, and other support team meetings occur throughout the year, therefore supporting teams in reviewing accessibility supports also occurs throughout the year.

Action Items:

• Using the Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines (PDF), educators should reflect upon both student needs and the method of test administration when determining appropriate accessibility resources.   
  
  • Some resources may not be available in remote settings (e.g. Braille, large-print paper tests).
• Educators and teams supporting students should review the needs and support use of English learners, struggling readers, and other students who may need accessibility resources and determine how they will use the resources during remote testing.
• For students with disabilities, IEP and 504 Plan teams should determine whether remote testing is appropriate for the student’s needs, if the needed accessibility resources can be utilized during remote testing according to state/territory and consortium guidance, and how the student will access resources remotely.  A review or addendum to current IEPs or 504 Plans may be needed.

Considerations:

• Collaborate with the district’s Curriculum and Instruction, ESL/Bilingual Programs, and Special Education departments to conduct trainings and provide support related to accessibility resources during remote testing. Provide resources in primary languages for families of English learners.
• Utilize the Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines in conjunction with the Smarter Balanced Accessibility Strategies for Remote Teaching and Learning to determine which accessibility resources can be used remotely.
• Make sure to use the most updated information available from the state/territory and Smarter Balanced regarding accessibility supports.

Background: Develop opportunities for educators and students to interact with accessibility resources and build familiarity with both accessing resources and using them effectively in a remote testing environment.

Stakeholders: District and School Coordinators planning for, and working with, Test Administrators 

Timeline: Throughout the year, aligned with the accessibility needs of each student.

Action Items:

• Create opportunities for educators and students to become experienced with the operation and contextual use of accessibility resources in all testing formats.
• For remote testing, opportunities to practice using accessibility resources may be of highest importance to routinize the use of the resources for independent testing.
• Use of practice tests and training tests prior to testing may be used as interactive learning of the operation of the testing platform while providing contextual use of accessibility resources and assistive technology when needed.
• Use of interim assessments during instruction throughout the year also provide Test Administrators and students an opportunity to become familiar with the testing technology, accessibility resources, and assistive technology when needed.

Considerations:

• Ensure that students use accessibility resources (including assistive technology when needed) when administering interim assessments throughout the year during instruction and have access to these resources on the Practice and Training Tests.
• Consider how to support students with the independent use of accessibility resources (including assistive technology when needed) throughout the year, providing more guided and prompted support at the outset and working towards independent practice.  As an example, students can be coached using the practice test to become familiar with their supports and begin using supports independently through the use of interim assessments.
• Be selective about the sequence of practicing the use of accessibility resources, considering the frequency that the resource will be needed by the student in determining the timelines for resource introduction and training.
• Using the Smarter Balanced Accessibility Strategies for Remote Teaching and Learning may be helpful in reminding students of situations where accessibility resources might be used during activities outside of the testing platform.

Background: Develop different modes of communication to utilize prior to, throughout, and after the assessment window.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators

Timeline: Developing communications and communication plans should begin early in the school year that will include pre-test information along with post-test information.

Action Items:

• Different modes of communication should be utilized for contact points with test administrators which include video conference meetings, email updates, and in person trainings.
• Development of office hours for Q&A sessions for users within an organization.
• Scheduled emails that go out to the field weekly to provide updates regarding  information to support remote testing.
• Following local health and safety protocols, communicate in person with School Coordinators, Test Administrators and support staff to gather additional questions or areas of opportunities to improve the system.
• Use letter templates from Smarter Balanced or the state education agency to communicate with families along with communication applications, phone calls, etc.
• Provide communications in primary languages for families of English learners.

Considerations:

• Sign up for update emails from the state education agency and share them with School Coordinators and Test Administrators.
• Monitor state-level support resources for updates specific to the district’s local and regional context (e.g., updated steps for administration, new video demonstrations, and other resources to support administration of remote testing).

Background: Develop different modes of communication leading up to the beginning of the testing window which may include upcoming testing schedules, updates to the system, and identify students that need to be assessed. 

Stakeholders: District Coordinators 

Timeline: Developing communications and communication plans should happen a few months before testing occurs. 

Action Items:

• Meetings should be scheduled between District and School Coordinators to communicate new information including test security protocols, additional training for test administrators, updated DFAs, secure browsers, and potential remote test administrators and remind of the importance of testing along with practicing logging in prior to the summative administrations.
• Gather information and create lists of potential students that will test remotely and house them in one common document/system.
• Send out testing letters to notify families of the importance of testing and procedures that include encouraging their child to try their best, create a quiet place for them to test and ensure they do not attempt to help their child during the test.
• Follow up with digital forms of communications (e.g., email, mass text, phone calls, parent portals).   

Considerations:

• Develop a resource that describes the remote testing features (e.g., embedded video and audio communications for Test Administrators and students, advanced scheduling, screen share) to be shared with School Coordinators and Test Administrators who will administer tests remotely.
• Suggest that Test Administrators practice remote test sessions prior to administration of summative assessments.

Background: Develop different modes of communication to utilize during the summative test administration which may include updates to the system in the middle of the testing window.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators 

Timeline: Developing communications and communication plans should happen during the middle of the testing window. 

Action Items:

• Continue to meet during those calendared meetings and continue to communicate new information as it comes in along with test completion rates, review of test security, and common testing issues.
• Review lists that were created to update/revise lists of students.
• Email any new information to coordinators and test administrators that is pertinent during the testing window (e.g., any system updates or downtime).
• Follow up with phone calls for families that have yet to be reached via letters and digital communications and ultimately perform home visits if unable to reach via the modes previously mentioned. 

Consideration: Consider sharing out the remote testing features to School Coordinators to share out with remote test administrators, students, and families. These may include the screen share, broadcast, individual messaging, video monitoring features, etc.

Background: Develop different modes of communication to utilize after the administration of summative tests to ensure families receive achievement information for their students.

Stakeholders: District Coordinators 

Timeline: Post-test communications should occur after testing and as student test scores become available. 

Action Items:

• Review/reflect on the process for assessing students remotely to refine and improve internal systems to efficiently and effectively measure student achievement.
• Review the list of students expected to take the test remotely and compare to the list of completed tests to investigate/reflect on what barriers prevented them from testing.
• Communicate with families when and how student scores will be available and accessible. Provide communications in primary languages for families of English learners. 

Considerations:

• Keeping a spreadsheet of the non-testers with additional demographic information (e.g., English Learner status, disability status, economic status, race/ethnicity) to inform communications about test results.
• Consider state and federal accountability student group thresholds as part of monitoring student participation rates.

Background: Ensure test security protocols are followed before, during, and after testing by district personnel, students, and families that encounter the assessments. 

Stakeholders: District Coordinators working with School Coordinators and Test Administrators 

Timeline: Developing and sharing security guidance should happen early in the year. Ensuring those protocols are met happens during testing. 

Action Items:

• Security of test administration materials is ensured through clear communication and expectations.
• Develop and share test security guidance documents, aligned to state and local requirements, to share with families for awareness.  Guidance documents should be translated as needed based on local needs.
• Test Administrators refer to the test security protocols described in the Test Administration Manual throughout test administration.
• Ensure that all test security requirements, training, and documentation protocols are met for Test Administrators and school staff per state requirements as described in the Online Summative Test Administration Manual.  This includes video monitoring of students during testing, use of embedded communication tools with the student as needed, and reporting concerns or incidents to the School or District Coordinator. 

Considerations:

• Coordinators should review any test security guidance with school staff during training sessions and review test security guidance with families prior to testing to ensure consistent understanding of expectations.
• Remind staff that there may be some incidents outside of their control, however they must immediately contact their School Coordinators if any incidents arise.
• Develop a district process for documenting and reporting test security incidents per state requirements, as described in the Online Summative Test Administration Manual.
• Remote testing may involve additional test security requirements and/or considerations.  Examples may include technology security needs to support video feeds, and collection or destruction of non-embedded accessibility-related materials.