La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § XI-5305

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XI-5305 - Test Security Policy [Formerly LAC 28:CXI.305]

A. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education holds the test security policy to be of utmost importance and deems any violation of test security to be serious.

1. Tests administered by or through the SBESE shall include but not be limited to:

a. all alternate assessments;

b. all criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) and norm-referenced tests (NRTs).

2. For purposes of this policy, school districts shall include:

a. local education agencies (LEAs) as well as the Recovery School District (RSD);

b. special school districts;

c. statewide schools authorized through acts of the Louisiana Legislature;

d. laboratory schools;

e. type 2 and type 5 charter schools;

f. participating nonpublic/other schools that utilize tests administered through the SBESE or the LDE.

3. 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 LDE that would give examinees an unfair advantage or disadvantage;

b. give examinees access to test questions prior to testing;

c. examine any test item at any time (except for students during the test or test administrators while providing the accommodations Tests Read Aloud or Communication Assistance, Transferred Answers, or Answers Recorded for students determined to be eligible for those accommodations);

d. at any time, copy, reproduce, record, store electronically, discuss or use in a manner inconsistent with test regulations all or part of any secure test item, 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:

i. written;

ii. printed;

iii. verbal; or

iv. nonverbal;

g. administer published parallel, previously administered, or current forms of any statewide assessment;

h. fail to follow security regulations for distribution and return of secure test booklets, answer documents, student log-in information, 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 LDE except for the purpose of providing accommodations;

j. fail to report any testing irregularities to the district test coordinator, who must report such incidents to the LDE;

k. participate in, direct, aid, counsel, assist in, encourage, or fail to report any of the acts prohibited in the section.

4. Each local education agency (LEA) as described in this policy shall develop and adopt a LEA test security policy and procedures for handling emergencies during testing that is in compliance with the state's test security policy. The LDE shall audit LEA test security policies every three years to ensure compliance with all aspects of Bulletin 118. The policy shall provide:

a. for the security of the test materials during testing, including test booklets, answer documents, student log-in information, supplementary secure materials, videotapes, and completed observation sheets;

b. for the storage of all tests materials, except district and school test coordinator manuals and test administration manuals, in a designated secure locked area before, during, and after testing; all secure materials, including any parallel forms of a test, must be kept in locked storage at both the district and school levels; secure materials must never be left in open areas or unattended;

c. a description and record of professional development on test security, test administration, and security procedures for individual student test data provided for all individuals with access to test materials or individual student test data (access to test materials by school personnel means any contact with or handling the materials but does not include reviewing tests or analyzing test items, which are prohibited);

d. a list of personnel authorized to have access to the locked secure storage area;

e. procedures for investigating any testing irregularities, including violations in test security, such as plagiarism and excessive wrong-to-right erasures identified through erasure analysis;

f. procedures for the investigation of employees accused of irregularities or improprieties in the administration of standardized tests, as required by the amended R.S. 17:81.6;

g. procedures for the investigation of any missing test booklets, answer documents, student log-in information, or supplementary secure material;

h. procedures for ensuring the security of individual student test data in electronic and paper formats-including encryption of student demographics in any email correspondence;

i. to the extent practicable, procedures to assign a different test administrator for a class than the teacher of record for the class, except for teachers testing students with accommodations and younger students, grades 3 through 8;

j. starting with the 2014-2015 school year, procedures to code testing materials at no more than two secure central locations and to house the testing materials at the central locations until no more than three working days prior to test administration, to the extent practicable;

k. procedures for monitoring of test sites to ensure that appropriate test security procedures are being followed and to observe test administration procedures.

5. Procedures for investigating a test security violation or testing irregularity must, at a minimum, include the following.

a. The district test coordinator shall initiate the investigation upon the district's determination of an irregularity or breach of security or upon notification by the LDE. The investigation shall be conducted by the district test coordinator and other central office staff as designated by the district superintendent.

b. The location of the designated secure locked area for storage of materials shall be examined, and the individuals with access to secure materials shall be identified.

c. Interviews regarding testing administration and security procedures shall be conducted with the principal, school test coordinator(s), test administrator(s), and proctor(s) at the identified schools. All individuals who had access to the test materials at any time must be interviewed, when necessary.

d. Interviews shall be conducted with students in the identified classes regarding testing procedures, layout of the classroom, access to test materials before the test, and access to unauthorized materials during testing.

6. After completion of the investigation, the school district shall provide a report of the investigation and a written plan of action to the state superintendent within 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. Officials from the LDE are authorized to conduct additional investigations.

7. All test administrators and proctors must sign the Oath of Security and return it to the STC to keep on file for three years. The STC and principal must sign an oath of security and return it to the DTC to be kept on file at the district for three years.

8. Test materials, including all test booklets, answer documents, student log-in information, and supplementary secure materials containing secure test questions, shall be kept secure and accounted for in accordance with the procedures specified in the test administration manuals and other communications provided by the LDE. Secure test materials include test booklets, answer documents, student log-in information, and any supplementary secure materials.

9. Procedures described in the test manuals shall include, but are not limited to, the following.

a. All test booklets, answer documents, student login information, and supplementary secure materials must be kept in a designated locked secure storage area prior to and after administration of any test.

i. 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 the designated locked secure storage area each day of testing.

b. All test booklets, answer documents, student login information, and supplementary secure materials must 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 serial numbers of test booklets, answer documents, and any supplementary secure materials, or the quantity received from contractors must be reported to the LDE by the designated institutional or school district personnel prior to the administration of the test.

d. In the event that test booklets, answer documents, or supplementary secure materials are determined to be missing while in the possession of the institution or school district or in the event of any other testing irregularities or breaches of security, the designated institutional or school district personnel must immediately notify by telephone the LDE, Division of Assessments and Accountability, and follow the detailed procedures for investigating and reporting specified in this policy.

e. Only personnel trained in test security and administration shall be allowed to have access to or administer any statewide assessments.

f. Each district superintendent or institution must annually designate one individual in the district or institution as district test coordinator, who is authorized to procure test materials that are utilized in testing programs administered by or through the SBESE of the LDE. The name of the individual designated must be provided in writing to the LDE, and included on the statement of assurance.

g. Testing shall be conducted in class-sized groups. Bulletin 741 (§913. A) states that K-3 classroom enrollment should be no more than 26 students, and in grades 4-12, no more than 33, except in certain activity types of classes in which the teaching approach and the material and equipment are appropriate for large groups. For grades K-8, the maximum class size for health and physical education classes may be no more than 40. Class size for exceptional students is generally smaller [Bulletin 741, (§915)]. Permission for testing in environments that differ from the usual classroom environment must be obtained in writing from the LDE at least 30 days prior to testing. If testing outside the usual classroom environment is approved by the LDE, the school district must provide at least one proctor for every 30 students.

h. The state superintendent of education may disallow test results that may have been achieved in a manner that is in violation of test security.

i. School systems wishing to contest any LDE void determinations resulting from LDE data forensic findings or other LDE investigations must submit, from the school system leader, an appeal request in writing and a report resulting from an investigation of the voids in accordance with Paragraph 3 of this Subsection to the LDE within 30 days of void notification.

i. LDE shall provide a list of recommended investigators that may be used by school systems to support this process.

ii. The investigation shall produce verifiable evidence that corroborates, with a high degree of certainty, that a testing irregularity did not occur. Investigations failing to meet this standard shall not be considered before the committee.

iii. In accordance with R.S. 42:11 et seq., the LDE shall annually convene a test irregularity review committee by no later than 60 days after the close of the testing window. The test irregularity review committee shall conduct a records review of the investigative results from the school system as well as any additional relevant evidence from the LDE.

iv. The test irregularity review committee shall consists of the following members approved by BESE, coterminous with the board members:

(a). the LDE director of assessment or his/her designee;

(b). a degreed, experienced, large-scale assessment psychometrician;

(c). a nationally-recognized large-scale assessment expert;

(d). a nationally-recognized large-scale assessment test security expert; and

(e). a school system assessment and accountability representative.

v. The test irregularity review committee shall make recommendations, as determined by a majority vote of all members of the review committee, regarding any necessary reversals of voids to the state superintendent.

vi. The state superintendent shall issue a written determination regarding review committee recommendations to reverse voids.

vii. In the event the state superintendent determines not to accept a recommendation to reverse a void, the school system may appeal to BESE, which may determine whether to reverse the voids.

viii. This process shall not supersede or interfere with any investigations administered by state or federal law enforcement officials.

10. The LDE shall establish procedures to identify:

a. improbable achievement of test score gains;

b. situations in which collaboration between or among individuals may occur during the testing process;

c. a verification of the number of all tests distributed and the number of tests returned;

d. excessive wrong-to-right answer changes;

e. any violation to written composition or open-ended responses (including electronic submissions) that involves plagiarism;

f. any other situation that may result in invalidation of test results:

11. In cases in which test results are not accepted because of a breach of test security or action by the LDE, any programmatic, evaluative, or graduation criteria dependent upon the data shall be deemed not to have been met.

12. Individuals shall adhere to all procedures specified in all manuals that govern mandated testing programs.

13. 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 SBESE or the LDE shall have breached test security. Any individual who knowingly causes or allows the presentation of forged, counterfeited, or altered identification for the purpose of obtaining admission to any test administration site must forfeit all test scores but will be allowed to retake the test at the next test administration.

14. School districts must ensure that individual student test data are protected from unauthorized access and disclosure.

a. The eDIRECT system is designed to be an all-inclusive testing and reporting system for grades 3-12. The system contains students private information, including state test scores and state identification numbers. The system is password protected and requires a user ID and an assigned password for access. LDE assigns DTCs and back-up DTCs accounts in the eDIRECT system. DTCs are responsible for entering staff into the system and assigning the appropriate permissions.

15. District test coordinators are responsible for providing training regarding the security and confidentiality of individual student test data (in paper and electronic formats) and of aggregated data of fewer than 10 students.

16. LDE staff will conduct site visits during testing to observe test administration procedures and to ensure that appropriate test security procedures are being followed. Schools with prior violations of test security or other testing irregularities will be identified for visits. Other schools will be randomly selected.

17. Any teachers or other school personnel who breach test security or allow breaches in test security shall be disciplined in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 17:416 et seq., R.S. 17:441 et seq., R.S. 17:81 et seq., policy and regulations adopted by the SBESE, and any and all laws that may be enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § XI-5305

Promulgated by the Department of Education, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 31:1528 (July 2005), amended LR 32:233 (February 2006), LR 33:255 (February 2007), LR 33:424 (March 2007), LR 33:2033 (October 2007), LR 34:65 (January 2008), LR 34:431 (March 2008), LR 34:1351 (July 2008), LR 35:217 (February 2009), LR 37:858 (March 2011), repromulgated LR 37:1123 (April 2011), amended LR 38:747 (March 2012), LR 39:1018 (April 2013), LR 40:2510 (December 2014), Amended LR 43634 (4/1/2017), Amended LR 44463 (3/1/2018), Amended LR 441857 (10/1/2018), Amended LR 47566 (5/1/2021), Amended LR 481746 (7/1/2022).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:6 and 17:391.7(C)-(G).