Section 401.145  Administration of State Assessment

A facility approved under this Part and located in Illinois may serve as a testing site for the State assessments required pursuant to Section 2-3.64 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/2-3.64] in accordance with the provisions of this Section.  For purposes of this Section, a "testing site" is a facility at which responsible staff is permitted to order and receive test materials directly from the testing contractor according to the contractor's arrangement with the State Board of Education.  A provider seeking designation of a facility as a testing site under this Section shall follow the specific communication procedures established by the State Superintendent of Education for making the request, supplying the necessary information, and receiving the designation, as applicable to the examinations to be administered.  The provider and responsible staff shall abide by all technical specifications established by the State Superintendent of Education and test contractors to implement the requirements set forth at 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1.30 (State Assessment).

a)         Required Conditions

If a provider operating an Illinois facility under this Part wishes to have the facility serve as a testing site for one or more State assessments, certain required conditions must exist at the facility that will ensure the security and confidentiality of test materials and the validity of the resulting scores.  The specifics of these requirements will vary according to which of the State assessments will be involved (the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT), the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE), the Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA), or the accommodated State assessment for students of limited English proficiency).

1)         Locked facilities and storage for secure test materials must exist, and access to these must be limited to authorized individuals.

2)         There must be an adequate amount of space for the number of examinees, and each must have an appropriate space in which to work.  The facility must provide an environment that will meet technical requirements for particular types of test administration, including accommodations for students with disabilities or limited English proficiency.

3)         The facility must afford lighting, temperature, and quiet such that the test environment will be free from interruptions and distractions.

b)         Required Personnel Assignments and Qualifications

1)         Each individual appointed to a role under this subsection (b) shall be an employee of the provider or facility.  No volunteers or parents may serve in these positions.

A)        ISAT, IAA, and Accommodated Assessment

The provider or chief administrator shall designate a testing coordinator for each assessment to be administered at a facility.  An individual may serve as coordinator for more than one of the assessments.  The responsibilities of the testing coordinator shall include:

i)          ordering, distributing, collecting, and returning test materials;

ii)         training test administrators and proctors regarding their responsibilities;

iii)         arranging for the accommodations called for in individual students' IEPs;

iv)        ensuring that neither test security nor the purpose of testing is compromised by any accommodations afforded to students; and

v)         overall monitoring of testing activities to ensure that required procedures are followed.

B)        PSAE

The provider or chief administrator shall appoint a test supervisor, a back-up test supervisor, and a test accommodations coordinator.  Each of these three individuals, when initially appointed, shall be required to participate in specific training made available by the State Superintendent of Education.

i)          The responsibilities of the test supervisor (or back-up test supervisor, if the test supervisor becomes unavailable) shall include those delineated in subsections (b)(1)(A)(i), (ii), and (v) of this Section with respect to "standard time testing" only.

ii)         The responsibilities of the test accommodations coordinator shall be all those delineated in subsection (b)(1)(A) of this Section with respect to testing that is administered with accommodations.

2)         The ISAT, IAA, and accommodated assessment may be administered only by:

A)        administrators holding certification appropriate to their positions (e.g., assistant principals, principals, chief administrators);

B)        teachers holding certification appropriate to their positions (including holders of substitute and provisional certificates) and employed by the provider as teachers at the facility;

C)        school psychologists, school social workers, and school counselors holding certification appropriate to their positions and employed by the provider at the facility in their respective professional capacities; and

D)        paraprofessionals, provided that constant, line-of-sight supervision by a certificated teacher employed by the provider as a teacher at the facility shall be required (including supervision for individuals employed as paraprofessionals who are also certified teachers).

c)         Required Procedures

Following procedures announced annually by the State Superintendent of Education and using the materials provided, the responsible individual at each testing site shall communicate with the testing contractors for the examinations to be administered at that site.  The State Superintendent shall furnish to staff at each testing site the same technical guidance as is provided to the public schools regarding details of the test administration, and responsible staff at each testing site shall ensure that these technical specifications are followed, including, but not limited to:

1)         the dates established as the testing window;

2)         the handling of test documents and other secure materials;

3)         permissible and impermissible objects in the testing environment;

4)         permissible and impermissible behavior on the part of test-takers;

5)         required, permissible, and impermissible actions on the part of staff at the testing site.

d)         The school district that has placed a student with a disability into a program approved under this Part remains responsible for determining, in accordance with the student's IEP, where the student will take the appropriate State assessment and whether the test materials for that student are to be ordered and handled by district or facility personnel, even if the facility where the student is placed serves as a testing site for that assessment.

e)         No State assessment shall be administered to any student who is not required to participate in the State assessment pursuant to Section 2-3.64 of the School Code and 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1 (see Sections 1.30 (State Assessment) and 1.50 (Calculation of Participation Rate)).

f)          Any breach of test security or other testing irregularity shall be reported to the State Superintendent of Education or designee in accordance with instructions applicable to particular types of problems, using one of the methods identified by the State Superintendent.  Responsible staff at the affected facility shall then follow the instructions provided by the State Superintendent or the relevant test contractor regarding the next steps to be taken in investigating the source of the problem, its implications, and its potential resolution.

            (Source:  Added at 31 Ill. Reg. 14050, effective September 24, 2007)