2016 ACT Workkeys Special Testing for STC and BTC

ACT WorkKeys: Special Testing

Handbook for System and Building Test Coordinators

Spring 2016

Table of Contents

Topic Page Numbers

Alerts 1-2

Review of ACT WorkKeys Special Testing Administration Manual 3-11

LEA Report of Training Activities 12-13

Standard Irregularity Report 14

Homebound Students Form 15

Accommodations Testing

800.553.6244, ext. 1788

ACT WorkKeys: Special Testing

Handbook for System and Building Test Coordinators

Alerts

This document, The ACT WorkKeys: Special Testing Handbook for System and Building Test Coordinators, provides reminders of unique characteristics of this program and areas that require special attention.

1.  Maggie Hicks at the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) is your primary contact for ACT WorkKeys, at 334-242-8038 or .

2.  ACT WorkKeys Paper and Pencil test will be administered on February 11, 2016 with February 25, 2016, as the makeup day.

3.  ACT WorkKeys Paper/Pencil with Accommodations will be administered February 11 through February 25, 2016.

4.  The System Test Coordinators (STC), Building Test Coordinators (BTC), Test Accommodations Coordinators (TAC), Backup Building Test Coordinators (BBTC), Principals, Room Supervisors, Proctors, and Monitors must be familiar with the documents listed below. The link to download and print manuals and user guides is www.act.org/aap/alabama.

·  ACT WorkKeys Administration Manual for Special Testing

·  ACT WorkKeys Administration Manual for Standard Time Paper Testing

·  Training videos are located on the ACT Alabama State Testing website within the Training module or http://act.org/aap/alabama/workkeyspaper.html

5.  Room Supervisors must administer tests according to standard testing procedures. At no time may the Room Supervisor leave the room unattended.

6.  A copy of ACT WorkKeys Testing Irregularity Report is printed on page C-6 of the Special Testing Manual. A standard Irregularity Report has also been provided for testing staff to report other irregularities and prohibited behaviors that are not reported to ACT. This is similar to the ALSDE Irregularity Report that is used for most state assessments.

7.  If an emergency on test day (e.g., fire, tornado, snow) forces the termination of testing or the closing of school, you must notify ACT and the ALSDE as soon as possible. Protect the security of the test materials. Be especially careful if testing has started.

8.  In cases of unusual circumstances (i.e., bomb threats, weather alerts, suspected cheating), the STC must notify ACT and the ALSDE immediately. In addition, the ALSDE must be notified immediately at 334-242-8038 when incidents involving prohibited behaviors of examinees (or adults) or other circumstances that may affect the scoring of an examinee’s test occur. A copy of the standard Testing Irregularity Report (page 14 of this Handbook) should be mailed to Maggie Hicks at P.O. Box 302101, Montgomery, Alabama 36130-2101 after testing.

9.  Schools will NOT send materials, including answer documents, directly to ACT; rather, BTCs or TACs will return all materials directly to the STC.

10.  As soon as accommodation testing is over in the school, the BTC or TAC will return all testing materials to the STC.

11.  The STC is responsible for maintaining the security and safekeeping of the test materials before, during, and after testing.

12.  At the conclusion of testing, test materials must be returned to ACT by the STC immediately after testing. According to the checklist of dates found on the www.act.org/aap/alabama website, pickups are scheduled as follows:

·  Materials for standard testing on February 11 will be picked up from the STC on February 12;

·  Materials for makeup up testing on February 25 will be picked up from the STC on February 26;

·  Materials for accommodated testing during the February 11-25 window will be picked up from the STC on February 26.

13.  In the event of a security breach, call ACT immediately at 800.553.6244, ext. 1788, if any of the following occurs:

·  Any item is missing from your shipment.

·  You receive test booklets that do not match the serial numbers on your Test Materials Distribution Lists.

·  Any test booklet seals are broken.

·  The cartons or materials appear to have been tampered with in any way.

·  A test booklet is lost, stolen, or otherwise missing at any time while the test booklets are at your school, from receipt to return.

·  You have reason to believe someone has had unauthorized access to the materials.

14.  Keep test materials in a secure location as examinees enter and exit the test room. Account for all test booklets before testing, each time they change hands, and before dismissing examinees. Test materials must be secure at all times. You must never leave a test room unattended, even if only one examinee is in the room.

Review of ACT WorkKeys Special Testing Manual

Contacting ACT (Inside Cover)

·  Important information, including contact information for ACT WorkKeys Accommodations Testing Customer Service, is included on inside cover page.

·  Toll-free numbers are for testing staff. DO NOT give the number to examinees or parents.

General Accommodation Information (Pages 1-5)

·  Examinees with documented physical or mental disabilities who cannot complete the ACT WorkKeys assessments under standard conditions or using standard materials may, at the discretion of the Test Coordinator or Test Accommodations Coordinator, and following his or her IEP/504/I-ELP, be tested under special conditions and/or use special testing materials available from ACT.

·  Tests administered using materials assigned to another examinee or transferred from any other location will NOT be scored.

·  ACT WorkKeys scores reported for the ACT National Career Readiness CertificateTM (NCRC) are equivalent no matter if the tests are administered using standard time or with accommodations.

·  Scores achieved using ACT WorkKeys accommodations are fully reportable and ACT NCRC eligible. Scores achieved using ACT WorkKeys-ineligible accommodations are not reportable and are not ACT NCRC eligible.

·  Available accommodations are listed on pages 3 and 4 of the Special Testing Manual.

·  Written documentation is required when providing accommodations. The test site is responsible for keeping such documentation for a period of at least one year.

Homebound Students (Not in Manual)

·  If an examinee is receiving homebound services and will take ACT WorkKeys, ALSDE must be notified.

·  Test booklets utilized in homebound testing should be securely bound and marked “Confidential” before they are released from the Local Education Agency (LEA) distribution point. The package should be opened only in the testing environment. Test booklets and answer documents should be securely bound again before they are transported back to the LEA distribution point.

·  The ACT WorkKeys Test Booklet Count Form must be signed by the Building or System Test Coordinator and the Test Administrator when they are picked up and when they are returned.

·  One Test Administrator and one Proctor are required to administer ACT WorkKeys assessments to an examinee requiring homebound services. Both the Test Administrator and the Proctor must be certificated employees.

·  The school will make sure that the homebound site is treated just as any other test environment.

·  No parents or other visitors may be present in the room utilized for testing.

·  No distractions.

·  Return a completed copy of the Homebound Student Form found on page 15 of this document, to ALSDE.

Guidelines for Accommodated Testing (Page 7-9)

·  ACT issues test booklets that are specific for accommodated testing. When administering an accommodated exam, use only those test booklets shipped with your accommodated materials.

·  Every individual test administered with accommodations must have the corresponding administration code gridded on the answer document. The test coordinator must coordinate with Room Supervisors to grid these codes on the answer documents.

ACT WorkKeys Policies and Procedures (Pages 10-11).

·  For the ACT WorkKeys to successfully measure academic skills, they must be uniformly administered.

·  All testing personnel are required to read the materials provided by ACT.

·  In cases of suspected or documented irregularities, all testing staff are obligated to cooperate fully with ACT and the ALSDE with investigations and respond to requests from ACT and the ALSDE in a timely manner.

·  An observer/monitor with ACT, ALSDE, or district may visit your school on test day. The observer/monitor will arrive before the administration is to begin. Always ask for ACT or ALSDE identification, or an authorization letter. If the observer cannot provide this, deny admission. If an observer arrives, complete an Irregularity Report that includes the observer’s name, agency/company affiliation and whether or not the observer was admitted. If you have any concerns, call ACT.

·  The media must not be allowed to enter, observe, or photograph test rooms or preliminary activities. Under no circumstances are cameras of any type allowed in the test rooms.

Testing Facility Requirements (Pages 12-15)

·  Lapboards are not allowed under any circumstances.

·  Make sure bulletin board materials related to potential test questions (mathematics, reading, etc.), charts, and strategy maps, or other aids that provide strategies that may give examinees an unfair advantage, are removed or covered. Geographical maps and periodic tables need not be covered.

·  Each room supervisor must have two reliable timepieces in the room: one must be an accurate clock or watch that shows the actual time of day; ACT recommends that the second be a stopwatch or interval timer. Cellphones may not be used.

·  The BTC must arrange for a phone to be available on test day in case you need to make a toll-free call to ACT. (Room Supervisors will not make the calls.)

·  Rooms must be free from distractions and be able to provide an uninterrupted period of 4 time. Post signs outside the test rooms to warn others that testing is in progress and quiet is required. Bells, intercoms and public address systems must be turned off during the test session.

·  Test rooms must be set up according to ACT requirements. If these requirements are not met, scores may be cancelled.

·  Tables must be arranged so that all spacing requirements are met. Examinees must all face the same direction. Follow the acceptable seating arrangement examples on page 14.

·  Do not seat examinees where two tables are joined together.

Use of Digital Devices by Staff (Not in Manual)

·  School personnel involved in administration of state testing may not use digital devices (including but not limited to cell phones, smart watches, MP3 players, cameras, or other telecommunication devices capable of capturing or relaying information) during test administration. Violation(s) may result in disciplinary action/certification revocation. Additional disciplinary action may be taken by the local education agency (LEA).

·  All electronic devices belonging to school personnel, including computers located in the testing room, must be turned off before testing materials are brought into the room, and they must remain off until testing materials are removed from the room. (Examinees may not bring electronic devices into the testing room.)

·  All printers that have scanning or copying capability and all copy machines must either be disabled or removed from all rooms being used for a testing session.

Testing Staff Requirements (Pages 16-19)

·  ALSDE requires that Test Administrators/Room Supervisors must be certificated employees. Proctors must be full-time employees involved with the education of examinees. The ALSDE requirements must be met.

·  To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest and to protect you and your relatives or wards from allegations of impropriety, you may not serve as Test Coordinator or Back-up Test Coordinator for the ACT WorkKeys Testing administration or have access to secure test materials, if any relative or ward will be testing with standard time at any school in your state during the initial or makeup administration. Relatives and wards include children, stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings, in-laws, spouses, and persons under your guardianship.

·  Anyone who coaches high school or college athletics may not serve as the room supervisor for one-on-one testing of a student athlete. An athletic coach may serve as the room supervisor if there is more than one examinee in the room.

·  Reading (except this manual or supplemental policy information), grading papers, using a computer, cell phone, recording or media device, talking casually with other staff, or engaging in any activity in the test room not directly related to the administration is not allowed.

·  Specific responsibilities for testing staff are included on pages 16-19 of the Special Testing Manual.

Test Security Requirements (Pages 20-22)

·  The STC is responsible for maintaining the security and safekeeping of the test materials before, during, and after testing.

·  Under no circumstances is a test booklet seal to be broken by anyone other than the examinee on test day.

·  Staff and examinees are prohibited from disclosing test questions or response choices to anyone.

·  Contact ACT (800.553.6244, ext. 1788) and ALSDE if a test booklet is lost, stolen, or otherwise missing at any time while the test booklets are at your school, from receipt to return.

Receipt and Check-In of Test Materials (Page 20)

·  Materials will be shipped to the STC.

·  The quantity of test materials shipped for accommodated testing is based on the order placed by the Test Coordinator. No overage is included.

·  The STC MUST verify that all materials match items on the WKEYM Pack/Return Slip.

·  Count each booklet; do not assume that the groups of booklets are complete.

·  ACT (800.553.6244, ext. 1788) must be contacted immediately if there are discrepancies.

Secure Storage (Pages 21-22)

·  Materials must be kept inside a locked safe or vault to which only the System Test Coordinator or Back-up Testing Coordinator and the Superintendent have access at the Central Office. The Test Coordinator or Back-up Test Coordinator and Principal are the only individuals that have access at the school.

·  If a safe or vault is not available, materials may be stored inside a locked file cabinet or closet that is inside a locked room, with the following stipulations:

o  Only the Test Coordinator and the Back-up Coordinator may have access to the cabinet or closet. The cabinet or closet must have a built-in lock or a heavy-duty padlock. The keys must always be kept secure and should not be part of a master key system.