It’s the law!
Texas Education Code (TEC)
Sec. 39.0301. SECURITY IN ADMINISTRATION OF ASSESSMENT
INSTRUMENTS. (a) The commissioner:
(1) shall establish procedures for the administration of
assessment instruments adopted or developed under Section
39.023, including procedures designed to ensure the security of
the assessment instruments; and …
It’s the law!
Texas Administrative Code (TAC)
19 TAC Chapter 101. Assessment, Subchapter CC.
Commissioner’s Rules Concerning Implementation of the
Academic Content Areas Testing Program
§101.3031. Required Test Administration Procedures and Training Activities
to Ensure Validity, Reliability, and Security of Assessments.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Purpose.
Test administration procedures.
Training activities.
Records retention.
Applicability.
It’s the law!
Texas Administrative Code
19 TAC §101.3031(b) Test administration procedures. These test
administration procedures shall be delineated in the test administration
materials provided to school districts and charter schools annually. Districts
and charter schools must comply with all of the applicable requirements
specified in the test administration materials. Test administration materials
shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) general testing program information;
(2) requirements for ensuring test security and confidentiality described
in the 2013 Test Security Supplement provided in this subsection;
Figure: 19 TAC §101.3031(b)(2)
(3) procedures for test administration;
(4) responsibilities of personnel involved in test administration; and
(5) procedures for materials control.
It’s the law!
Procedures for maintaining the security and confidentiality of
assessments are specified in the Test Security Supplement, the
District and Campus Coordinator Manual, and in the appropriate
test administration materials.
It’s the law!
Conduct that departs from the test administration procedures as
established in the Test Security Supplement, the District and
Campus Coordinator Manual, and test administrator manuals is
considered a testing irregularity.
It’s the law!
Violation of Security and Confidentiality of Assessments
Conduct that constitutes a severe violation of test administration
procedures (serious irregularities) may include, but is not limited
to, the actions listed below.
- changing or altering an examinee’s response or answer to
a test item
- providing, suggesting, or indicating to an examinee a
response or answer to a secure test question (this includes
suggesting that the examinee review or change his or her
response)
- aiding or assisting an examinee with a response or an
answer to a test question
It’s the law!
Violation of Security and Confidentiality of
Assessments (continued)
- duplicating secure test materials
- disclosing the contents of any portion of a secure test
- viewing a test before, during, or after an assessment
unless specifically authorized to do so
- encouraging or assisting an individual to engage in the
conduct described above
- failing to report to an appropriate authority that an
individual engaged in any of the events listed above
It’s the law!
Penalties for Violation of Security and
Confidentiality of Assessments
Violation of security or confidentiality of any test required by the
Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 39, Subchapter B, is
prohibited.
A person who engages in conduct prohibited by the Test Security
Supplement and in other test administration materials may be
subject to a sanction of credentials. This includes any person
who violates, assists in the violation of, or solicits another to
participate in the violation of test security or confidentiality.
Additionally, this includes any person who fails to report such a
violation.
It’s the law!
Penalties for Violation of Security and
Confidentiality of Assessments
Penalties for participation in a serious violation of test security or
confidentiality may include the following reprimands:
-
placement of restrictions on the issuance, renewal, or
holding of a Texas teacher certificate
-
issuance of an inscribed or non-inscribed reprimand
-
suspension of a Texas teacher certificate
-
revocation or cancellation of a Texas teacher certificate
It’s the law!
Penalties for Violation of Security and
Confidentiality of Assessments
Release or disclosure of confidential test content is a Class C
misdemeanor and could result in criminal prosecution under TEC
§39.0303, Section 552.352 of the Texas Government Code, and
section 37.10 of the Texas Penal Code.
In addition, any irregularities in test security or confidentiality
may result in the invalidation of student results.
It’s the law!
Penalties for Violation of Security and
Confidentiality of Assessments
The superintendent and campus principal of each school district
and chief administrative officer of each charter school and any
private school administering the tests as allowed under TEC
§39.033, must develop procedures to ensure the security and
confidentiality of the tests specified in TEC, Chapter 39,
Subchapter B.
2014 Security Supplement
2014 Test Security
Supplement
2014 Security Supplement
Contents
Policy and Procedure Highlights
• updates and key issues
Making Your Program Secure
• things to do before, during, and after an administration
Testing Irregularities
• understanding the difference between serious and procedural
irregularities
Incident Reporting
• how to respond to testing irregularities
• how to report testing irregularities
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Training Requirements
• All district or campus personnel who participate in state-mandated
testing or handle secure test materials must meet eligibility
requirements, receive annual training in test security and
administration procedures, and sign an Oath of Test Security and
Confidentiality.
• Districts allowing certified or noncertified paraprofessionals to
access secure materials or to administer tests must identify a
certified staff member who will be responsible for supervising these
individuals. (SAISD does not allow paraprofessionals to be TAs)
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Materials Security
• District and campus coordinators are responsible for counting and
verifying that all materials as listed on the contractor’s packing list
have been received.
• District coordinators must notify the testing contractor immediately
if a discrepancy exists between packing lists and the actual
inventory received.
Secure Storage Areas
• Coordinators are required to place all secure materials in limitedaccess locked storage when not in use.
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
STAAR Test Session Time Limits
• Beginning in 2014, STAAR and STAAR Modified English I and
English II assessments will have a five-hour time limit.
• All other assessments (STAAR, STAAR Spanish, STAAR L, and STAAR
Modified) will have a four-hour time limit.
• The time period begins after the test administrator reads directions
and tells students to begin working on their tests.
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
STAAR Test Session Time Limits
• Test administrators must use a clock or timer.
• Test administrators must communicate (orally or in writing) the
amount of time left to test in one-hour intervals.
• Students must record all responses by the end of the test session
time period.
• Start and stop times must be recorded on the seating chart.
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
STAAR Test Session Time Limits
• Multiple test sessions are allowed as long as the test session time
limit is maintained.
• Breaks are allowed during the administration of STAAR assessments.
- Some breaks are included in the time limit and the time clock
cannot be stopped (e.g., water breaks, snack breaks, bathroom
breaks, short physical or mental breaks)
- Some breaks are NOT included in the time limit and the time
clock should be stopped and restarted when the student(s)
resumes testing (e.g., lunch, emergencies, movement of
students, medical breaks).
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Test Administration Windows, Flexible Scheduling, and
Make-up Testing
• Districts are provided the latitude to adjust test dates when a conflict
arises for STAAR grades 3–8 and end-of-course (EOC) assessments with the
exception of STAAR and STAAR Modified grades 4 and 7 writing and the
STAAR English I and II assessments. No notification to TEA is required.
• Districts may offer make-up testing opportunities for all grades and
subjects to students who are absent on regularly scheduled assessment
days. Make-up testing must be completed by the end of the testing
window as specified on the Calendar of Events. (Dates will be established
by the SAISD testing department for administration windows for make-up
testing)
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Reference Materials, Scratch Paper, and Graph Paper
• Students may use scratch paper.
• Reference material and graph paper written on and removed from
test booklets along with all scratch paper used by students must be
destroyed immediately after the test session is completed.
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Student Cheating
• If a district determines that a student is involved in a cheating
incident, either by providing or receiving assistance, the district is
required to invalidate the student’s test.
• The district should contact TEA immediately if a student
electronically captures (e.g., cell phone picture) any portion of
a test or an answer document.
• Any disciplinary actions taken locally against a student for cheating
must be reported to TEA using the Locally Determined Disciplinary
Action (LDDA) online form.
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Investigating and Reporting Testing Irregularities
• Each person participating in the Texas student assessment program
is responsible for reporting any suspected violation of test security
or confidentiality. Campus staff should notify their campus or
district testing coordinator, and district coordinators should, in turn,
notify TEA.
• Incidents that result in a deviation from documented testing
procedures are defined as testing irregularities, falling into one of
two categories – procedural or serious.
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Investigating and Reporting Testing Irregularities
• Procedural Irregularities
- reflect minor errors or deviations in testing procedures
- do not represent severe breaches in security or confidentiality
- do not require a call to TEA unless guidance is needed by the
district
- do not require supporting documentation
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Investigating and Reporting Testing Irregularities
• Serious Irregularities
- constitute severe violations of test security or confidentiality
- can result in the individual(s) responsible being referred to the
TEA Educator Certification and Standards Division for
consideration of disciplinary action
- must be investigated by the district coordinator immediately
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Investigating and Reporting Testing Irregularities
• Serious Irregularities
- must be reported via phone or email to TEA as soon as the
district coordinator is made aware of the situation
- must be reported online using the Online Incident Report form
along with required documentation to TEA within ten working
days of the district becoming aware of the violation
- require a Corrective Action Plan be submitted to report any local
disciplinary action taken against educators involved in the
incident (new form)
2014 Security Supplement
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Investigating and Reporting Testing Irregularities
• All incidents, both procedural and serious, should be investigated
immediately by the district in order to gather all necessary evidence
while the individuals involved are still available and able to recall
details.
• All incidents, both procedural and serious, are to be reported to TEA
via the Online Incident Report form.
Policy and Procedure Highlights
Investigating and Reporting Testing Irregularities
• New in 2014, campuses must additionally complete the Plan of
Action section in the Incident Report, specifying the steps that the
district will take to prevent a reoccurrence of the irregularity.
• Information provided in incident report, particularly the Plan of
Action, will be used by TEA in an audit of selected districts to verify
that corrective actions have been implemented.
New!!
Reporting Testing Irregularities
Reporting
Testing
Irregularities
Reporting Testing Irregularities
2012
2013
Reporting Testing Irregularities
2012–2013 Incident Reports
Serious Reports
- tampering
-
assistance
providing strategies during testing
scoring tests or working problems
unauthorized viewing or recording of test content
discussing secure test content
Reporting Testing Irregularities
2012–2013 Incident Reports
(approximate numbers)
Serious
Procedural
Non-violations
Total
147
4836
229
5212
Training Modules
Web-based Texas Test Administrator
Online Training Modules
www.TexasAssessment.com/TAonlinetraining
All three modules must be accomplished by
all district and campus personnel involved
in testing no later than February 28, 2014