STAAR / EOC Training
Putting the Pieces Together
STAAR TIME LIMITS POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES
3-5 p.12
6-8 p. 12
EOC p. 11
START AND STOP TIMES
The four-hour time period will start when the test administrator has read
directions and tells students to begin working on their tests.
■ Start time for the test session must be recorded on the seating chart.
■ Students must record all responses on their answer documents or in TestNav
before the end of the four-hour time period.
■ Once the four-hour time period has ended, test administrators will instruct
any students still testing to either put their pencils down and close their test
booklets or stop their online tests.
■ Stop time must be recorded on the seating chart.
Distribution of materials and the test administrator “SAY” directions are not
included in the four-hour time limit.
Communicate (orally or in writing) the amount of time left to test in one-hour
intervals and, if desired, in shorter intervals during the last hour.
BREAKS
Breaks included in the four-hour time limit (not allowed to stop the time clock)
•• water breaks, bathroom breaks, snack breaks, and short physical or mental
breaks
■ Breaks NOT included in the four-hour time limit (required to stop and restart
the time clock)
•• lunch
•• emergency situations that significantly interrupt testing
•• consolidation and movement of students to another testing area
•• medical breaks to the nurse
Campuses should be aware that the time clock will stop for students who go to the
nurse for medical reasons. The test administrator must document the time the
student stops and restarts the test and must make the student aware of his or her
adjusted testing time.
LUNCH / MULTIPLE TEST SESSIONS
Students may stop testing to take a supervised lunch.
■ The testing time must be stopped for a lunch break and will restart when students
resume taking the test.
■ Students must place their answer documents inside their test booklets so that all
secure materials can be collected and placed in locked storage.
■ Students must be monitored by trained testing personnel and are not allowed to
discuss any test content during lunch.
Campuses may offer multiple test sessions per day as long as the four-hour time limit is
maintained for each session.
■ Sessions can start before the regularly scheduled school day and can extend
beyond the regularly scheduled school day.
3-5 p.13
6-8 p. 13
EOC p. 12
TEST SECURITY
AND
CONFIDENTIAL
INTEGRITY
3-5 p.17
6-8 p. 17
EOC p. 16
14 POINT SECURITY PLAN
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Active Monitoring
Honor statements
Seating charts required for all test situations
Possible on-site monitoring by TEA
Reporting of local investigations and disciplinary actions
taken against educators and students
Document Retention
Web based Test Administrator Training Modules

Video Scenarios mandatory for everyone this year
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Test administrators, technology staff, and other
school personnel who will be present in the
testing room must be trained and sign an oath.
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Office staff and other personnel around testing
materials or testing must be trained in test
security and sign an oath.
DOCUMENT RETENTION
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Campuses are required to maintain the
following documents for a period of 5 years
following a test administration
 Testing
irregularity and investigation documentation
 Inventory and shipping records
 Signed security oaths for all testing personnel
 Seating charts
 Miscellaneous mandatory testing forms
Security involves
only authorized
persons having
access to any
secure test
material. All
testing personnel
must be trained
before handling
secure materials.
Caution
A test administrator who
has been trained in testing
procedures must be
present in the testing room
at all times during testing.
Each person with
access to test
materials shall
maintain and
preserve the
security and
confidential
integrity of the
test.
Security involves
accounting for all
secure materials
• before
• during
• after
each test
administration.
Security involves
keeping test
materials in locked
storage when not in
use. Immediately
after each session,
return test
materials to the
campus
coordinator.
Confidential
integrity involves
protecting the
contents of each
test booklet, answer
document , and
online test content.
Confidential integrity
involves no one
viewing contents of
test booklets, answer
documents, or online
test content before,
during, or after a test
administration. No
unauthorized viewing,
discussion or scoring
is allowed.
Confidential integrity involves
• no duplication of testing materials.
• breaking the subject area seals
during each session only as
instructed.
• administering tests exactly as
instructed in the manual.
Confidential integrity involves
• not revealing or answering
any questions relating to
content at any time
• not reviewing student
responses, changing
responses, or instructing a
student to do so.
Caution
Read test instructions
verbatim. Do not elaborate,
rephrase, make additions or
deletions to student instructions
unless instructed to in the
manual. Any deviation is
considered a test irregularity.
The test administrator is not
allowed to
•Translate test
questions/prompts*
•Rephrase or add
information*
•Discuss test questions with
anyone before, during or
after the test
*unless student has this type of
approved accommodation
All staff members are
directly responsible for
immediately reporting
to the campus test
coordinator any
violation of test
security or confidential
integrity that they
participate in or
witness.
Each test
administrator must
complete a
security oath
before handling
secure test
materials or
administering any
online assessment.
Preparing
for Test
Administration
Read the test
administrator
manual thoroughly.
Ask your campus
test administrators
if they have any
questions.
Verify testing requirements for students
receiving special education services

If you think the student
is taking the wrong
test, should not be
using an
accommodation, or
should be using an
accommodation that
they are not given on
test day, inform Sp. Ed.
504 and or LPAC.
Any questions
should be
directed to the
campus test
coordinator
and then to the
district testing
coordinator.
DURING TEST ADMINISTRATION
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Ensure each student receives the correct test
booklet and answer document
Ensure all Test Administrators are actively
monitoring at all times
Ensure all testing personnel understand that they
may NOT:
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provide assistance
view the tests without authorization
discuss confidential student information
check for strategies
DURING TEST ADMINISTRATION
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Ensure that the 4-hour time limit is adhered to
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Students must have their responses transferred to their
answer documents before the end of the 4 hours
Students must be aware of the time they have left to test
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Indicate either verbally or in writing (on the board) every hour,
then every 15 minutes during the last hour. Give a 5 minute
warning before the time has ended.
Remind students frequently to transfer their responses
onto their answer documents
4-hour time period starts after the test administrator
finishes reading the directions
Start and stop times must be recorded on seating charts
DURING TEST ADMINISTRATION
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Breaks that are included in the 4-hour time limit
(do not stop the clock)
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Water breaks, bathroom breaks, snack breaks, and short
physical or mental breaks
Breaks that are not included in the 4-hour time limit
(stop the clock)
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Supervised lunches, emergency situations that
significantly interrupt testing, consolidation and
movement of students to another testing area, medical
breaks to the nurse
DURING TEST ADMINISTRATION
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If a student has an alternate start/stop time than
the rest of the testing room, this must be
documented on the seating chart
The student must be kept aware of their individual
time left to test each time you announce it the rest
of the room
The 4-hour time limit does not apply to TAKS or
TELPAS administrations
AFTER TEST ADMINISTRATION
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No unauthorized viewing
No scoring of student responses
No discussion of confidential student information
No erasing stray marks or darkening response
ovals
Account for all test materials
TESTING IRREGULARITIES
3-5 p.20
6-8 p. 20
EOC p. 19
SERIOUS IRREGULARITIES
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Directly or indirectly assisting students with
responses to test questions
Tampering with student responses
Viewing secure test content before, during, or
after an administration
Discussing secure test content, student
responses, or student performance
Scoring student tests, either formally or
informally
Duplicating, recording, or capturing
electronically secure test content without
permission from TEA
PROCEDURAL IRREGULARITIES
Eligility Error
 IEP Implementation Issue
 Improper Accounting for Secure
Materials
 Monitoring Error
 Other Procedural Errors
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SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION
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All suspected incidences of testing
irregularities should be reported
immediately to the Campus Testing
Coordinator, who will submit reports to
the District Testing Coordinator.
STUDENT CHEATING
If a district determines that a student has been involved in an attempt to cheat
on a state assessment, the district is required to invalidate the student’s test.
Additional disciplinary action may be taken at the local level in accordance with
district policy.
Any locally determined disciplinary actions stemming from the cheating must
be submitted to TEA.
Submission of a separate online incident report form will be necessary ONLY if
the district determines that adult testing personnel contributed to, caused, or
did not detect the cheating due to inadequate monitoring.
Preparing Test
Materials for
Distribution
DICTIONARY POLICY
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Dictionaries must be available to all
students taking
 STAAR/STAAR-M
reading at grades 6-8
 STAAR/STAAR-M writing at grade 7
 STAAR/STAAR-M English I, II, or III

Dictionaries may be an allowable
accommodation for
 Grades
3-5 students
 Students with special needs
 ELL students
CALCULATOR POLICY
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Graphing calculators must be available to
all students taking
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Graphing or scientific calculators must be
available to all students taking
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Chemistry and physics
A calculator must be available for every five
students taking
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Algebra I, Geometry, or Algebra II
Biology
Calculators may be provided as an
approved accommodation for grades 3-8
students
Test booklets
and answer
documents
must be
checked “out”
from and “in” to
the campus
coordinator
each day.
Conducting the Test
Administration
Preparing the Testing
Room Environment
The room should be
• quiet
• well-lighted
• well-ventilated
• comfortable
The room should
• have all bulletin boards and
instructional aids covered or removed
• have “TESTING--DO NOT DISTURB”
sign posted
• have a trained test administrator
present at all times
• have enough space for each student
to work
There must be
at least one
test
administrator
for every 30
students to be
tested.
Caution
Be careful to
administer the correct
subject area test on
the assigned day.
To Do or Not to Do
Do…
Allow students
to make notes
or work
problems in
their test
booklet .
Do…
Make sure students
are staying on task.
Remind students to
record their
responses on their
answer documents.
Do not…
•Allow students to
work on a test section
that has not yet been
administered.
Allow students to
return to a test
section attempted on
a previous day
Do not…
Allow students to talk
to each other while
test booklets are
opened.
Allow students to
wander about the
room while others are
testing.
Inform test administrators
about
• breaks
• lunch
• emergencies
• transcribing
• changing testing rooms
• special test situations
Returning Test
Materials
• Remove the answer
documents from the
test booklets
• Have student erase
any stray marks from
the answer
documents
•Verify that all test
booklets are
accounted for
GUIDE TO TEST ADMINISTRATION DIRECTIONS
LETS TAKE A LOOK
Grades 3 – 8 page 35
EOC – page 41
GRIDDING SCORE CODES, TEST TAKEN
INFORMATION, AND ACCOMMODATIONS
Grades 3 - 8
EOC
GRIDDING THE TEST TAKEN INFO FIELD
Grades 3 - 8
EOC
GRIDDING THE ACCOMMODATIONS FIELD
Grades 3 - 8
EOC
Any questions?