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Establishing Appropriate Testing Conditions

Site ELPAC coordinators and TEs should work together to determine the most appropriate testing option(s) and testing environment based on the number of devices available, the number of students in each tested grade level, and the estimated time needed to complete each assessment.

For the kindergarten and grade one students, all domains are administered one-on-one. For grade two, the Listening, Reading, and Speaking domains are administered one-on-one, while the Writing domain is administered in small groups. For grades three through twelve, the Speaking domain is administered one-on-one, while the Listening, Reading, and Writing domains are administered in classroom-sized groups. Proctors can assist the TE in group administrations of more than 20 students.

Establishing classroom-sized groups reduces test fear and anxiety for the students and facilitates monitoring and control for the TE. However, this also includes setting up testing rooms for students whose IEPs or Section 504 plans specify universal tools, designated supports, accommodations, or any combination of these that necessitate testing the students in a separate setting (that is, reading test questions aloud, accounting for extended testing time, providing additional breaks, and so forth).

The test administration should be conducted in a secure environment (refer to the section Security of the Test Environment).

Establish procedures to maintain a quiet testing environment throughout the test session, recognizing that some students will finish more quickly than others. If students are allowed to leave the testing room when they finish, explain the procedures for leaving without disrupting others and where they are expected to report once they leave. If students are expected to remain in the testing room until the end of the session, instruct them on what activities they may engage in after they finish the assessment. The activities should be unrelated to the assessment being given (for example, work on assignments for unrelated subjects or read a book). Access to a student’s device should be monitored strictly for types of activities that may be done without violating the security of the assessments if other students in the room are still testing (such as, accessing a device that it is being used for medical reasons).