About Testing

This chapter describes the steps to take before, during, and after administering the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments, CAST, CAAs, and CSA.

Establishing Appropriate Testing Conditions

Test site coordinators, TAs, and TEs should work together to determine the most appropriate testing option(s) and testing environment based on the number of devices available, the number of students in each tested grade level or grade band, and the estimated time needed to complete each test. For the Smarter Balanced assessments, CAST, and CSA, testing students in classroom-sized groups is preferable; the CAA is delivered one-on-one. Establishing classroom-sized groups reduces test fear and anxiety for the students and facilitates monitoring and control for the TA. However, this also includes setting up testing rooms for students whose IEPs or Section 504 plans specify universal tools, designated supports, accommodations, or any combination of these that necessitate testing the students in a separate setting (that is, reading test questions aloud, accounting for extended testing time, providing additional breaks, and so forth).

The test administration should be conducted in a secure environment (refer to the subsection Security of the Test Environment).

When required, establish procedures to maintain a quiet testing environment throughout the test session, recognizing that some students will finish more quickly than others. The exception to this is the CSA speaking domain, which requires students to respond verbally and should be administered in a group setting.

If students are allowed to leave the testing room when they finish, explain the procedures for leaving without disrupting others and where they are expected to report once they leave. If students are expected to remain in the testing room until the end of the session, instruct them on what activities they may engage in after they finish the test. The activity should not be related to the test being given (e.g., work on assignments for unrelated subjects or read a book). Students’ use of electronic devices after they have completed testing should be monitored to ensure that the device is not being used to help other students who are engaged in a test session.

Additional Required Resources

Smarter Balanced for ELA

During administration of the Smarter Balanced for ELA, students may have access to and use of the following additional required resources for CAT items:

  • Headphones are required for the listening portion of the ELA assessment and for students requiring text-to-speech.
  • Scratch paper should be provided for notetaking or creating graphic organizers, if necessary. Only plain, unlined paper, lined paper, or a whiteboard with a marker is appropriate for ELA.

During administration of the Smarter Balanced for ELA, students may have access to and use of the following additional required resources for PTs:

  • Headphones are required for some PTs and for students requiring text-to-speech.
  • Scratch paper should be provided for notetaking if necessary. Only plain, unlined paper, lined paper, or a whiteboard with a marker is appropriate for ELA.
  • As long as the construct being measured is not impacted, assistive technology devices, including low-tech assistive technology (colored overlay), are permitted to make notes, including the use of digital graph paper.

Smarter Balanced for Mathematics

During administration of the Smarter Balanced for Mathematics, students may have access to and use of these additional required resources for CAT items:

  • Headphones are required for students requiring text-to-speech and for students requiring audio glossaries.
  • An embedded calculator is available for some mathematics items in grades six and above. A non-embedded calculator may only be used by students with a documented accommodation in an IEP or Section 504 plan per guidance provided in the Smarter Balanced Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines. The non-embedded calculator should have no internet or wireless connectivity, and all security procedures need to be followed.
  • Scratch paper is required for all grade levels.
  • Plain graph paper—no coordinate plane or other graphics—or a whiteboard with a marker is required for grades six and above and can be used on all mathematics assessments.
  • As long as the construct being measured is not impacted, assistive technology devices, including low-tech assistive technology (Math Window), are permitted to make notes, including the use of digital graph paper.

CAST

During administration of the CAST, students may have access to and use of the following additional required resources:

  • Headphones are recommended, but not required, for all students. They are required for students requiring text-to-speech, audio glossaries, or both.
  • An embedded calculator will be available for all items—students in grade five will use a four-function calculator; and students in grade eight, ten, eleven, or twelve will use a scientific calculator. A student who is unable to use the embedded calculator or requires a special calculator, such as a braille calculator or a talking calculator, can use a non-embedded calculator as an assigned designated support. The non-embedded calculator should have no internet or wireless connectivity, and all security procedures need to be followed.
  • Scratch paper (plain, lined, or graph) that is blank on both sides or a whiteboard with a marker is required for students in all grade levels who want to use scratch paper; this is a non-embedded universal tool.
  • As long as the construct being measured is not impacted, assistive technology devices, including low-tech assistive technology (Math Window), are permitted to make notes, including the use of digital graph paper.

CAAs for ELA, Mathematics, and Science

During administration of the CAAs, students may have access to and use of the following additional required resources:

  • While headphones are permissible, the CAAs are administered one-on-one; it is recommended that the audio component for the CAAs for ELA and mathematics be played on the device’s or external speakers so that the TE may listen along with the student. No items on the CAA for Science have audio components.
  • Graph paper can be used on all mathematics assessments.

CSA

During administration of the CSA, students may have access to and use of the following additional required resources:

  • Headphones are required for the listening items of the assessment and for students requiring text-to-speech.
  • Headphones with microphones are recommended for the speaking items of the assessment.
  • Scratch paper or a whiteboard with a marker should be provided for notetaking if necessary. Only plain, unlined paper or lined paper is appropriate.
  • As long as the construct being measured is not impacted, assistive technology devices, including low-tech assistive technology (colored overlay), are permitted to make notes.

Tasks to Complete Prior to Summative Test Administration

The tasks described here outline the actions and responsibilities prior to testing.

Verifying and Updating Student Information and Test Settings

All users should note the following tasks needed to verify, update, or verify and update student demographic information and test settings.

  • Each student must be correctly assigned to an LEA, school, and grade in TOMS. CAASPP test site coordinators, TAs, and TEs will need to work with LEAs to ensure demographic student information in CALPADS is current, including SSIDs.
  • In addition to the correct demographic student information in CALPADS, CAASPP test site coordinators, TAs, and TEs should verify that all students have accurate test settings configured in TOMS, including designated supports and accommodations (embedded and non-embedded) for each content area prior to testing.
  • LEA CAASPP coordinators and CAASPP test site coordinators may also set embedded and non-embedded designated supports in TOMS for any student for which the need has been determined and accommodations for students who require them as part of an IEP or Section 504 plan. TAs and TEs may view student test settings; however, TAs and TEs cannot add, upload, or modify student test settings. Within the Test Administrator Interface, a TA or TE may change the default font size and turn off universal tools prior to the start of the test.

Practicing Prior to Testing

All users should verify that all students be provided the opportunity to practice on the training test and practice test on the device to be used for testing. This allows students the opportunity to become familiar with all of the item types, the universal tools, buttons, and any allowable designated supports and accommodations. Practice and training tests are found on the CAASPP Online Practice and Training Tests web page.

Providing and Verifying User Logon Information

LEA CAASPP coordinators and CAASPP test site coordinators should ensure all TAs and TEs have electronically signed the Test Security Affidavit in TOMS. This will provide the user access to administer summative assessments and ensure users have accurate logon information that can be used for the Test Administrator Interface.

There is a two-step authentication process used when logging on. TAs and TEs should log on to the Test Administrator Interface prior to actual test administration using the device and web browser that will be used during testing. The system will send a code, via email, to the username (email address) entered for the TA or TE user. A new code is sent once for each device and web browser combination.

Providing and Verifying Student Logon Information

CAASPP test site coordinators should ensure that TAs and TEs have necessary student logon information.

Each student will log on to the TDS using a first name, SSID, and test session ID. Prior to starting a test session, TAs and TEs must have a record of each student’s first name and SSID. This information must be provided to each student to complete the logon process for the Smarter Balanced, CAST, and CSA. The TE completes the logon process for a student taking the CAA for ELA, mathematics, or science.

It is suggested that the SSID and the student’s first name be printed on a card or piece of paper and distributed to each student just prior to testing to help a student type it in the device accurately. It is also permissible to include a photo of the student or include the student’s last name with the logon information as additional safeguards to ensure that the student receives the correct logon information.

Student information is confidential; therefore, the cards or papers with this information must be kept secure until used during a test session. The loss of logon information is considered a security incident at the local level and does not need to be reported in STAIRS.

Preparing for Testing

CAASPP test site coordinators should ensure that TAs and TEs have the additional required resources described in the Establishing Appropriate Testing Conditions subsection or a PFA (for administration of the CAAs or CSA).

Tracking Students Who Move

When students move within the state, their data record must be updated with the student’s new school and district (if necessary) codes in CALPADS at least 48 hours before the student begins or resumes testing in the new school or LEA. The CDE CALPADS web page contains links to CALPADS system documents, updates, and other useful information for maintaining student data.

LEA CAASPP coordinators should ensure CAASPP test site coordinators understand protocols in the event a student moves to a school within a new LEA or a school within the same LEA.

Downloading CAA DFAs

CAASPP test site coordinators or TEs should download the necessary forms of the CAA DFA by selecting the [Resources] button on the top navigation bar in TOMS and then selecting CAAs for ELA and Mathematics DFAs or CAA for Science DFAs from the Available Materials list. DFAs can be printed and used as hard copies or accessed as PDFs on the TE’s electronic device. All DFAs used for the CAAs include secure content and must be stored or destroyed according to appropriate test security procedures. Refer to the Handling Secure Materials topic for guidelines.

For ELA and mathematics, the DFAs include the script and prompts for the TEs to use throughout testing, providing administration guidance to TEs for every possible test routing outcome, based on the staged design of the test. Each DFA contains both ELA and mathematics for a grade level.

The CAA for Science is administered via a computer-based PT that is administered after related concepts have been taught. Each DFA contains instructions for a single, grade-level CAA for Science domain.