Test Administration Resources

Accessibility Supports

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) strives to provide every student with a positive and productive assessment experience, generating results that are a fair and accurate estimate of each student’s achievement. In the process of developing its next-generation assessments to measure students’ knowledge and skills as they progress toward college and career readiness, ODE recognizes that the validity of assessment results depends on each and every student having appropriate accessibility supports (formerly “accommodations”) when needed based on the constructs being measured by the particular statewide assessment. To that end, please consult the Oregon Accessibility Manual as well as the related resources and links posted on this webpage.

These resources may be made available to all students during testing.
NOTE: Although the ODE-provided resources available below are not secure materials, they contain specific content that must not be altered. TAs may enlarge ODE-provided resources or their parts (e.g., as a poster or wall chart) but must NOT otherwise alter their content or change their presentation.

Science: Periodic Table

Oregon’s online ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences assessments are available to students who use Braille through a Braille interface.

Braille Requirements Manual
This manual provides information about supported hardware and software requirements for Braille testing and instructions for configuring JAWS, and embossing print files. Information about navigating a test with JAWS is also included.
Braille Formats for Online Administration
Special Considerations for Administering the ELA and Mathematics Assessments through the Braille Interface
Braille Periodic Table

Accessibility Supports Fact Sheet
This tracking sheet can be used by test administrators to ensure that accessibility supports are properly recorded.
2022-23 Accessibility Supports Demonstration Presentation
This presentation includes video demonstrations of the embedded accessibility supports available to students during testing in the online interface. See the presenter notes for the description of the tool and which tests each tool is available for.
Accessibility Supports and Modification Tracking Sheet
This tracking sheet can be used by test administrators to ensure that accessibility supports are properly recorded.
Science Scribe Guidelines
The guidelines outline and describe the qualifications, preparation, and valid implementation of this non-embedded accommodation for students with IEPs or 504 plans who have an identified need to respond orally to a human scribe or transcriber in order to participate in the Oregon Statewide Science Assessment. Please see the Oregon Accessibility Manual for all other statewide assessment accessibility supports.
ELPA Scribe Guidelines
The guidelines outline and describe the qualifications, preparation, and valid implementation of this non-embedded accommodation for students with IEPs or 504 plans who have an identified need to respond orally to a human scribe or transcriber in order to participate in the ELPA assessment.
Recommendation for New Accessibility Supports Form
The specific universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations approved for Oregon’s statewide assessments may change in the future if additional tools, supports, or accommodations are identified for the assessment based on state experience and research findings. When teams or individuals feel that a strategy not present in the accessibility supports tables deserves further consideration, they are encouraged to complete a description of the support and submit it to ODE for the Accessibility Panel to review.

Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines FAQ
Individualized Student Accessibility and Accommodations Profile (ISAAP) Tool
The ISAAP tool is designed to facilitate confirmation of Universal Tools and selection of Designated Supports and Accommodations for students taking the ELA and Mathematics assessments. It is intended to be used in accordance with the ISAAP process outlined in the Smarter Balanced Accessibility and Accommodations Guidelines and state policies and procedures related to assessment accessibility. The ISAAP tool does not take the place of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan.
Text-to-Speech Options
This document provides a brief overview of the options for Text-to-Speech (TTS) on the ELA and Mathematics tests for Items, Passages, and Stimuli. Please see the Oregon Accessibility Manual (OAM) for specific policies on using Text-to-Speech with students as a Designated Support and as an Accommodation.
Scribing Protocol for ELA and Mathematics Assessments
For information on training, documentation requirements, and decision-making criteria for use of scribes and all other statewide assessment accessibility supports please see the Oregon Accessibility Manual.
Read Aloud Guidlines for OSAS ELA and Mathematics Tests (English)(Spanish)
Human test readers must use these guidelines for students using Read Aloud or Read Aloud in Spanish designated support. Recommendations for use are detailed in the Oregon Accessibility Manual.
Instructions for Using Embedded Glossaries
Embedded Accommodation – American Sign Language (ASL) Instructions
This document provides instructions on how to access and use the American Sign Language (ASL) embedded accommodation.

Right Assessment for the Right Purpose

The Oregon Department of Education worked with internal and external partners to develop a guidance document aimed at increasing educator assessment literacy within Oregon's Statewide Assessment System (OSAS). External partners included teacher's union representation, district test coordinators, university measurement staff, and national measurement experts in formative, interim, and summative assessment contexts. Internal partners included colleagues from the Office of Student Supports and the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. The document provides definitions for critical terms in our OSAS and in other areas where Oregon students are assessed in the areas of academic achievement, behavior, or other areas as part of their instructional programs. The document also addresses current questions and appropriate uses and misuses of statewide summative assessment data. Finally, guidance is provided regarding efficient use of testing time based on an internal study that was conducted. This document does not address any concerns outside of the K-12 student assessment context, nor does it provide the final word on assessment literacy in Oregon. It is published with the intended goal of beginning conversations about assessment literacy, which we know will evolve and increase in accuracy and complexity over time. Please contact Andrea Lockard, Director of Assessment if you have any questions regarding the guidance document. Right Assessment for the Right Purpose Guidance Document (Published August 7, 2019)

Promising Practices

Selecting and Documenting Accessibility Supports
The decision to apply accessibility supports during testing must be based on individual student need. This document contains promising practices that school districts might consider when selecting and documenting appropriate accessibility supports for their students.
Confirming student log-in information (Updated 3/1/19)
It is essential to both test security and the validity of student scores that all students log into the online assessments using their own SSIDs. This document contains tips that test administrators may use during the student login and verification process to ensure that students log in using the correct SSID.
Administering the ELPA to newcomer EL students
All English Learner students eligible to receive services under Title III of NCLB are required to annually participate in the English Language Proficiency Assessment, which measures the four domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English. Students who are new to learning English may need additional support when taking the speaking domain of ELPA. This document contains tips that test administrators may use when preparing to administer ELPA to a newcomer EL student.
Visual Barriers as Part of a Secure Test Environment
Districts must ensure that students do not have access to see other students’ work during testing. This document contains tips that TAs may use to create visual barriers between students during testing.
Maintaining Security of Printed Test Materials (Updated 3/1/19)
Maintaining the security of printed test materials is an important aspect of overall test security. This document contains tips that TAs may use to ensure the security of printed test materials.
Secure Transmission of Student Data Guidelines
Secure transmission is a vital part of ensuring the confidentiality of student data. This document contains tips for transferring data securely.
Student Cell Phone Access
Preventing students from accessing cell phones during testing is an important part of ensuring security of the test environment. However, enforcing this rule poses a variety of challenges for districts. This document contains tips that various districts have reported using to prevent student cell phone access during testing.
Testing Improprieties and Appropriate Practices
This document contains examples of typical testing improprieties that have been reported to ODE. For each testing impropriety listed, there is also an example of an appropriate practice that test administrators could use to avoid the testing impropriety.
Training Test Administrators
Ensuring that all test administrators are properly trained is vital to maintaining the security and validity of Oregon’s statewide assessment system. To ensure that all test administrators receive the required training, this document contains tips to help districts appropriately identify all staff who are included in the training requirement.
Avoiding Student Coaching
Avoiding student coaching, whether intentional or inadvertent, verbal, or nonverbal, is essential to ensuring the validity of the assessment and assessment results. This document contains promising practices that school districts can use to help prevent coaching.