The test administrator or proctor must report any alleged testing violation or testing irregularity to the school test coordinator on the day of the occurrence. The school test coordinator must contact the school system test coordinator
immediately with any allegation of a testing violation. The school test coordinator must then conduct a thorough investigation and complete the Report of Testing Irregularity provided through the Online Testing Irregularity Submission System (OTISS). (Please note that persons reporting irregularities on OTISS must first receive training and a password from the local education agency [LEA] test coordinator.)The OTISS irregularity report must be submitted to the school system test coordinator within five days of the test administration. Different incidents must be documented on separate reports of testing irregularities even when the incidents occur during the same test administration in the same room. For example, if one student is disruptive during testing and another student becomes ill during the administration of the test, two separate reports of testing irregularity must be filed on OTISS. If the superintendent or school system test coordinator declares a misadministration, the misadministration must be documented and reported using appropriate procedures outlined in OTISS.
Examples of testing irregularities include, but are not limited to:
Eligibility Issues:
Failing to test all eligible students (State Board of Education [SBE] policy GCS-A-010)
Administering tests to ineligible students Accommodation Issues:
Providing accommodations to students who are not eligible to receive them
Failing to provide approved accommodations to the appropriate students
Failing to follow appropriate procedures for providing testing accommodations
Providing Test Administrator Reads Test Aloud (in English), or Computer Reads Test Aloud―Student Controlled, or Interpreter/Transliterator Signs/Cues Test
accommodations during an assessment that measures reading skills (e.g., end-of-grade English language Arts/Reading, end-of-course English II)
Security Issues:
Allowing access to the tests to school or district personnel who do not have a legitimate need
Allowing students to review secure test materials before the test administration
Leaving students unsupervised with access to secure test materials
Failing to store secure test materials not stored in a secure, locked facility Failing to cover or remove those bulletin board materials, classroom displays, or reference materials
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(printed or attached) on students’ desks that provide information regarding test-taking strategies or the content being measured by the test
Failing to return the originally distributed number of test materials (e.g., test booklets, answer sheets, assessment guides) to designated school personnel
Reproducing secure tests in any manner or form
Giving students instruction related to the concepts measured by the tests before the test administration or during the test administration session
Monitoring Issues:
Cheating
Failing to prevent students from gaining an unfair advantage through the use of cell phones, text messages, or other means
Illness Procedural Issues:
Paraphrasing, omitting, revising, interpreting, explaining, or rewriting the script, directions, or test items, including answer choices (SBE policy GCS-A-010)
Reading or tampering with (e.g., altering, changing, modifying, erasing, or scoring) student responses to the test questions by school district personnel
Failing to administer the secure tests on the test date or during the testing window designated by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Division of Accountability Services/North Carolina Testing Program
Failing to follow the test schedule procedures or makeup test schedule designated by the NCDPI Division of Accountability Services/North Carolina Testing Program
Providing students with additional time beyond the designated maximum time specified in the assessment guide (except for students with documented special needs requiring accommodations, such as Scheduled Extended Time)
Technical Issues:
Online test connectivity/technical problems
Online test item(s) did not display properly
Online test registration not completed appropriately
Reporting Test Connectivity and Technical Problems in OTISS
Schools must report all online test connectivity and technical problems that occur during the administration of online assessments. On the day of the occurrence, schools must enter into the Online Testing Irregularity Submission System (OTISS) detailed information about each incident including, but not limited to, the following:
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Test name (course or subject and grade level)
Test form number (available at the top of the screen)
Description of the incident
Number of students involved
Error message(s) (document the words verbatim)
Specific item number(s), if applicable
NCTest Secure Web Browser or NCTest App
Steps taken locally to resolve the issue
Help Desk ticket number (If the Help Desk does not provide a ticket number, the caller should request one.)
Advice offered by the Help Desk
Solution: whether the issue was resolved or not resolved
Testing Irregularities Submission System Checklists and Action Plan
To assist local education agencies ( LEAs) in the process of collecting
information and conducting a thorough investigation of alleged testing violations, copies of investigation checklists for the school test coordinator and for the local education agency (LEA) test coordinator are available in the “Miscellaneous Forms and Notices” section of this handbook and in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Online Testing Irregularities
Submission System (OTISS). The checklists provide the necessary steps and guidance for filing irregularities and completing investigative measures. Also available in OTISS is a sample copy of an action plan that may be used to address areas of concern in testing and to outline
procedures for establishing corrective actions.
Misadministrations
School systems must monitor test administration procedures. According to State Board of Education policy GCS-A-001, if school officials discover any instance of improper administration and determine that the validity of the test results has been affected, they must notify the local board of education, order the affected students to be retested, and declare a misadministration. Only the superintendent and the school system test coordinator have the authority to declare
misadministrations at the local level.
When a misadministration is declared, the affected student(s) must be administered another secure form of the test (i.e., a different letter) as soon as possible following the
misadministration. The local education agency (LEA)/charter school test coordinator will specify how misadministrations are to be handled at the school and will schedule dates and times for
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readministering the tests in each school so that all misadministration retesting is completed within the state-designated testing windows.
Only scores resulting from a valid test administration should be included in students’ permanent records, used for placement decisions, or used for accountability purposes. All
misadministrations must be documented and reported using the appropriate procedures outlined in the Online Testing Irregularity Submission System (OTISS).
Makeup Testing and Absence from Makeups
Any student absent (i.e., not present) from the test administration must make up the test. The local education agency (LEA)/charter school test coordinator will specify how makeup tests will be handled at the school and will schedule the dates and times for completing makeup tests in each school so that all makeups are completed within the state-designated testing windows.
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I. Participation in the North Carolina Testing Program
North Carolina Testing Program Assessment Options Grades 3–8 North Carolina Testing Program Assessment Options Grades 9–12
All eligible students are to participate in the North Carolina statewide testing program. State Board of Education (SBE) policy GCS-C-021 requires students with disabilities and students identified as limited English proficient (LEP) to be included in the statewide testing program.
There are three ways students may participate in the North Carolina statewide testing program:
The general assessment under standard conditions (i.e., without testing accommodations)
The general assessment with testing accommodations. (On a case-by-case basis where appropriate documentation exists, students with disabilities and students identified as LEP may receive testing accommodations. The need for accommodations must be documented in the student’s current Individualized Education Program (IEP), Section 504 Plan, or LEP documentation. The accommodations must be used routinely during the student’s instructional program and similar classroom assessments.)
An alternate assessment (with or without accommodations). (Students with disabilities who meet specific eligibility criteria may be assessed using alternate assessments.) Available alternate assessments include:
o NCEXTEND1 (Grades 3–8, 10, Grade 11)
o College and Career Readiness Alternate Assessment (CCRAA) for Grade 10 o College and Career Readiness Alternate Assessment (CCRAA) for Grade 11 o Alternate ACCESS for ELLs
In rare cases, students, deemed medically fragile because of a significant medical emergency and/or condition and unable to participate in a specific test administration, may be granted a medical exception. The principal or school test coordinator must contact the school system test coordinator for procedures on how to request a medical exception. All medical exceptions must be approved by the Division of Accountability Services/North Carolina Testing Program. Each year the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) sends a letter to the school system outlining the procedures to follow when requesting a medical exception. See the Process for Requesting Testing Exceptions Based on Significant Medical Emergencies and/or Conditions documents for additional information on requesting a medical exception.
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J. Testing Calendars and Required Testing
North Carolina Statewide Testing Calendar 2014–2015
The North Carolina statewide testing calendar for the 2014–2015 school year may be found at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/accountability/
policyoperations/1314testingcalendar.pdf.
Required Testing for 2014–2015
The North Carolina Testing Program chart of required testing (includes alternate assessments) for the 2014–2015 school year may be found at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/.
2014–2015 READY Accountability Testing Requirements for the North Carolina Testing Program
North Carolina State Board of Education and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) required testing for the 2014–2015 school year are found at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/accountability/.
Testing Program Overview
A description of the tests and alternate assessments required at elementary, middle, and high schools grades 3–12 in the North Carolina Testing Program may be found at
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/.