2623B - SECURITY PROVISIONS FOR STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS

West Clermont Local School District

Administrative Guidelines

2623B - SECURITY PROVISIONS FOR STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS

It is the School District’s intent to comply with the State Department of Education’s guidelines for test security. The District shall communicate the test security provisions, including the electronic device and social media provisions, with all District employees, students, and their families, annually in writing.

The Curriculum Supervisor is designated as the District's Test Coordinator (DTC) and each building principal and/or School Counselor is designated as the Building Test Coordinator (BTC) for his/her building. The DTC and BTCs are responsible for assuring that all the assessment administration and assessment security provisions adopted by the State Board of Education, all assessment procedures adopted by the State Department of Education, and those adopted by this District, are followed explicitly by the appropriate staff. The DTC is responsible for making sure all Statewide assessment materials (i.e., achievement tests) are secure and not made available to unauthorized parties and that all assessment procedures are followed. The BTC is responsible for assessment security within his/her school, and for appointing a sufficient number of examiners and monitors to satisfy State regulations. The DTC shall identify each person by name with a designated title as being either a test coordinator, examiner, monitor, translator, or scribe in the District or participating school who is authorized to be present in an assessment room during an assessment session, including a makeup session, and/or who is authorized to have access to the assessment materials.

The DTC and BTCs are responsible for assuring that all assessment security provisions are met while assessment materials remain in the District and/or the participating schools.

Persons designated as examiners are responsible for assuring that all assessment security provisions are met while each assessment administration session is in progress and accounting for all assessment booklets by serial number, all CDs containing English audio and foreign language translation of assessments, all answer documents, and all tape recorded student responses from the translation sessions received from a BTC, until such time as the examiners return said assessment materials to the BTC.

No person shall reveal, cause to be revealed, release, cause to be released, reproduce or cause to be reproduced any secure assessment materials through any means or medium including, but not limited to, electronic, photographic, photocopy, written, paraphrase, or oral.

No unauthorized person shall be permitted to be in an assessment room during any assessment session or be permitted to have access to any secure assessment materials at any time such materials are in the District or participating school.

All assessment administration rooms shall be selected such that assessment security can be maintained while student comfort is maximized.

During each assessment administration period, assessments shall be administered in the order prescribed by the Ohio Department of Education.

No student shall take any assessment more than once during any assessment administration period unless authorized by the Ohio Department of Education.

Except for accommodations made in accordance with the rules adopted by the State Board of Education, only materials specifically designated by the Ohio Department of Education shall be provided to students and/or permitted in the assessment administration room during testing.

The examiner and all adult monitors assigned to an assessment administration room, as well as any other employee who is privy to the testing materials, shall be informed of, and agree to follow, all prescribed assessment administration and assessment security provisions. Examiners and monitors must remain in the assigned assessment administration room during the entire administration of any assessment to assure compliance with rules governing assessment administration (as adopted by the State Board of Education and/or the Ohio Department of Education) and/or this District.

The following procedures are to be followed in each participating school:

All Statewide assessment materials and communications concerning assessments that are received from the State are to be opened by the BTC.


	B.	Statewide assessment booklets, answer documents, and all other assessment materials and instructions are to be secured in a locked cabinet or room before, after, and between assessment administration sessions.

	C.	Access to the cabinet or room is permitted only by the BTC and DTC and/or the building principal. If the principal is not available and access is required, the DTC is to be contacted. If s/he is not available, the Superintendent is to be contacted.

	D.	The BTC shall maintain a list of those professional staff members (i.e., examiners) who will be administering the Statewide assessments and the number of copies of each assessment that each person will need.

	E.	Each examiner shall sign for the number of copies of Statewide assessments and assessment procedures s/he receives from the BTC as well as a statement of assurance that s/he will abide by the State-designed assessment procedures, will not reproduce or cause to be reproduced any of the Statewide assessments or procedures, or distribute such materials to any person other than the students who shall be taking the assessments.

	F.	Only the DTC, BTC, building principal, examiner, scribes, and properly-trained adult monitors may be present in the assessment room while the assessments are being administered. The ratio of students to examiners/monitors shall not exceed thirty (30) to one (1).


	G.	All non-assessment electronic devices must be powered completely off (i.e., not just placed into vibrate or silent mode) and stored out of sight while assessments are being administered.

	H.	Electronic devices may be used after the test session has been completed and all test materials have been returned to the text examiner. The examiner will instruct students about acceptable silent work they may engage in once a test is complete and all materials have been returned. Acceptable silent work after the completion of a test session may include use of electronic devices in accordance with Policy 5136 with the approval of the BTC and examiner. Such student work may not pose a threat to test security.

		Accessing an electronic device during testing can be grounds for invalidation; however, if cheating can be ruled out, the district may elect not to invalidate the test. If a student is observed having a cell phone or any other device capable of recording or copying test materials out during or after the test session, it is important to determine if any test question, passage or prompt was photographed, texted or in any way compromised. If it is discovered that test questions, passages or prompts have been posted on any social medium, the District shall immediately contact the Office of Curriculum and Assessment (ODE). District/school policy will determine if an invalidation is required for any other situation.

		Test administrators may have a cell phone for medical and technological emergencies, to use as a time keeper or to otherwise perform necessary test-related actions. Test administrators must not use the cell phone for non-test related issues or personal issues. Test administrators should be reminded to never take photographs of students, tests, computers or the testing room during testing.


		If an examiner, adult monitor or other professional staff member has reason to believe that there has been an assessment security violation or any alleged unethical testing practice committed by a student or other person, s/he shall contact the BTC, DTC and/or building principal immediately and provide the names of the alleged violators and the nature of the alleged violation(s). The District Testing Coordinator shall promptly investigate the alleged violation(s) to verify whether or not they occurred and recommend action(s) to be taken for any confirmed violation(s).

		Any alleged assessment security violations of State laws or regulations, an ethical testing practice, this guideline, or the school's security procedures shall be reported to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) as soon as it becomes known to the participating school (i.e. BTC and/or building principal) or the District (i.e. DTC).

		If the violation(s) is/are verified, the District's due-process procedures are to be used in dealing with the violator. If the violator is a student, s/he may be subject to suspension or expulsion from school and the results of his/her tests nullified. If the violator is a member of the staff, s/he may be subject to loss of certification/licensure and/or dismissal from the District.

		The District Test Coordinator shall make the decision whether or not to invalidate the student's assessment score on each assessment that was violated or all of the assessments. Within ten (10) days of completion of the District's or participating school's investigation, the District Test Coordinator is to file a written report with the State Department of Education delineating the cause and results of the investigation including any corrective actions taken.

	I.	When the assessment has been completed, each examiner shall return all copies of the Statewide assessment materials and procedures to the BTC. The BTC and the examiner together shall verify, in writing, that the number returned is the same as the number issued.


	J.	The BTC shall store all completed Statewide assessments and assessment procedures in the same locked cabinet or room and notify the DTC that the testing has been completed and the materials are ready for return to the State.

The DTC shall contact the State Department of Education and arrange for the return of all Statewide assessments and assessment procedures.

Each BTC shall be present when the Statewide assessment test materials are picked up and shall require that the person who receives the materials signs a verification sheet that indicates the number received, the condition of the materials, and the date of receipt. This verification sheet is to be sent to the DTC with a copy maintained by the BTC.

The DTC is responsible for making sure that the District complies with all guidelines issued by the State for the proper administration, processing, and handling of the Statewide assessment tests and associated materials, including the standards relative to the ethical use of tests by staff. The DTC is also responsible, by October 1st of each school year, for sharing this guideline, including all written security procedures and penalties, in writing and discussing it with all staff members who have access to the secure assessment materials, with all students who are being tested, and with any other person authorized to be present in an assessment administration room and/or to have access to any assessment materials. The BTC and applicable examiner shall orally remind staff, including monitors, and students of these guidelines prior to the beginning of each assessment administration period. Staff members, including adult monitors, must acknowledge receipt of these guidelines and the District’s standards relative to the ethical use of tests on an annual basis (see AG 2623D and Form 2623B F1).