Transcript ACT Special/Accommodated Testing-

General Alerts
1. The ALSDE requires that Test Administrators/Room
Supervisors must be certificated employees. Proctors must
be full-time employees involved with the education of
examinees.
2. No relative of an examinee who is taking the test may serve
as a Room Supervisor or Proctor for that examinee.
3. Anyone who coaches high school or college athletics may not
serve as the Room Supervisor for one-on-one testing of a
student athlete. An athletic coach may serve as the Room
Supervisor if there is more than one examinee in the room.
4. No student or student teacher may serve as a Room
Supervisor or Proctor.
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General Alerts, continued
5. Room Supervisors and Proctors must read and comply with the
policies and procedures described in ACT’s Special Testing
Administration Manual.
6. Before test day, Room Supervisors and Proctors administering
paper/pencil tests must read and be familiar with ACT’s Special
Testing Administration Manual; hereafter, this document will be
referred to as the Special Testing Manual.
7. Room Supervisors and Proctors must be familiar with all information
contained in the ACT Plus Writing Special Testing Paper/Pencil Alerts
for Room Supervisors and Proctors; hereafter, this document will be
referred to as Special Testing Alerts for Room Supervisors and
Proctors.
8. Room Supervisors and Proctors must be familiar with the Answer
Document Supplement provided with materials.
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General Alerts, continued
9. Room Supervisors and Proctors must participate in
test administration training prior to test date and
attend a briefing session on the morning of the test.
10.Room Supervisors and Proctors must read and
understand specific responsibilities listed on page 10 of
the Special Testing Manual.
11.Testing staff must account for materials each time they
change hands and before dismissing examinees.
12.Test materials must be secure at all times. Test materials
must be kept in a secure location as examinees enter
and exit the test room. A test room must never be left
unattended, even if only one examinee is in the room.
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General Alerts
13. Testing should not begin for any student who has not
completed the pre-test session prior to test date. Do NOT
admit any student to the test room who has not
completed the pre-test session.
14. Testing must begin by 9:00 a.m. in all rooms. Testing
begins when the Room Supervisor starts reading the
Verbal Instructions. If testing begins after 9:00 a.m. in any
room, scores for that room may be cancelled.
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General Alerts
15. The manual contains instructions for both Plus Writing
and No Writing; therefore, at certain points within the
Special Testing Manual, the instructions will vary.
16. Since Alabama will administer the ACT Plus Writing, you
must follow and read instructions for the ACT Plus
Writing. These instructions are printed in bold, color text.
Arrows will direct you to specific pages to continue your
administration.
17. When the instructions split into two columns, ACT (No
Writing) is always in the left-hand column and ACT Plus
Writing is always in the right-hand column. Make sure
you read the correct instructions.
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General Accommodation Information
18. Examinees may take the ACT Plus Writing ONLY with accommodations
specifically authorized in advance by ACT. ACT will send an authorization
letter to be shared with the examinee.
19. Allowed accommodations that do NOT require ACT approval (i.e., small
group, seated in front of room, individually with standard time) must be
administered on the initial test date of April 28 or the makeup test date of
May 12 using standard testing materials.
20. ACT assigns test materials by serial number to each examinee. These are
listed on the Test Materials Distribution List. Only the authorized examinee
may use the materials assigned to him or her; they may NOT be used by
another examinee or transferred to any other location. Tests administered
using materials assigned to another examinee or transferred from any
other location will NOT be scored.
21. A Proctor is required to assist the Room Supervisor if more than 10
examinees with the same timing code are tested in the same room
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Timing Codes and Guidelines
22. Each examinee with ACT-Approved Accommodations has an
assigned Timing Code that identifies the times guidelines
authorized for that examinee and determines which Verbal
Instructions must be read to that examinee.
23. An examinee should be scheduled for testing according to the
Timing Code listed below each examinee’s Reference Number
on the ACT Test Accommodations Roster.
24. For Timing Codes 2, 3, 5, and 7, testing may occur over
multiple days; however, each subject test must be completed
during a single session.
25. For Timing Code 8, all tests must be completed in a single
session.
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Timing Codes and Guidelines, continued
26. Timing Code 6 is the ONLY timing code that authorizes
examinees to pace themselves through each test within
the total time allowed—all tests must be administered in
a single session.
27. For all other Timing Codes, ALL examinees in the room
must be working on the same test at the same time.
28. Examinees with different Timing Codes must NOT test in
the same room.
29. Specific instructions for timing codes and testing more
than one examinee at a time can be found on pages 2-3
of the Special Testing Manual.
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Preparing Test Room
30. Testing rooms, including classrooms, must offer adequate testing conditions.
31. As in the administration of all standardized tests, seats must be arranged so that
all examinees face the Room Supervisor. No examinees may be seated at ends
of tables or facing other examinees.
32. Tables must be arranged so that all spacing requirements are met. Examinees
must all face the same direction. Use the following rules to seat examinees:
• ROUND TABLES: only one examinee per round table, regardless of size.
• TABLES LESS THAN 6 FEET: only one examinee per table.
• TABLES 6 TO 9 FEET: only two examinees per table. If 6-foot tables are used
to seat two examinees, a 3-foot space is required between the examinees.
33. The testing room must offer adequate writing surfaces, uncrowded seating, good
lighting, comfortable temperature, a quiet atmosphere, and freedom from
distraction.
34. Lapboards are NOT allowed.
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Preparing Test Room
35. Make sure bulletin board materials related to potential test
questions (mathematics, reading, etc.), charts, and maps that
provide strategies for solving problems or writing essays are
removed or covered. Geographical maps and periodic tables need
not be covered.
36. Each Room Supervisor must have two reliable timepieces in the
room: one must be an accurate clock or watch that shows the actual
time of day; ACT recommends that the second be a stopwatch or
interval timer.
37. Cellphones may NEVER be used as a timer.
38. A seating diagram is required and is on page A-2 of the Special
Testing Manual. If this diagram does not reasonably fit your
room, complete all sections and draw your diagram on a
separate sheet of paper and attach it to the seating diagram.
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Possession of Prohibited Items by Staff
39. School personnel involved in administration of state testing may not use
digital devices (including but not limited to smart watches, telephones,
cell phones, MP3 players, cameras, or other telecommunication devices
capable of capturing or relaying information) during test administration.
Violations may result in disciplinary action/certification revocation.
Additional disciplinary action may be taken by the Local Education Agency
(LEA).
40. All copiers, scanners, printers, telephones and other electronic devices
must be disabled or removed from the testing room before testing begins.
41. Reading (except this manual or supplemental policy information), grading
papers, using a computer, cell phone, recording or media device, talking
casually with other staff, or engaging in any activity in the test room not
directly related to the administration is not allowed.
42. Failure to report any irregularity is a test security violation. All irregularities
involving staff must be reported on the ALSDE Irregularity Report printed
on page 9 of this document.
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Approved Materials Required for Testing
43. Materials needed for testing include the following:
• ACT Special Testing Manual (one manual for the Room
Supervisor and one manual for each Proctor who will be
assisting in the testing room)
• ACT Plus Writing Special Testing Paper/Pencil Alerts for
Room Supervisors and Proctors
• ACT Plus Writing Testing Irregularity Report
• ACT Test Accommodations Roster
• ACT Administration Report
• Seating diagram
• Supply of soft-lead No. 2 pencils (no ink or mechanical
pencils)
• Two reliable timepieces
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Sign Language Interpreter, Reader and
Transcriber
44. Specific instructions are provided on page 11 of the
Special Testing Manual regarding the use of an
interpreter, reader or transcriber for testing,.
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Using DVDs
45. With DVDs, examinees may test as a group if they have their own
headphones, can control the progress of their own players, and are all
working on the same test at the same time.
46. All examinees approved for oral presentation are assigned Timing Code
3—Triple Time. Examinees will receive a test booklet with which to follow
along.
47. If using computers, the drive must have “DVD” in the title.
48. Each test is self-contained on an individual disc; therefore, each student will
have a set containing 5 discs.
49. A copy of ACT DVD Usage Guidelines will be provided with each set of
discs. Read these guidelines and consult with technical support staff
before the first scheduled test date.
50. DVDs do NOT include recorded Verbal Instructions. The Verbal
Instructions MUST be read verbatim from the Special Testing Manual.
51. If you have a technical issue on test day with DVDs, STOP testing and do
NOT proceed until you receive instructions from ACT.
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Calculators
52. Examinees are allowed, but not required, to use an approved
calculator on the Mathematics test. Use of a calculator is
optional.
53. Unless a calculator is provided by the school, each examinee
is responsible for bringing his/her calculator and making sure it
works properly.
54. Although examinees may bring backup calculators, an
examinee may have only one calculator on his or her desk at a
time.
55. Examinees are NOT allowed to share calculators.
56. Although the AHSGE calculators may be checked out for use
on the ACT mathematics test, these calculators are merely 4function calculators and are not optimal for ACT testing.
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Completing Pre-Test Session
57. Examinees testing with accommodations must personally complete the
basic identifying information, mailing address, email address, high
school course/grade information, Student Profile Section, and ACT
Interest Inventory on their answer documents in a scheduled,
supervised in-school session before test day.
58. Non-test portions of the answer document may NOT be completed on
any test day—not before and not after any of the tests. If examinees
are allowed to complete any of the non-test portions on any test day, the
answer documents will NOT be scored or scores will be cancelled.
59. The examinees will use Taking the ACT to complete the non-test
portions of their answer document. Test booklets will NOT be
distributed for the pre-test session.
60. The Verbal Instructions for completing the non-test portions of the
answer document in a scheduled session at school before test day
begin on page 18 of the Special Testing Manual.
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Completing Pre-Test Session, continued
61. Whether or not a barcode label is present, each examinee must still grid the
identifying information on the front and back pages of his or her answer
document during the pretest session. If this is not done accurately, the
examinee’s ACT score may be undeliverable.
62. Basic identifying information (front and back pages) are required for all
examinees. If an examinee wishes to receive information at his or her
home, the examinee must enter and grid the home address in the
appropriate boxes.
63. If an examinee has not completed any of the above mentioned sections
before the initial test date, do NOT permit the examinee to test that day.
Instead, schedule the examinee for makeup testing and arrange for him or
her to complete the non-test portions before the makeup test date. If you
do not, the examinee cannot test on the makeup date either.
64. Providing the student’s Social Security number is optional. ACT will not
add this information later to the state’s file. Do not place any other number
in Block C.
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Completing Pre-Test Session, continued
65. Examinees are instructed to leave Block K of the answer document
blank. If a high school code must be entered in Block K, staff must grid
the correct code before returning the answer document for scoring.
66. Block L asks if the examinee wishes to participate in the A-C-T
Educational Opportunity Service (EOS). Through EOS, ACT provides
information about ACT-tested examinees to colleges and universities,
scholarship organizations, and other organizations so they may contact
examinees about programs and opportunities that they may be
interested in exploring. They will not receive test scores.
67. Block S is not used for Alabama reporting. Do NOT enter numbers in
Block S.
68. ALSDE has requested additional information using Block V on the
answer document. This section is required only for students testing with
accommodations. School staff must answer the questions after testing
is complete; examinees should not complete any part of this section.
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Barcode Labels
69. Verbal instructions about basic identifying information and high
school course/grade information are on pages 18-21.
70. ACT has provided barcode labels. Staff must apply these
labels to ACT Plus Writing Answer Folders (answer
documents) BEFORE examinees are scheduled to complete
the demographic sections in their pre-test sessions.
71. Each answer document has a shaded barcode label area on
the back page where the barcode label is to be placed. DO
NOT place the barcode label in any other location on the
answer document. It can only be scanned when affixed in the
proper place and at the proper orientation.
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Special Testing Reference Number
72. The seven-digit Reference Number printed before the
examinee’s name on the ACT Test Accommodations Roster
must be entered in Block T of the answer document.
73. Before the first test day, record on the Administration Report
(A-1) the number for each examinee scheduled to test.
74. Make sure each examinee enters the number in the boxes
AND grids the corresponding ovals accurately.
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Students Who Elect to Test Without Their
ACT Approved Accommodations
75.Any examinees who choose to test without their approved
accommodations must test in a standard time test room with
test booklets assigned for standard time administration.
76.All examinees who elect not to use their approved
accommodations must not test with their assigned
accommodated testing materials by serial number. If they
do, even in a standard time room, their answer documents
may not be scored or scores may be cancelled.
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Administration Report
77. The Room Supervisor in each test room must create an
Administration Report (Page A-1) during the administration.
Enter each examinee’s name, Reference Number, and Timing
Code as shown on the Test Accommodations Roster.
78. As each test is completed, the total number of minutes each
examinee actually used on that test must be recorded.
79. For Timing Code 6, enter the total minutes actually used on
all tests as each examinee completes his or her last test.
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Guidelines for Room Supervisors
80. Control who enters and leaves the room at all times. All examinees are
required to present an acceptable form of photo identification or be
personally recognized (face-to-face) by a school faculty member before
being admitted to the test room.
81. Do NOT allow examinees to enter the room unless the Room
Supervisor has verified the student’s identification and documented this
on the roster. Acceptable identification can be found on pages 22-23 of
the Special Testing Manual. Never ask students their names.
82. Mark the roster to indicate the type of ID accepted for each examinee.
83. Identification issued or verified by a relative is NOT allowed.
84. Do not delay testing waiting for an examinee to bring identification or
allow testing of late examinees.
85. Examinees should not be allowed to select their own seats. The Room
Supervisor will record examinees’ names on a seating diagram prior to
the scheduled test administration.
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Guidelines for Room Supervisors, Continued
86. Once examinees are checked in, the Room Supervisor will write
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
ABSENT beside the examinee’s name for any examinee who is not
present.
Absolutely NO ONE may be admitted to the test room after test
booklets have been distributed. If this policy is violated, the answer
documents for the examinees admitted late will NOT be scored.
The Building Test Coordinator (BTC) will determine if makeup exams
will be ordered for late arrivals.
The tests must be administered in the order listed. If this order is
altered, the answer documents will not be scored.
Room Supervisors must administer tests according to standard
testing procedures. All directions must be read verbatim.
At NO time may the Room Supervisor leave the room unattended.
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Guidelines for Room Supervisors, Continued
92. Examinees must use No. 2 pencils with erasers. Highlighters, colored pens
or pencils, and mechanical pencils are NOT allowed.
93. The use of scratch paper is NOT permitted.
94. Examinees should NOT be allowed to bring any electronic devices, cell
phones, calculator watches, watches with timers or alarms, smart watches,
unapproved calculators, foreign language or other dictionaries, textbooks,
backpacks, or other bags (including purses) into the testing room. Access
to any prohibited item is not allowed, even during break.
95. Neither examinees nor staff may have access to food or beverages,
including water, except during the scheduled break.
96. Throughout testing, walk quietly around the room to discourage and detect
prohibited behavior. Staff attentiveness is a very effective deterrent.
97. Document all prohibited behavior and any actions you take on the ACT
Irregularity Report.
98. Examinees may look at and work only on the current test.
99. All Room Supervisors and Proctors must be familiar with prohibited
behaviors printed on page 81 of the Special Testing Manual.
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Prohibited Student Behaviors and Irregularities
100.The possession of a digital device (including but not limited to cell
phones, MP3 players, cameras, or other telecommunication devices
capable of capturing or relaying information) is strictly prohibited
during the administration of a secure test. School personnel will
collect such devices before examinees can enter the testing room.
If an examinee is observed in possession of a digital device
during the administration of a secure test, the device will be
confiscated.
101.If an examinee is observed using a digital device during the
administration of a secure test, testing for the examinee will cease,
the device will be confiscated and is subject to search, the examinee
will be dismissed from testing, and the examinee’s test will be
invalidated. Additional disciplinary action may be taken by the Local
Education Agency (LEA).
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Prohibited Student Behaviors and Irregularities
105.All Room Supervisors and Proctors must be familiar with
prohibited behaviors printed on page 81 of the Special Testing
Manual.
106.Examinees may bring No. 2 pencils (no ink or mechanical
pencils) with erasers into the testing room.
107.No highlighters, pens, mechanical pencils, rulers, or other
devices are allowed in the testing room.
108.Examinees should NOT be allowed to bring calculator
watches, watches with timers or alarms, unapproved
calculators, foreign language or other dictionaries, textbooks,
backpacks, or other bags (including purses) into the testing
room.
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Sequence of Tests
102.For ALL Timing Codes, the tests must be administered in the
order listed for all examinees, even if testing over multiple
days.
103.If this order is altered, the answer documents will not be
scored or scores will be cancelled.
104.For all Timing Codes, except for Timing Code 6, all
examinees MUST be working on the same test at the same
time.
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Timing the Tests
105.Each room must use two timepieces. Do NOT use a cell phone as one of
your timepieces.
106.As you begin timing each test, enter the actual Start time (e.g., 8:42) in the
box on the appropriate Verbal Instructions page. Calculate the Stop time,
then the verbal announcement of 5 minutes remaining (subtract 5 minutes
from the Stop time) and enter those times in the appropriate boxes in the
manual.
107.Make a note of the time each examinee completes each test and calculate
the minutes actually used by each examinee on that test. Enter this
number on the Administration Report (A-1).
108.Timing Code 6 (time-and-a-half, single session) is the only Timing Code
that is self-paced. You must record total minutes used by each examinee
on all tests (e.g., from the START of Test 1 to the time the examinee
completes his or her last test).
109.A verbal announcement of time remaining MUST be made either 30
minutes and/or 5 minutes before the end of each test.
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Breaks
110. Examinees authorized to test with Timing Code 6 (time-anda-half, self-paced testing) may take a short break after each
test. The total test time allowed (5 hours and 45 minutes for
ACT Plus Writing) includes time for breaks. Do NOT stop
timing during the breaks. All tests must be administered in a
single session on one day.
111.Depending on the disability, ACT may authorize additional or
stop-the-clock breaks, single session, one day. This will be
specified on the Test Accommodations Roster. Each test
approved for this accommodation must test individually.
112.For all timing codes other than 6 or 8, the Verbal Instructions
are written as if examinees are taking one test per day. If you
choose to administer more than one test in the same session,
you may allow examinees a short break between tests.
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Examinees Who Become Ill After Testing Begins
120.An examinee approved to test over multiple days who becomes ill and
must leave the test site may come back and finish the remaining tests
(tests that have not been started) at any time within the designated
testing window.
121.It is in the examinee’s best interest to either complete a test before
leaving or not begin the test if he or she is ill. When testing resumes,
the examinee may not return to the test that was being administered at
the time of departure, even if that test was not completed. The
examinee must resume testing with the next test in the sequence.
122.All tests must be completed within the designated window (April 28May 12) or the answer document will not be scored.
123.Examinees with Timing Code 6 or 8, or those approved for stop-theclock breaks, must complete all tests in a single session on one day. If
an examinee chooses to discontinue testing, he or she cannot resume
testing later that day or on any day in the testing window.
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Guessing and Test Item Challenges
124.If examinees ask about guessing, refer them to the
instructions printed on the front cover of the test booklet.
125.Do not comment on or add in any way to the printed
directions.
126.Complete an Irregularity Report if an examinee challenges
typographical errors in the booklet or ambiguities in particular
test items. Tell the examinee to answer the item as written and
report the details of the challenge to you after the test is over.
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Verbal Instructions for Accommodated Testing
127.Non-test portions of the answer document may NOT be
completed on test day—not before and not after the tests. If
examinees are allowed to complete any of the non-test
portions on the initial or makeup test date, or allowed to handle
answer documents after testing, the answer documents will
NOT be scored.
128.Verbal instructions must be read loudly, clearly, and exactly as
written. You may NOT depart from the text, even if you are
testing only one examinee. Practice reading instructions prior
to the day of testing.
129.DVDs do NOT include recorded Verbal Instructions. The
Verbal Instructions must be read verbatim to all examinees
from the Special Testing Manual.
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Verbal Instructions for Accommodated Testing
130.Verbal instructions, which must be read verbatim to all examinees, are
found in the Special Testing Manual on the following pages:
• All Timing Codes—pages 27- 31
• Timing Code 2 - Double Time over Multiple Days—pages 32-39
• Timing Code 3-Triple Time over Multiple Days—pages 40-49
• Timing Code 5- Standard Time over Multiple Days OR Single
Session with Authorized Stop-the-Clock Breaks—pages 50-57
• Timing Code 6 -Time-and-a-Half, Self-Paced, Single Session—
pages 58-64
• Timing Code 7 – Time-and-a-Half over Multiple Days—pages 65-71
• Timing Code 8 – Standard Time for Multiple-Choice Tests plus
Double Time for Writing Test, Single Session—pages 72-77.
131.The Writing Test is NOT included in the Reader’s Script. Read the
directions and writing prompt verbatim to the examinee from the Writing
Test booklet as directed on page 46.
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After Testing
150.All test materials must be collected and confirmed before
examinees are allowed to leave the testing room.
151.All materials must be inventoried and returned to the BTC
immediately after testing. Materials that must be returned to
the BTC include the following:
• ACT Special Testing Administration Manual
• ACT Reader’s Agreement (if applicable)
• ACT Interpreter’s Agreement (if applicable)
• ACT Transcriber Agreement (if applicable)
• Class roster
• Seating diagram
• ACT Administration Report (A-1)
• Irregularity Forms (if applicable)
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