Proceeding Through a Test

A student can respond to questions, pause a test, review previously answered questions, and submit a test. The following sections describe each of these tasks.

Viewing Stimuli

When a test question is associated with a stimulus, a student should review that stimulus before responding to the question.

About Reading Passages

When the stimulus is a reading passage, the content is read on the left side of the page (i.e., screen) (indicated in figure 1).

Sample reading passage from a practice test.

Figure 1. Sample reading passage

Between the passage and the test question (stem) are two arrows. To expand the passage section, select the [Expand Passage] right-arrow [Right arrow icon] icon. The section will expand and overlap the question section for easier readability. To expand the test question section, select the [Expand Question] left-arrow [Left arrow icon] icon.

To collapse the expanded passage, select the [Collapse Passage] left-arrow [Left arrow icon] icon. To collapse the expanded test question, select the [Collapse Question] right-arrow [Right arrow icon] icon.

About Videos

When the stimulus is a video, a student can use standard video features to control the playback. These are shown in figure 2.

Video screen showing cartoon of sky and plowed fields

Figure 2. Video playback features

  • To play a video, the student or TE selects the [Play] triangle [White triangle in a black box] in the video playback area.
  • To jump to a different point in the video, the student or TE drags the slider to the required location.
  • To adjust the speed at which the video plays, the student or TE selects the [Speed] 1x [White '1x' on a black backround] icon, and then selects the required speed from the menu that appears.
  • To mute or unmute a video that includes audio, the student or TE selects the [Volume] speaker [White speaker on a black background] icon in the lower-right corner.
  • To expand the video to full-screen mode, the student or TE selects the [Screen Size] expand [Four corners highlighted in a square format] icon in the lower-right corner. To exit full-screen mode, the student or TE selects the [Screen Size] icon again.

Responding to Test Questions

A student answers test questions depending on the question’s type.

  • Multiple-choice questions: A student selects a single answer option.
  • Multiselect questions: A student selects one or more answer options.
  • Technology-enhanced questions: A student follows the instructions given for each question. Technology-enhanced questions require the student to do one of the following tasks:
    • Select one or more choices from a list of answer options
    • Use an on-screen keypad to generate an answer
    • Select graphic objects or text excerpts on the screen
    • Place points, lines, or bars on a graph
    • Drag and drop text or graphic objects around on the screen
    • Enter text in a text box or table
    • Match answer options together
    • Modify a highlighted word or phrase in a reading selection
    • Enter input parameters to run an on-screen simulation
  • Audio Response: A student records a spoken response using the record function.

Some test pages (i.e., screens) may have only one question, and others may have more. Some questions may consist of multiple parts that a student must answer. After the student responds to all the questions on a page, the student selects [Next] to proceed to the next page.

All responses are saved automatically. The student can also manually save responses to questions by selecting [Save] in the global menu.

Selecting the Mark as No Response Option (CAA for Science Only)

When a student taking a CAA for Science embedded PT is presented with a question and does not respond, a TE may select the Mark as No Response option on the context menu. Using this option provides information about the student’s testing experience. This option is highlighted in the context menu shown in figure 3.

Context menu that shows the available Mark for Review, Notepad, Mark as No Response, and Strikethrough options

Figure 3. Context menu with the Mark as No Response option

Refer to the Response Options for Alternate Assessments for additional information about using the Mark as No Response option for a student who takes the CAA for Science.

Pausing Tests

A student can pause the test at any time. Pausing a test logs the student off the test.

To pause a test:

  • The student selects the [Pause] parallel line [Two vertical parallel lines in a circle] icon in the global menu. A confirmation message appears.
  • The student selects the [Yes] button. This logs the student off. The Student Sign In page appears.
  • To resume testing, the student repeats the sign-in process. Refer to the subsection Signing In to the Student Testing Site.

Reviewing Questions in a Test

A student may return to a previous question and modify the response if the test was not paused for more than 20 minutes. Refer to the Pause Rules subsection for more information.

A student can use the [Back] left-arrow [Back icon] icon or the Questions toggle list to return to questions the student wants to review. The toggled drop-down list displays “(marked)” for any questions marked for review and the [Mark for Review] flag-check icon [Flag check icon] (refer to figure 4).

Science practice test question marked for review, the question number and the question number toggle showing it as marked.

Figure 4. Question marked for review

Reaching the End of a Segment

In a segmented test, the End Segment page appears after a student completes the last question in the current segment. This page allows the student to review questions from the current segment or proceed to the next segment. A flag appears for any questions marked for review (refer to figure 5). For the CAAs, a warning icon appears for any unanswered questions.

Sample End Segment screen with one question.

Figure 5. Sample End Segment screen

To review questions:

  1. The student selects a question number.

To move to the next segment:

  1. The student selects [Next] in the global menu.

Submitting a Test

This section describes how a student submits a test when the student is finished answering questions.

Reaching the End of a Test

After a student responds to the last test question and selects the [Next] button, the End Test page appears (refer to figure 6). This page allows the student to review answers from the current test segment and submit the test for scoring. A [Marked for Review] flag icon appears for any questions marked for review. For the CAAs, a warning icon appears if there are any unanswered questions.

End Test page, which identifies the questions marked for review with a flag

Figure 6. End Test page

To review answers:

  1. The student selects a question number to review the question.

  2. To return to the End Test page, the student opens the Questions toggle in the global menu (indicated in figure 7) and then the [Review] button to return to the end of the test.

    Questions toggle list showing the Review button that returns the student to the Submit Test page.

    Figure 7. Questions toggle results

To submit the test:

  1. The student selects [Submit Test].
  2. The student selects [Yes] to end the test.

Test Summary Page

After a student submits the test, the Test Summary page (i.e., screen) appears, displaying the student’s name, the test name, and the completion date (refer to figure 8).

Test Summary page

Figure 8. Test Summary page

Closing the Student Testing Site on Tablets

After a test session ends, close the SecureTest application on student tablets.

To close the student testing application on iOS devices:

  1. The student double-taps the [Home] button. The multitasking bar appears.
  2. The student locates the SecureTest app preview and slides it upward.

To close the student testing application on Chromebooks:

  1. The student selects [Close Secure Browser] in the upper-right corner.