March 26, 2014
Dear Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test Participants
The purpose of this communication is to review steps following the administration of the PBA and the process for returning test materials.
Next Steps
Student ID Labels
Returning Materials
Practice Test Now Available
Technology Reminders
EOY Preparations
Load SDU for Computer-Based Testing
Test Session Setup
Watch Training Modules
Displaying Seal Codes
Next Steps
Submit Additional Orders for PBA, if needed — 3/19/2014–4/30/14
Create PBA Test Session (if not already completed) – recommended deadline 3/28/2014
Administer PBA Test Sessions — 3/24/2014–4/11/2014*
NOTE: The prescribed testing dates for your state may slightly differ from these dates.
Return Secure Test Materials for PBA
EOY test session setup window opens — 4/7/2014
EOY paper test materials due in schools — Week of 4/21/2014
NOTE: If testing in both PBA and EOY, new manuals will not be sent for EOY. If this affects you or your schools, please keep your manuals from the PBA component.
Student ID Labels
For schools testing both PBA and EOY, student ID labels are test administration specific and cannot be used for testing in different test administrations. If students testing during EOY assessments were incorrectly uploaded to the PBA test window, and student ID labels were received in the test coordinator kit, the labels need to be securely shredded. Answer documents will need to be hand-gridded with the student demographic information. Students registered by the cutoff date for paper-based testing for the EOY test administration will be sent student ID labels with the paper-based test materials delivered the week of April, 21, 2014.
Returning Materials
Once test administration has been completed, Test Coordinators should review Section 4.2 of the Test Coordinator Manual for Paper-Based Testing and follow the instructions on collecting and returning test
materials. The following secure materials must be returned to Pearson as soon as testing is complete but no later than one week after the PBA or EOY testing window closes.
Scorable Materials
o Used grade 3 Test Booklets
o Used Answer Documents (grades 4–high school)
o Transcribed grade 3 Test Booklets
o Transcribed Answer Documents (grades 4–high school)
Nonscorable Materials
o Unused grade 3 Test Booklets
o Used and unused Test Booklets (grades 4–high school)
o Large Print Test Booklets
o Unused Answer Documents (grades 4–high school)
Note: Schools that participated in computer-based testing do not need to return any material other than paper-based test accommodations (if applicable).
Refer to the Pearson Return Instructions Sheet included in the Test Coordinator Kit for returning boxed materials to Pearson. This includes a diagram of how to tape boxes for returning materials and how to apply return labels. Test Coordinators should save and reuse the boxes in which the test materials were delivered for return shipping. If these boxes are damaged in the original shipment, use sturdy boxes or place an additional order on PARCC’s PearsonAccess website at http://parcc.pearson.com.
Practice Test Now Available
The Practice Test was developed so that all students – not just those involved in the field testing – can experience PARCC test items the way they will appear on the tests starting in spring 2014. The spring 2014 release consists of Performance Based Assessment tests in English Language Arts/Literacy and End of Year tests in mathematics.
What’s available:
Grades 3-11 Performance Based Assessment tests for English Language Arts/Literacy will be available beginning March 24
Grades 3-8 End of Year tests for mathematics and Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry End of Year tests for mathematics will be available approximately April 7.
Check out the PARCC Practice Tests
Technology Reminders
Below are a few reminders and resources to help technology coordinators administer the Field Test.
Review the Full Technology Specifications for 2014 PARCC Field Test at http://www.parcconline.org/field-test-technology, to ensure all student test taking devices meet the PARCC Technology Specifications.
Review the TestNav Expected Behaviors List for each operating system that students will be testing on. These TestNav Expected Behaviors Lists can be found on the secure PearsonAccess Support page http://parcc.pearson.com/support under Technology Information or at PearsonAccess.com > Support > Technology Information.
Check every device, to ensure that all software applications, including Internet browsers, cameras (still and video), screen capture programs (live and recorded such as skype), email,
instant messaging, application switching, media players (such as iTunes) and printing are closed on all student testing devices before the test begins.
Configure the common applications listed below to NOT launch on any student test taking devices during testing sessions:
o Anti-virus software performing automatic updates
o Power management software on laptops warning of low battery levels
o Screen savers and sleep mode
o E-mail with auto message notification
o Calendar applications with notifications, such as Google Calendar
o Pop-up blockers
o Be sure that Internet Explorer Accelerator is disabled, as described in this memo.
Review the PARCC Weekly Technology Updates that provides important technology information, implementation resources, hot topics, and troubleshooting guidance. The PARCC Weekly Technology Updates can be found on the secure PearsonAccess Support page http://parcc.pearson.com/support under Communications or at PearsonAccess.com > Support > Communications.
Once you have completed a test session, please be sure to manually shut down all student test taking devices or use the process provided by your technology staff to ensure all students have exited the testing environment.
After ALL PARCC field testing is complete, purge cached test content.
End of Year (EOY) Preparations
The window for the EOY administration is from May 5–June 6, 2014. Below are some reminders to assist in preparations for the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test End-of-Year Assessment. NOTE: The prescribed testing dates for your state may slightly differ from these dates.
Load SDU for Computer-Based Testing – 3/20/2014
The deadline for loading students into PearsonAccess has passed. If you missed the window, you will still need to load SDU. Please note the following important reminders about adding students for the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test:
Only add students participating in the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test.
Make sure the SDU contains the correct Test Codes.
EOY Test Session Setup – opens 4/7/2014
The ability to setup test sessions will be available on the PearsonAccess live site for EOY on April 7, 2014—schools will be able to create sessions, add students, remove students or move students to other sessions. Most activities associated with computer-based (online) test sessions will be performed on the Manage Test Sessions screen. This is where PearsonAccess will be used by School Test Coordinators or Test Administrators who oversee online testing. The ability to start a session will not be available until the first day of testing.
For more information about test sessions, including step-by-step instructions for creating test sessions, please refer to the PearsonAccess User Guide starting on page 44 found under Manuals and Documents at http://parcc.pearson.com/support.
Watch Training Modules
Training modules are extremely helpful videos that cover every aspect of the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test. These can be watched or downloaded at http://parcc.pearson.com/tms.
Displaying Seal Codes
Test Administrators should only write the seal code for the specific test session on the board. Do not write all of the seal codes for the entire PBA on the board. Please find an example of a seal code printout with notations on the seal codes for each session below.
PARCC Support
For more information regarding PARCC and the 2014 Field Test, please visit the PARCC website at http://www.parcconline.org/field-test. If you have questions regarding the administration of the PARCC Field Test, please contact Pearson’s PARCC Support Center: 1-888-493-9888 (open Monday through Friday, 6:00am to 8:00pm CT) or [email protected]. For state policy questions or if you believe you have received this letter in error, please contact your state field test contact.
We appreciate your participation in this exciting opportunity!
Sincerely,
Pearson PARCC Program Team
Next Steps
· Add participating students into PearsonAccess.
· End of Year (EOY) Assessment –students testing ONLINE
· Please note the following important reminders about adding students for the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test:
§ Only add students participating in the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test.
§ Make sure the SDU contains the correct Test Codes.
· Double-check that your schools’personnel are assigned to the proper user roles in PearsonAccess.
· Perform Infrastructure Trial in the PearsonAccess Training Center.
· Schools should set up Test Sessions for PBA in PearsonAccess.
· Schools will receive Test Materials if Paper-Based Testing
· Submit Additional Orders if needed.
· Proctor Caching for PBA begins 3/21/2014.
For Schools testing both PBA and EOY
Pearson loaded all PAPER students for students participating in both PBA to EOY this past weekend, so schools should now be able to see students in the EOY administration. For ONLINE students participating in both PBA and EOY, the students will be loaded to EOY in PearsonAccess the end of April.
Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) Preparations
The window for the PBA is from March 24-April 11. Below are some reminders to assist in final preparations for the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test Performance-Based Assessment.
NOTE: The prescribed testing dates for your state may slightly differ from these dates. Please contact your LEA/district if you have any questions about your testing dates.
Create Test Sessions –NOW AVAILABLE
The ability to setup test sessions is now available on the PearsonAccess live site for PBA and schools will be able to create sessions, add students, remove students or move students to other sessions. You will have the ability to start the test session on March 24, 2014, the first day of testing for PBA.
For more information about creating test sessions, including step-by-step instructions for creating test sessions, please refer to the PearsonAccess User Guide starting on page 44 found under Manuals and Documents at http://parcc.pearson.com/support.
Proctor Caching –BEGINS 3/21/2014
Proctor Caching accelerates the delivery of test content to students and reduces the amount of bandwidth required for electronic testing. You can practice proctor caching now in the training center, and schools can Proctor Cache for PBA beginning on March 21, 2014.
For more information on Proctor Caching, there are many resources at http://parcc.pearson.com/Support under the Technology Information tab.
Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test Administration Manuals –WEEK OF 3/17/2014
All manuals for Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test are available at http://parcc.pearson.com/support under Manuals and Documents. Manuals contain helpful checklists for procedures that need to be done before, during, and after testing.
For Computer-Based Testing schools, all manuals will be delivered the week of March 17, 2014. If testing in both PBA and EOY, only one set of manuals will be shipped, so schools should keep the manuals sent for PBA. If you do not receive the shipment of manuals by March 19, 2014, submit an additional order via Order Additional Materials and Tracking in PearsonAccess.
For Paper-Based Testing schools, manuals will be shipped with the other testing materials. Separate shipments will be shipped for PBA and EOY.
All shipments can be tracked in PearsonAccess. To track your shipment of manuals as well as paper test materials, log into PearsonAccess and click on Test Setup then click on Order Additional Materials and Tracking.
Receiving Test Materials –WEEK OF 3/17/2014
All PBA Paper-Based Test materials will be delivered the week of March 17, 2014. Shipments will include all materials required for Paper-Based testing based on students loaded during the SDU window. To track your shipment, log into PearsonAccess and click on Test Setup then click on Order Additional Materials and Tracking.
Additional Orders –OPENS 3/19/2014
The Additional Order window opens in PearsonAccess on March 19, 2014. Test materials and ancillary materials can be ordered March 19, 2014 to April 30, 2014. Ancillary materials can continue to be ordered until 11:59 pm CDT on May 9, 2014.
Within this window, additional test books, answer documents, Large Print kits, Read-aloud kits, manuals, and more can be ordered. The Additional Order window is also used if students taking the PBA were added to PearsonAccess after February 13, 2014. After placing an Additional Order, it can take 48-72 hours to receive the shipment after it’s approved.
Schools who manually updated accommodation data within PearsonAccess after February 13, 2014 for Large Print (paper-based tests), Read-Aloud (paper-based tests only), or Paper-Based Accommodation for a Computer-Based tester will need to submit an additional order to receive the accommodated materials required for testing. They will not be included as part of your initial shipment.
Watch Training Modules
Training modules are extremely helpful videos that cover every aspect of the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test. These can be watched or downloaded at http://parcc.pearson.com/tms.
Infrastructure Trial
An Infrastructure Trial is an opportunity for LEA/districts, schools, and students to prepare for the computer-based PARCC Field Test by simulating test-day network utilization to determine any school or LEA issues and confirm all testing devices for PARCC testing can run the appropriate software.
There is much more information on how to complete an Infrastructure Trial found in the PARCC Infrastructure Readiness Guide at http://parcc.pearson.com/support under Manuals and Documents. You can also watch or download the Setting Up An Infrastructure Trial/Dress Rehearsal training module found at http://parcc.pearson.com/tms.
As a reminder, this week PARCC is celebrating Tech Prep Week an event to support and encourage Spring 2014 Field Test participants to prepare your networks, computers, staff and students prior to the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test. The event is a time to focus attention on school and district dress rehearsals, using PARCC infrastructure trial tools, and will also serve as an opportunity to supplement Pearson's performance testing and load balancing across simultaneous users across multiple states. PARCC is providing a number of additional resources to support Field Test participants including several webinars and guidance materials. To access the Tech Prep Week Implementation Guidance and materials go to http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-sponsors-tech-prep-week .
Below are some Infrastructure Trial specific FAQs to assist in completing a productive dress rehearsal:
Question: Where can I view pre-cached test content?
Answer: You are able to view cached content via the Proctor Caching management page. To access this page, enter in the IP address of the Proctor caching machine on port 4480 (Ex. 10.0.0.0:4480) into the URL address bar in your browser of choice.
Question: Can you set up the proctor caching application on a Chromebook (i.e., can a district host proctor caching for other computers from a Chromebook?)
Answer: No. You will need to go to http://PARCC.Pearson.com/TN8requirements and click on the proctor caching link for the technical requirements for proctor caching.
Question: Java is installed, but the error message tells me otherwise.
Answer: This is usually associated with the Java plugin being blocked within Safari 6.0 and below. To activate the inactive plugin, visit http://www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp and click on the ‘inactive plugin’message. You should then receive the dialogue to activate it.
Question: What do students use to log into TestNav?
Answer: Your test coordinator will print student authorizations which contain a unique username and password which students will use to access their test. This is available via the “Authorizations”tab inside of the session details on PearsonAccess.
Question: During the Infrastructure Trial, I downloaded the seal codes and it listed nine seal codes. Will I need to use all of these?
Answer: No. If the test contains two sealed sections, use only the first two Seal Codes and ignore the remainder.
PARCC Support
For more information regarding PARCC and the 2014 Field Test, please visit the PARCC website at http://www.parcconline.org/field-test. If you have questions regarding the administration of the PARCC Field Test, please contact Pearson’s PARCC Support Center: 1-888-493-9888 (open Monday through Friday, 6:00am to 8:00pm CST) or [email protected]. For state policy questions or if you believe you have received this letter in error, please contact your state field test contact.
· Add participating students into PearsonAccess.
· End of Year (EOY) Assessment –students testing ONLINE
· Please note the following important reminders about adding students for the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test:
§ Only add students participating in the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test.
§ Make sure the SDU contains the correct Test Codes.
· Double-check that your schools’personnel are assigned to the proper user roles in PearsonAccess.
· Perform Infrastructure Trial in the PearsonAccess Training Center.
· Schools should set up Test Sessions for PBA in PearsonAccess.
· Schools will receive Test Materials if Paper-Based Testing
· Submit Additional Orders if needed.
· Proctor Caching for PBA begins 3/21/2014.
For Schools testing both PBA and EOY
Pearson loaded all PAPER students for students participating in both PBA to EOY this past weekend, so schools should now be able to see students in the EOY administration. For ONLINE students participating in both PBA and EOY, the students will be loaded to EOY in PearsonAccess the end of April.
Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) Preparations
The window for the PBA is from March 24-April 11. Below are some reminders to assist in final preparations for the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test Performance-Based Assessment.
NOTE: The prescribed testing dates for your state may slightly differ from these dates. Please contact your LEA/district if you have any questions about your testing dates.
Create Test Sessions –NOW AVAILABLE
The ability to setup test sessions is now available on the PearsonAccess live site for PBA and schools will be able to create sessions, add students, remove students or move students to other sessions. You will have the ability to start the test session on March 24, 2014, the first day of testing for PBA.
For more information about creating test sessions, including step-by-step instructions for creating test sessions, please refer to the PearsonAccess User Guide starting on page 44 found under Manuals and Documents at http://parcc.pearson.com/support.
Proctor Caching –BEGINS 3/21/2014
Proctor Caching accelerates the delivery of test content to students and reduces the amount of bandwidth required for electronic testing. You can practice proctor caching now in the training center, and schools can Proctor Cache for PBA beginning on March 21, 2014.
For more information on Proctor Caching, there are many resources at http://parcc.pearson.com/Support under the Technology Information tab.
Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test Administration Manuals –WEEK OF 3/17/2014
All manuals for Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test are available at http://parcc.pearson.com/support under Manuals and Documents. Manuals contain helpful checklists for procedures that need to be done before, during, and after testing.
For Computer-Based Testing schools, all manuals will be delivered the week of March 17, 2014. If testing in both PBA and EOY, only one set of manuals will be shipped, so schools should keep the manuals sent for PBA. If you do not receive the shipment of manuals by March 19, 2014, submit an additional order via Order Additional Materials and Tracking in PearsonAccess.
For Paper-Based Testing schools, manuals will be shipped with the other testing materials. Separate shipments will be shipped for PBA and EOY.
All shipments can be tracked in PearsonAccess. To track your shipment of manuals as well as paper test materials, log into PearsonAccess and click on Test Setup then click on Order Additional Materials and Tracking.
Receiving Test Materials –WEEK OF 3/17/2014
All PBA Paper-Based Test materials will be delivered the week of March 17, 2014. Shipments will include all materials required for Paper-Based testing based on students loaded during the SDU window. To track your shipment, log into PearsonAccess and click on Test Setup then click on Order Additional Materials and Tracking.
Additional Orders –OPENS 3/19/2014
The Additional Order window opens in PearsonAccess on March 19, 2014. Test materials and ancillary materials can be ordered March 19, 2014 to April 30, 2014. Ancillary materials can continue to be ordered until 11:59 pm CDT on May 9, 2014.
Within this window, additional test books, answer documents, Large Print kits, Read-aloud kits, manuals, and more can be ordered. The Additional Order window is also used if students taking the PBA were added to PearsonAccess after February 13, 2014. After placing an Additional Order, it can take 48-72 hours to receive the shipment after it’s approved.
Schools who manually updated accommodation data within PearsonAccess after February 13, 2014 for Large Print (paper-based tests), Read-Aloud (paper-based tests only), or Paper-Based Accommodation for a Computer-Based tester will need to submit an additional order to receive the accommodated materials required for testing. They will not be included as part of your initial shipment.
Watch Training Modules
Training modules are extremely helpful videos that cover every aspect of the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test. These can be watched or downloaded at http://parcc.pearson.com/tms.
Infrastructure Trial
An Infrastructure Trial is an opportunity for LEA/districts, schools, and students to prepare for the computer-based PARCC Field Test by simulating test-day network utilization to determine any school or LEA issues and confirm all testing devices for PARCC testing can run the appropriate software.
There is much more information on how to complete an Infrastructure Trial found in the PARCC Infrastructure Readiness Guide at http://parcc.pearson.com/support under Manuals and Documents. You can also watch or download the Setting Up An Infrastructure Trial/Dress Rehearsal training module found at http://parcc.pearson.com/tms.
As a reminder, this week PARCC is celebrating Tech Prep Week an event to support and encourage Spring 2014 Field Test participants to prepare your networks, computers, staff and students prior to the Spring 2014 PARCC Field Test. The event is a time to focus attention on school and district dress rehearsals, using PARCC infrastructure trial tools, and will also serve as an opportunity to supplement Pearson's performance testing and load balancing across simultaneous users across multiple states. PARCC is providing a number of additional resources to support Field Test participants including several webinars and guidance materials. To access the Tech Prep Week Implementation Guidance and materials go to http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-sponsors-tech-prep-week .
Below are some Infrastructure Trial specific FAQs to assist in completing a productive dress rehearsal:
Question: Where can I view pre-cached test content?
Answer: You are able to view cached content via the Proctor Caching management page. To access this page, enter in the IP address of the Proctor caching machine on port 4480 (Ex. 10.0.0.0:4480) into the URL address bar in your browser of choice.
Question: Can you set up the proctor caching application on a Chromebook (i.e., can a district host proctor caching for other computers from a Chromebook?)
Answer: No. You will need to go to http://PARCC.Pearson.com/TN8requirements and click on the proctor caching link for the technical requirements for proctor caching.
Question: Java is installed, but the error message tells me otherwise.
Answer: This is usually associated with the Java plugin being blocked within Safari 6.0 and below. To activate the inactive plugin, visit http://www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp and click on the ‘inactive plugin’message. You should then receive the dialogue to activate it.
Question: What do students use to log into TestNav?
Answer: Your test coordinator will print student authorizations which contain a unique username and password which students will use to access their test. This is available via the “Authorizations”tab inside of the session details on PearsonAccess.
Question: During the Infrastructure Trial, I downloaded the seal codes and it listed nine seal codes. Will I need to use all of these?
Answer: No. If the test contains two sealed sections, use only the first two Seal Codes and ignore the remainder.
PARCC Support
For more information regarding PARCC and the 2014 Field Test, please visit the PARCC website at http://www.parcconline.org/field-test. If you have questions regarding the administration of the PARCC Field Test, please contact Pearson’s PARCC Support Center: 1-888-493-9888 (open Monday through Friday, 6:00am to 8:00pm CST) or [email protected]. For state policy questions or if you believe you have received this letter in error, please contact your state field test contact.