Test Security
DELTA CHARTER GROUP DISTRICT
TESTING PROGRAM POLICY
The Delta Charter Group District shall take every precaution to assure that all tests administered within the school system shall be conducted in such a manner so as not to compromise in any way the testing results. For criterionreferenced and certain other tests administered by or through the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), testing materials and procedures, as well as any electronic data, computer media, or passwords related to student testing, shall be properly supervised in strict compliance with regulations outlined by BESE and the Delta Charter Group. In addition, all secure tests and test documents shall be stored under lock and key at the Delta Charter Group testing office when not in use.
Any teacher or other school personnel who allows or breaches test security shall be disciplined in accordance with state law, policy and regulations adopted by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and any and all laws that may be enacted by the state.
TESTING SECURITY
1. It shall be a violation of test security for any person to do any of the following:
a. Administer tests in a manner that is inconsistent with the administrative instructions provided by the Louisiana Department of Education and the Delta Charter Group which would give students an unfair advantage or disadvantage;
b. Give examinees access to test questions prior to testing;
c. Examine any test item at any time (except the student during the test or test administrators while providing the accommodations "Tests Read Aloud" or "Communication Assistance" for students determined to be eligible for those accommodations);
d. Copy, reproduce, discuss, or use at any time in a manner inconsistent with test regulations all or part of any secure test booklet, answer document, or supplementary secure materials;
e. Coach examinees in any manner during testing or alter or interfere with examinees' responses in any manner;
f. Provide answers to students in any manner during the test, including provision of cues, clues, hints, and/or actual answers in any form -- written, printed, verbal or nonverbal;
g. Administer published parallel, previously administered, or current forms of any statewide assessment as a practice test or study guide;
h. Fail to follow security regulations for distribution and return of secure test booklets, answer documents, supplementary secure materials, as well as overages as directed; or fail to account for and secure test materials before, during, or after testing;
i. Conduct testing in environments that differ from the usual classroom environment without prior written permission from the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Student Standards and Assessments;
j. Fail to report any testing irregularities to the District Test Coordinator (a testing irregularity is any incident in test handling or administration that leads to a question regarding the security of the test or the accuracy of the test data), who must report such incidents to the Division of Student Standards and Assessments;
k. Participate in, direct, aid, counsel, assist in, encourage, or fail to report any of the acts prohibited in this section.
2. A Statement of Assurance regarding the Board's test security policy shall be submitted annually to the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Student Standards and Assessments. This statement shall include the name of the individual designated by the Superintendent to procure test materials.
3. Test materials, including all test booklets, answer documents, supplementary secure materials containing secure test questions, video tapes, and completed observation sheets, shall be kept secure and accounted for in accordance with the procedure specified in the examination program administration manuals and other communications provided by the Louisiana Department of Education. Secure test materials include test booklets, answer documents, and any supplementary secure materials.
a. All test materials, except district and school test coordinator manuals, shall be kept in a predetermined, secured, locked storage area prior to, during, and after administration of any test; all secure materials, including test booklets, answer documents, supplementary secure materials, and any parallel forms of a test, shall be kept in a locked storage at both the district and school levels; secure materials must never be left in open areas or unattended; test administrators are to be given access to the tests and any supplementary secure materials only on the day the test is to be administered, and these are to be retrieved immediately after testing is completed for the day and stored in a locked, secure location each day of testing.
b. All test booklets, answer documents, and supplementary secure materials shall be accounted for and written documentation kept by test administrators and proctors for each point at which test materials are distributed and returned.
c. Any discrepancies noted in the number of serial numbers of test booklets, answer documents, and supplementary secure materials, or the quantity received from contractors shall be reported to the District’s Test Coordinator by the School’s Test Coordinator and subsequently to the Division of Student Standards and Assessments (LDE) by the school district's Test Coordinator prior to the administration of the test.
d. In the event the test booklets, answer documents, or supplementary secure materials are determined to be missing while in the possession of the school or in the event of any other testing irregularities or breaches of security, the School Test Coordinator shall immediately notify by telephone the District Test Coordinator who will notify the Division of Student Standards and Assessments (LDE) and follow the detailed procedures for investigating and reporting specified in BESE's Test Security Policy.
4. Only personnel trained in test security and administration shall be allowed to have access to or administer any standardized tests.
5. The Superintendent shall designate annually one individual in the district authorized to procure test materials which are utilized in testing programs administered by or through the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the Louisiana Department of Education. The name of the individual designated shall be provided in writing to the Division of Student Standards and Assessment, Louisiana Department of Education, and included on the Statement of Assurance.
6. Testing shall be conducted in class-sized groups. Permission for testing in environments that differ from the usual classroom setting must be obtained in writing from the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Student Standards and Assessments at least thirty (30) days prior to testing. If testing outside the usual classroom setting is approved by the Division of Student Standards and Assessments, the Delta Charter Group shall provide at least one proctor for every thirty (30) students.
7. The State Superintendent of Education may disallow test results which may have been achieved in any manner which is in violation of test security.
8. In cases where test results are not accepted because of breach of test security or action by the Louisiana Department of Education, any programmatic, evaluative, or graduation criteria dependent upon the data shall be deemed not to have been met, but individuals will be allowed to retake the test at the next test administration.
9. Individuals shall adhere to all procedures specified in all operational manuals that govern the mandated testing programs, as well as any access to electronically shared student test data.
10. Any individual who knowingly engages in any activities during testing which results in invalidation of scores derived from the LEAP for the 21st Century (LEAP 21), iLEAP, and PARCC tests shall forfeit the test results but will be allowed to retake the test at the next test administration.
11. Anyone known to be involved in the presentation of forged, counterfeit, or altered identification for the purposes of obtaining admission to a test administration site for any test administered by or through the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) or the Louisiana Department of Education shall have breached test security. Any individual who knowingly causes or allows the presentation of forged, counterfeit or altered identification for the purpose of obtaining admission to any test administration site shall forfeit all test scores but will be allowed to retake the test at the next test administration.
12. Any teacher or other school personnel who allows or breaches test security, including unauthorized access to electronic data, shall be disciplined in accordance with statutory provisions, policy and regulations adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and the Delta Charter Group, and any and all laws that may be enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
13. The District Test Coordinator shall coordinate the investigation of all reports of testing irregularities, including anonymous complaints, access to electronic data, missing test materials, or instances of excessive wrong-to-right erasures on a test, in accordance with procedures outlined by the Louisiana Department of Education and/or the Delta Charter Group. The District Test Coordinator may elicit the assistance of school district administrative personnel as well as other persons deemed appropriate to assist in any investigation. Once the investigation has been completed, a report of the results of the investigation shall be submitted to the Division of Student Standards and Assessment, Louisiana Department of Education, and the Superintendent of the school district.
Investigation Process
Procedures for investigating any testing irregularity shall include the following:
a. In instances where any testing irregularities may have occurred, an initial written report of the alleged irregularity shall be prepared by the school test coordinator where the instance occurred. Said documentation shall then be forwarded to the building principal, the District Test Coordinator, and the Superintendent.
b. Upon receipt of the school test coordinator’s report, the District Test Coordinator shall review the allegation of the test security violation and conduct an investigation of any such allegations, documenting all investigative activities. The formal investigation will include, but not be limited to, interviews/statements from witnesses and key players involved in the questioned activity, and compilation of any documents to support or to refute allegations made. A written summary of the findings of the investigation shall be provided to the Superintendent.
c. A determination of the credibility of allegations of test security violation shall be made by the Superintendent and the District Test Coordinator.
d. If the investigation conducted provides evidence to indicate that a breach of test security did indeed occur, individuals involved in such security breach shall be identified, and depending upon the nature of the violation, appropriate corrective and/or punitive action may be pursued.
1. Students found to have purposefully violated test security shall have test results voided and will be referred to the site administrator for appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with provisions of the Delta Charter Group Student Handbook.
2. Any school employee found to have purposefully violated test security shall be charged with violation of state and/or district policy and disciplinary action shall be pursued in accordance with the provisions of state statutes, with direction from the Delta Charter Group Employee Handbook.
e. After completion of the investigation, the District Test Coordinator shall provide a report of the investigation and a written plan of action to the State Superintendent within thirty (30) calendar days of the initiation of the investigation. At a minimum, the report shall include the nature of the situation, the time and place of occurrence, and the names of the persons involved in or witness to the occurrence.
14. All persons involved in the administration of tests shall receive proper training and development for handling and securing all testing materials prior to each test administration, as well as proper security maintenance and access to electronic data. A record of such activities shall be maintained by the District Test Coordinator. Such activities shall be coordinated and supervised by the District Test Coordinator. School testing coordinators shall in turn in-service all school level personnel having access to testing materials on security, administration, and confidentiality of individual or aggregated student test data.
15. A list of personnel authorized to have access to the locked, secure storage area where all test materials are stored shall be maintained by the Delta Charter Group. School personnel authorized to have access to the locked secure storage area shall only include the School Test Coordinator, principal, or assistant principal of each school. Additionally, a list of all individuals who have access to student level test data shall be maintained.
16. The Delta Charter Group shall ensure that individual student test data are protected from unauthorized access and disclosure. The District Test Coordinator and other authorized users of the LEAPweb Reporting System and LEAPdata System shall be responsible for ensuring the security of all passwords, any disks or CD's with downloaded individual student test data, and student-level data open on a computer screen. School level passwords for access to individual school data will be provided to school principals by the District Test Coordinator as requested. Principals shall be responsible for distributing the password as needed to school personnel and to provide for security and confidentiality of the school level password.
All users shall be required to sign a statement guaranteeing they will not share any password with unauthorized individuals and maintain the confidentiality of student data. A copy of the signed statement shall be sent to the District Test Coordinator to be kept on file. Users who have access to these systems and leave their positions at a district or school site shall not use or share any passwords.
Revised: January, 2015
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81 , 17:81.6 , 49:953 Statewide Assessment Standards and Practices, Bulletin 118, Louisiana Department of Education