Online Assessments Tips, Notes, and Resources

Online Assessments – Tips, Notes, and Resources Tips for Teachers Classroom tips for preparing for online assessments:  Allow all students to complete the online test simulation (complete this yourself as well to be familiar with what the students are viewing and to know what type of items will be presented to students) o Simulation can be found at http://go.ncsu.edu/nctdemo o Be aware of individual student accommodation needs and use the simulation of the test to help determine appropriate font size, background colors, etc.  Use technology and tools available for your classroom instruction and assessments so that students are familiar with using technology (for formative and benchmarks tests and other classroom activities)  Work with your school testing and technology staff to schedule and plan for administering your assessments online Preparing for online assessments and using technology in the classroom directly relates to Standard IV: Teachers Facilitate Learning for their Students in the teacher evaluation process.

Tips for Technology and Instructional Technology Staff Technology personnel within an LEA or school have a role in the success of administering online assessments. The availability of technology staff to help with issues or to test and prepare systems is critical for test administration. The following are some best practices for technology staff in preparing for online assessments within their LEA or school.  Complete the following device assessments including, but not limited to: o browser restraints/compatibility, o plug-ins such as Java and others as specified, o firewall restrictions, o filtering rules, o hardware standards, and o connection (NCREN NDT tool above).  Conduct a basic troubleshooting workshop for all staff administering the online assessment.  Confirm component loading and functionality before test administration. Do not perform upgrades during the testing window.  Complete the online testing simulation, including all technology staff, teachers and students.  Designate and place LEA technical support on alert during testing periods.

Additional technical resources can be found on the Best Practices Guide website, http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/acre/assessment/bpgappendixa.pdf. Technical Requirements for the current online assessment system are available at https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/mod/page/view.php?id=9271. Important Notes:

1. If a student loses connectivity during a test, they can be reconnected and logged-in and it will take them back to the last question answered (test information complete to that point is not lost).

2. Using the Online Assessment Tutorial is extremely valuable in preparing students and teachers for what to expect in the online testing system.

3. All Flash based components of the system will be replaced prior to operational testing administrations in 2012-13.

Resources for Online Assessments

Best Practices Guide - http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/assessment/guide/ The purpose of this document is to serve as a guide to help districts and schools prepare for the transition to online assessments. This guide provides tips and recommendations based on conversations with LEAs and charter schools around the state that have already started this transition and are administering some or all of the current end-of-course tests in the online format.

Quick Reference Guide - http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/acre/assessment/assess1pageroct11.pdf A quick reference guide to the next generation of summative assessments that includes the expected timeline for full implementation of online testing.

SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium - http://www.smarterbalanced.org/ The main website for The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, which is a state-led consortium working to develop next-generation assessments that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and that accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness.

Online Assessment Tutorial - http://go.ncsu.edu/nctdemo The assessment tutorial shows you how the online testing system works. You can select a test and then practice moving between and answering questions.

NCTest Information - https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/course/view.php?id=361 Information related to the latest version of the online testing system, NCTest v 2.5. Here you can find the technical requirements for the system, information on registration and administration, the assessment tutorial, and other resources related to administering online assessments. Additional resources can be found on the online assessment resources page at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/assessment/resources/.