Proctoring and Testing Service

LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER PROCTORING AND TESTING SERVICE

Proctoring of tests and exams is provided at the Learning Resource Center as a supplemental service to Mitchell College Faculty. The goal of the center is to assist faculty in their efforts to accommodate students who are entitled to testing accommodations based on their disability documentation.

Proctoring Guidelines

Proctors are an important part of the Testing Accommodation Service. Proctors are directly responsible for maintaining an atmosphere in which students may perform to the best of their ability while assuring that the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines are followed and that academic honesty is maintained. When you proctor an exam, you will be informed about the approved testing conditions and accommodations on the Proctor Review Sheet. It is your responsibility to ensure that nothing more than the approved testing conditions and accommodations is provided. The Exam Environment Testing materials refers to the materials that are allowed in the testing room. This is determined by the course instructor. Only those materials (calculators, dictionaries, outlines) listed on the Proctor Review Sheet are allowed. Be sure marker boards and chalkboards are erased clean. Be sure to clear workplaces of personal material as much as possible. Also, be sure cell phones and pagers are turned off. The appropriate accommodations are determined by the Learning Resource Center based on the student’s documented disability and are listed on the Proctor Review Sheet. If guidelines or specific accommodations are unclear, it is the responsibility of the proctor to ask for clarification prior to the testing time. The exams are kept in a locked filing cabinet on the first floor. Tests and exams are required to be in the LRC twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled exam time. The LRC Administrative Assistant will contact faculty if the exam is not on file in the LRC by the required time. At the time of the exam, if the exam is not in the file, the proctor will have to meet the instructor at the class location to get the exam. Please make sure that you check in with the LRC Administrative Assistant before leaving to pick up the exam. The test time will then begin when the proctor returns with the exam. The student will not be penalized for a late start time.

1 SPECIFIC PROCTORING GUIDELINES  When proctoring for a final exam, please plan to arrive 30 minutes before the start time to collect exams and prepare the room.  Make sure each student has the correct exam.  Only one student taking an exam may use the restroom at a time. Note the time the student spends in the restroom on the Proctor Review Sheet.  Students taking an exam may not leave the building once they have started an exam. Other than using the bathroom, there is no reason why a student should need to leave the exam room.  Materials, other than those to be used during the exam, must be kept either in a room other than the testing room, or along the perimeters of the testing room.  Noise should be kept to a minimum. Many students have attention/concentration issues, and need a distraction reduced/free testing environment. This includes conversations between proctors and other staff or students. If a proctor needs to have a conversation with another student or staff person, he/she needs to ensure that it does not distract the student/s taking the exam.  Be alert to any irregularities during the exam period. Observe the student carefully and document any questionable behavior. If the student is found to have supplemental materials or sources of information of any kind not specifically permitted by the instructor, the materials or sources of information need to be removed from the student by the proctor and given to either the Administrative Assistant or the Director of the LRC. Allow the student to continue working on the exam after removing the materials or sources of information. Put your written observations of any irregularities in the Comments section of the Proctor Review Sheet and make a copy of the Proctor Review Sheet to be included with any other material along with the exam. Notify the student that the comments will be given to the instructor. After the exam session, contact the instructor and the LRC Director with your concerns. The instructor will then follow up with the student about the testing situation.  Once students have completed their exams they must leave the building. The only students that should be in the testing area of the Academic Success Center are those students scheduled to take exams.

2  Upon completion of the exam, the proctor needs to return the exam to the file cabinet in the instructor’s folder and turn in the Proctor Review Sheet.  Students may NOT pick up exams from the printer if they have used a computer. They may also NOT pick up other students’ exams from the printers.

Providing Extended Time Testing Extended time is probably the most common accommodation provided. In general, extended time tests are typically time and a half the length of the test period allotted to the class. However, if either a reader or a scribe is used, double time may be provided at the discretion of the proctor. However, in no circumstances should there be more than double time. Requests for unlimited time are rare and in general, are not considered reasonable accommodations. The student should be able to complete the test in a finite amount of time. This means that no more time than the approved extended time for the test should be allowed regardless of whether the student is finished. Extended time users should be informed of their time allotments at the start of the test.  If a student arrives at the testing session late, he/she may take the exam. The proctor should record the information on the proctor review sheet. Also, the proctor needs to inform the student that they will not be allowed to make up that time.  If a student does not attend the testing session, the proctor should record the information on the Proctor Review Sheet and include a copy for the instructor with the test informing the instructor of the student’s absence. Should the student arrive after the completion of the testing session, it is not the responsibility of the LRC to give the exam at that point. The student should be referred back to the instructor.  If a student shows up for a test and is not on the schedule, please refer the student to the front desk. Serving as a Reader  The reader should read each exam item as presented in the printed exam.  The exam should be read with an even voice tone and minimal inflection throughout so that the student taking the exam does not receive any clues about possible answers as a result of the manner in which the information is read.  Following the reading of an exam item, the reader should allow time for the examinee to respond with an answer to the item.

3  Do not give an opinion on an exam item.  When reading multiple choice items, avoid non-verbally stressing or emphasizing one option over another.  If the student asks to have a question re-read, please do so Serving as a Scribe Generally, the role of a scribe is to write what is dictated- no more, and no less. Students might ask for assistance on “looking it over”, word usage, organization, and content, but this/her type of support cannot be provided in a testing situation. The general rule is to take the student’s dictation verbatim.  As you are scribing, be careful not to give any information as to the content or the accuracy of the information that you are scribing.  Some students you scribe for may have a spelling disability. In this case, the student may be permitted to use a spell check, or have his/her spelling corrected. The Proctor Review Sheet will identify the appropriate accommodations.  When the student has completed dictating his/her responses, be sure to give him/her the opportunity to proofread the information and make revisions.  If you are scribing for the student using the computer, be sure to delete the information from the computer immediately after the test. Do not allow the student to make any copies of the test answers. Monitoring Computer Use Some students may be scheduled to use a computer for their exam or test. It is important that the proctor log on with the department ID and password. If you do not know this information, please see the LRC Administrative Assistant. In addition, the proctor needs to monitor the student so that he/she does not attempt to access any information from the Internet. Clarifying Directions and Clarifying Questions You may define non-technical words, but not course related terms. Be sure to record the terms you defined on the Proctor Review Sheet. If the student does not understand the directions, rephrase the directions in a way the student understands them. Using Documented Aids On occasion, the course instructor may allow the use of certain aids during an exam. Some examples of these aids are lists of equations, index card of facts, and word banks. These are aids that the instructor has allowed for the entire class to use and are not based on documentation of a student’s disability. If aids are allowed they will be documented on the Proctor Review Sheet. If 4 a student reports that an aid is allowed and it is not recorded on the Proctor Review Sheet, please call the LRC Administrative Assistant.