EXPLORE & PLAN 2013
TRAINING OF
SCHOOL TEST
SUPERVISORS
Canyons School District
Research and Assessment
September 2013
TOPICS
 Duties of the School Test Supervisor
 Testing Ethics
 Pretest Activities
 During Testing
 Post-test Activities
THE SCHOOL
TEST SUPERVISOR
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Check and SECURE test materials. Inventory all supplies.

Contact ACT if you need more student booklets.

Contact Research and Assessment for other supplies.

Develop testing schedule and rooms (work with Administration).

Read EXPLORE Test Supervisor’s Manual or PLAN Test Supervisor’s Manual.

Read Room Supervisor’s Manual

Develop a process testing students who have special needs.

Train Room Supervisors


Background information

Testing schedule & Timing each test exactly

Test Security—materials and testing process

Room set-up

Role is to actively proctor students and facilitate test
Organize and return completed test and booklets to ACT for scoring.
TESTING ETHICS AND
TEST SECURITY
5
APPROPRIATE TESTING PRACTICES
 In preparation for testing:
 Appropriate environment is set.
 Personnel who will administer test must be trained
and employed by the district.
 All information in the Room Supervisor Manual is
reviewed.
 Test material is secure at all time.
6
APPROPRIATE TESTING PRACTICES
 During testing:
 All students who are eligible for testing are tested.
 Information from the Room Supervisor Manual is followed
exactly.
 Accommodations are provided to eligible students.
 Appropriate Proctoring Includes:
 The importance of the test.
 The good faith efforts of all students is not undermined!
7
UNETHICAL PRACTICES
 It is unethical for educators to jeopardize the
integrity of an assessment or the validity of student
responses.
 Some examples:
 Providing students with questions from the test to review
before taking the test.
 Rewording or clarifying.
 Allowing students to use unauthorized resources to find
answers, including having materials on wall which provide
answers to questions on the test.
8
POTENTIAL ETHICS VIOLATIONS
 Ethical violations are to be reported to the supervisor of the
person who may be investigated, the school administrator.
 Protocol
 Follow district policies and procedures.
 Canyons School District’s procedure is to follow the steps
described in the “Investigation of Violation” described in USOE’s
ethics training.
 An initial investigation will be conducted at the school level and
needs to be well documented (interviews, written statements,
etc).
 The research & assessment director along with the deputy
superintendent will review the initial investigation and determine
findings and possible next steps.
9
PRETEST ACTIVITIES
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
 Standardized Procedures
 Room supervisors should not be a relative or guardian of the examinee.
 All testing personnel are required to read materials provided by ACT. (Test
Supervisor’s Manual or Room Supervisor’s Manual)
 Adherence to specified standardized procedures is mandatory.
 Test Security
 EXPLORE/PLAN materials cannot be copied or modified in any way.
 Testing personnel MUST protect the security of testing materials as
described in the above noted manuals.
 Investigations
 In cases of suspected or documented irregularities, all testing personnel
are obligated to cooperate completely with ACT in a timely manner.
 Equal Treatment
 EXPLORE/PLAN is to be administered in a non-discriminatory manner in
accordance to all applicable laws including the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
THE EXPLORE/PLAN COMPONENTS
 Career and Education Planning
(non-cognitive)
 Course Taking
 Interest Inventory
 Needs Assessment
 Objective Assessments (cognitive)
 English
 Mathematics
 Reading
 Science
NON-COGNITIVE COMPONENTS
(GIVEN BEFORE THE COGNITIVE SECTION)
 Student Information Section
 Name, Student ID number, Birthdate, Gender, Grade, Race/Ethnicity
 Needs Assessment (Students indicate if they need help…)
 Exploring education, career, and job options
 Improving writing skills
 Improving reading speed or comprehension
 Improving study skills
 Improving computer skills
 Improving public speaking skills
 Plans and Background
 Language the student knows best
 Types of courses planned in high school
 High school coursework plans in five subject areas
 Participation in accelerated, honors, and outreach programs
 Parent’s highest level of education
 Educational and career plans after high school
 UNIACT Interest Inventory
 Provides regions of the world of work that students may want to explore
TIME TESTING BY SUBJECT
SESSION
EXPLORE
PLAN
Non-Cognitive
40-50 min
60-75 min
English
30 min
30 min
Mathematics
30 min
40 min
break
5 min
5 min
Reading
30 min
25 min
Science
30 min
25 min
General Admin
10 min
15 min
140 min
140 min
EXPLORE/PLAN DISTRICT TESTING
WINDOW
 EXPLORE Window:
 PLAN Window:
September 24th –
October 11th
Main Window &
Makeups
 Box and mail EXPLORE
materials for scoring
to ACT on or before –
October 14th
October 9th – 23rd
Main Window &
Makeups
 Box and mail PLAN
materials for scoring
to ACT on or before –
October 25th
UPDATE ! ARRIVAL OF MATERIALS
EXPLORE AND PLAN SCHEDULED DELIVERY
DATES
Student booklets, Answer sheets, Admin manuals, etc.
– should arrive the week of SEPT 9th. We ordered 10%
over first week’s enrollment
Student pre-id labels – should arrive the week of
SEPT 16th. We know PLAN exported from Skyward first
week of September 2013.
PRE-ID LABELS - SORT CODES BY SECTION
(SAME AS 2012)




ACT only allowed for a sort code of three digits! We
therefore could not use course and section like we do
for the Core CRTs.
This created significant problems in how we could sort
answer documents for your school.
We have sorted your students by Section. We made it
a three digit. Therefore section 02 looks like 002.
If you asked for sorting by US History you will have it
by section (001 to 014 sections) and sorted by student
last name.
DETAILED LIST OF MATERIALS
 Test Supervisor Manual
 Room Supervisor Manual - 1 per 20 students
 Instructions for Completing Your Answer Folder - 1




per student
Answer Folders - 1 per student
Return envelopes - preaddressed to ACT for scoring
School Header Sheet
Class/Group Headers
ADMINISTRATION OPTIONS
1-Day or Multi-Day Administration
 1-Day: The student non-cognitive components
must be administered first, followed by the
academic tests.
 Multi-Day: Do the non-cognitive components
before the academic tests.
WE WANT TO
CONTINUE TO HAVE
INCLUSIVE TESTING
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
According to the PLAN and EXPLORE Test Supervisor
Manual.
“Students with physical or learning disabilities who
cannot complete the EXPLORE/PLAN tests in the
standard time limits, using standard test materials, may
be tested under accommodated conditions and/or using
accommodated test materials available from ACT.
All non-test portions of the EXPLORE/PLAN program
can be completed with the assistance of a reader or
marker in an untimed setting.
PLANNING THE TESTING OF STUDENTS WITH
ACCOMMODATIONS
 Students need an IEP or 504 to be eligible.
 Administration of accommodated tests should be,
on the day, or as close to the day(s) as possible.
 ACT recommends small group administration for
students receiving similar accommodations.
 Work with Special Ed. Department to develop
room schedule. Start the discussions as soon as
possible.
GUIDELINES FOR TESTING ELL STUDENTS
We are inclusive in our testing!
We are applying inclusive guidelines for
testing ELL student for the EXPLORE and
PLAN (Based on state Core CRTs).
GUIDELINES FOR TESTING ELL STUDENTS
YEARS ENROLLED IN A U.S. SCHOOL
Explore
PLAN
Explore
PLAN
Explore
PLAN
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
HOME SCHOOL STUDENTS
Home School Students
Home school students need to be registered
for at least one of the core subjects tested by
the Explore/Plan to participate.
In these few instances the student needs to test
on the same schedule as the school.
COMMUNICATION TO PARENTS
 This is important and needs to occur early.
 Parents need to be informed about the upcoming
EXPLORE/PLAN tests.
 Refer to the letter developed by our
Communications Department
 Additional methods to communicate the
importance of the EXPLORE/PLAN – Newsletter,
Newspaper, Website, Blog, Email, etc.
SELECTION AND TRAINING OF ROOM
SUPERVISORS
 A room supervisor (test proctor) is needed in
each testing room to read directions and to
closely monitor students.
 If room has over 25 students, an additional
person should be assigned to assist the room
supervisor
 All personnel who assist with testing must be
trained and review the Room Supervisor
Manual.
ROOM SUPERVISORS, CONTINUED
A few days before testing
 all testing personnel should read the
instructions carefully. Do not wait to do this
an hour before testing!
 you must have a brief training for all room
supervisors
SELECTING THE TESTING ROOM
 Pick good rooms - lighting, etc. You know what
works best for student testing.
 Avoid auditoriums or cafeterias! Lap boards are also
strongly discouraged.
 As we know, a poor testing environment does affect
student performance in many instances.
SCHOOL TEST SUPERVISOR TASKS
PRIOR TO TESTING
 Check ALL materials shipped by ACT. We have




ordered 10% overage of first week’s enrollment
Lock up all materials
Be an expert of both School Supervisor Manual
and Room Supervisor Manuals
Train Room Supervisors (Test Proctor)
Schedule and reserve testing rooms
SCHOOL TEST SUPERVISOR TASKS
PRIOR TO TESTING, CONTINUED
 Plan seating arrangements
 Assemble the following student materials in each
test room:
 Pencil Sharpener, No. 2 Pencils, Supply of
Calculators for the Math Test
 Place student answer documents and test
booklets in each room
 Provide roster of students for each room
DURING TESTING
KEY ACTIVITIES
 Verify testing facilities are ready
 Distribute test materials
 Reminders for staff:
 Instructions read verbatim
 Timing of tests
 At first session, students fill in name and test code
 Students must get their own test materials back each day, but
they’ll be returned and stored securely between test sessions.
 Monitor Rooms
 Troubleshoot
 Record any Issue on Testing Irregularity Reports or on the Test
Supervisor’s Comment Form
POST–TEST ACTIVITIES
Check Answer Documents for…
 FORM CODE! Make sure it is completed.
This will assure test is scored against the
correct key.
 CLARITY OF MARKING. Verify with
Room Supervisor that students answered
ovals with dark pencil markings.
CHECK ANSWER DOCUMENTS FOR
ACCOMMODATION CODES
 1 = Standard print materials with extended time
limits (no other assistance)
 2 = Large Print test booklet with standard time.
 3 = Large Print with extended time.
 You can mark up to 10
RECORDING ACCOMMODATION CODES
The only status codes you need to worry about are the Special Ed,
Accommodation Codes and Home/Hospital (Homebound). Test
results will be uploaded into Skyward
VOID SCORING CODE
The Room Supervisor may recommend that some
or all of the tests not be scored. This is very rare!
 E to Void English
 M to Void Math
 R to Void Reading
 S to Void Science
 Student must be notified!
SCHOOL HEADER SHEET
 Be sure to follow all
directions listed in your
School Supervisor
Manual.
 The codes are critical
to the correct scoring
of the test!
PACKING THE BOXES FOR RETURN
Follow the directions listed in the school
supervisor’s manual for
EXPLORE and PLAN.
EMAIL ME WHEN BOXES ARE MAILED FOR
SCORING!
hal.sanderson@canyonsdistrict.org
ACT MAILING ADDRESS FOR EXPLORE
EXPLORE Scoring Service
2727 Scott Blvd.
P.O. Box 4026
Iowa City, IA 52243-4026
ACT MAILING ADDRESS FOR PLAN
PLAN Scoring Service
2727 Scott Blvd.
P.O. Box 4026
Iowa City, IA 52243-4026