2623.03 - 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 counselors are designated as the District's Test Coordinators (DTC) and the School Test Coordinator (BTC) for their respective buildings. The DTC and STCs are responsible for assuring that all the assessment administration and assessment security provisions adopted by the State Board of Education, and all assessment procedures adopted by the State Department of Education and this District, are followed explicitly by the appropriate staff. The DTC is responsible for making sure all Statewide assessment materials (i.e., achievement tests) and assessment procedures are secure and not made available to unauthorized parties. 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 STC, until such time as the examiners return said assessment materials to the STC.

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 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).

All assessment materials will be inventoried by the test coordinator and stored in a locked storage area upon receipt of the materials. The area will be locked at all times. Phase I of the Material Resolution Form will be completed. The building principals and the test coordinator are the only ones with access to this area.

Before the testing begins, the School Security Checklist will be completed. On the first day of testing, Phase II of the Material Resolution Form will be completed. On the first day of testing, the test examiners will receive a list of students to be tested, the test booklets, answer documents, and the tracking numbers of the test booklets they received. The examiners will sign for the number of copies of the tests they receive. The test coordinator will keep a copy of the forms given to the test examiners. At the end of testing each day, the examiners will return all testing materials to the test coordinator. At that time the test coordinator will check his/her form with the testing materials returned. An investigation will result if there are any missing testing materials. All testing materials will be returned to the secure storage area until the next day of testing.

After the testing period has concluded, the test materials will be inventoried and boxed. If any material is missing, the School Security Checklist and individual examiner forms will be checked to see who was responsible for the missing materials. The testing materials will be kept in the secure area until shipment to the scoring company and Pearson has taken place.

If a teacher has reason to believe that a student or an adult has violated security, that individual must notify the test coordinator or building principal immediately.

When a violation of test security is brought to the attention of the test coordinator, s/he will notify ODE. The test coordinator will conduct an investigation. If it has been determined that a violation of test security has occurred, the building principal and Superintendent will be notified. They will conduct an investigation. ODE will be contacted within twenty-four (24) hours. A written report will then be sent to ODE within ten (10) days.

A student’s test may be invalidated if it is determined that test security is compromised by the test administrator, the student is discovered cheating, or the student started a test but did not complete it because of illness. The test coordinator will notify ODE.

Within ten (10) days of determining a test security violation has occurred, the Superintendent will notify ODE of the actions taken by the school system.

When a violation of test security or the unethical use of the tests has been verified, the District will follow the disciplinary procedures outlined in the Ohio revised code and in the employee’s contract.

The written security procedures for testing will be given to the staff and any other test administrators, in a meeting, each year prior to the administration of the tests.