Purpose:  The Fairfield Community School District is committed to ensuring the integrity of the information obtained from the use of educational assessments, ensuring security of test content and upholding professional ethics. This policy is intended to apply to all Federal and State mandated assessments, including but not limited to:  Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment Systems (DLM), English Language Proficiency for the 21st Century (ELPA21), Iowa Statewide Assessments of Student Progress (ISASP), National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), all District designated Early Literacy Assessments (e.g., FAST), and GOLD

This policy is to identify test security practices and administration procedures that align to ESSA and Iowa Code that can ensure assessment results are truly representative of the achievement of students in our district. Everyone who is involved in student testing is responsible for test security.  This includes, but is not limited to district administrators, school administrators, school assessment coordinators, teachers, test administrators (TA), proctors, students, and parents.  It is also our intent to create awareness of the potential negative impact that inappropriate assessment practices might produce, to outline processes to be followed, and to identify the potential consequences of violating the policy. If test scores become questionable because of inappropriate practices in either preparing students or in administering tests, the meaning of the scores will be distorted and their value for their original purpose will be diminished or lost.

Appointment of District Test Coordinators

The district will appoint the Curriculum Director as the District Test Coordinator for each Federal and State assessment, who may in turn delegate responsibility for testing-related functions to one or more Building Test Coordinators. The District Test Coordinator is responsible for developing; rules for storage and/or access of secure materials; rules for administration; rules for monitoring; rules for reporting; and the requirements for protecting student personal information (FERPA).

Materials Handling

Each Federal and State assessment has materials handling procedures specific to the defined assessment.  It is the responsibility of the District Test Coordinator to develop procedures congruent to test type based on the test developer’s or vendor’s test administration manual.  Only personnel identified and authorized in District procedures will have access to the tests or testing system before, during and after the identified testing window. 

Test Preparation

As a function of educating students, staff may prepare students for assessments by providing instruction in the content areas to be assessed. Staff may also prepare students for assessments by teaching general test-taking skills that are applicable to any test or test format.

Staff will only conduct reviews or drills that use the supplied online practice test supplied by testing company or vendor.  Staff will not develop their own “practice” test items to mimic those supplied by the testing company or vendor.

Security Violations:

In the administration of standardized tests, it is a violation of test security to do any of the following:

1. Provide inappropriate test preparation such as any of the following:

a. Copy, screenshot, reproduce, or use in any manner any portion of any secure test, for any reason.

b. Share an actual test instrument in any form.

c. Use test preparation materials or strategies developed specifically for Annual Assessment

D. Scheduling that doesn’t comply with State and/or District guidelines

2. Deviate from the test administration procedures specified in the test examiner’s manual.

3. Provide inappropriate assistance to students during the test administration.

4. Make test answers available to students.

5. Change or fill in answers on student answer documents.

6. Provide inaccurate data on student answer documents.

7. Engage in any practice to artificially raise student scores without actually improving underlying student achievement.

8. Participate in, direct, aid, counsel, assist, encourage, or fail to report any of the acts prohibited in this policy.

 

Consequences of Policy Violations

If a violation of this policy occurs, as determined by the superintendent following an investigation of allegations of irregularities, the superintendent will determine whether the integrity of the testing program has been jeopardized, whether some or all of the test results are invalidated, and whether a teacher or administrator has violated the Code of Ethics of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners as found at 282-Iowa Administrative Code chapter 25.

Reports of students cheating on assessments will be submitted to the building principal for investigation and disciplinary procedures.

A staff member found to have committed testing irregularities will be subject to discipline in accordance with law and board policy. If the staff member is a licensee of the Board of Educational Examiners, the superintendent shall make a timely report to that board.

If the superintendent believes that assessment results are invalid, the superintendent will make a timely report to the Iowa Department of Education.

 

 

Approved: May 20, 2019      
Reviewed: April 15, 2019
Revised: May 20, 2019