Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 28 - EDUCATION
Part CXI - Bulletin 118-Statewide Assessment Standards and Practices
Chapter 3 - Test Security
Section CXI-311 - Addressing Suspected Violations of Test Security and Troubling Content in Written Responses (Constructed Responses, Short Answers, and Essays)
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code CXI-311
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. The Test Security Policy approved by the SBESE requires that the LDE establish procedures to deal with breaches of test security. District authorities provide the LDE information about voiding student tests because of student violations observed during test administration or violations by school personnel or others that have been reported. In addition, the scoring process produces information regarding written responses that have common elements, which indicate a student brought unauthorized materials to testing and used them to assist in writing; that indicate that teacher interference might have been a significant factor, and in which troubling content was evident. Procedures for dealing with these issues follow.
1. Violation by Student as
Observed by Test Administrator
a. The test
administrator must notify the school test coordinator about any suspected
incident of cheating and provide a written account of the incident. Answer
documents in such cases should be processed like all other answer
documents.
b. The school test
coordinator must then convene a school-level test security committee consisting
at a minimum of the principal, the school test coordinator, and the test
administrator to determine whether a test should be voided.
c. If it is deemed necessary to void the
test, the school test coordinator must notify the district test coordinator of
the void request in a letter written on school letterhead, signed by the school
principal and the school test coordinator. The original account of the incident
written by the test administrator must be enclosed.
d. The district test coordinator must then
fax a completed void form to the LDE, Division of Assessments and
Accountability, as directed in the District and School Test
Coordinators Manual. The original Void Verification form, along with a
copy of the school test coordinator's request for the void, must also be mailed
to the LDE, Division of Assessments and Accountability, as directed in the
manual.
2. Reported
Violations by School Personnel or Other Persons. All suspected instances of
cheating should be reported directly to the school's district test coordinator
for further investigation, and a report of the incident must be sent to LDE,
Division of Assessments and Accountability. If it is deemed necessary to void
tests, the DTC must fax a completed void form to the LDE, Division of
Assessments and Accountability. The original Void Verification form along with
a written report of the investigation carried out must be mailed to the LDE,
Division of Assessments and Accountability.
3. Suspected Violations Discovered by Scoring
Contractors
a. In addition to erasure
analysis for multiple-choice items, possible incidents of the following
violations may be discovered during the scoring process:
i. plagiarism. Responses contain exact or
almost exact content, and/or words or phrases, and/or format;
ii. use of unauthorized materials. Students
brought unauthorized materials into the testing environment and used them to
assist in written responses;
iii.
teacher interference. Teacher interference is evident in written
responses.
b. If
possible incidents of violations are discovered in the scoring process, the
scoring contractor notifies the LDE, Division of Assessments and
Accountability, of suspect documents with a summary of its findings.
c. Professional assessment and
related-content personnel from the Division of Assessments and Accountability
review the suspect documents and determine whether the evidence supports
voiding the responses.
d. If
voiding is recommended, LDE mails the district superintendent a letter of what
was observed during the scoring process that caused the alert and identifies
the particular document that was voided. Copies of the correspondence are
provided to the deputy superintendent of education, the assistant
superintendent of the Office of Student and School Performance, the director of
the Division of Assessments and Accountability, and the local district test
coordinator.
i. Within 30 calendar days of
the receipt of such a letter, the district must investigate the incident and
provide a written plan of action to the state superintendent of education. If
the district and/or parent/guardian(s) wish to discuss the situation further or
to examine the student responses, a meeting may be scheduled at the LDE offices
between staff members from the Division of Assessments and Accountability
district representatives, and parent/guardian(s).
4. Disturbing Content. If student
responses with disturbing content are discovered during the scoring process,
the scoring contractor will notify the appropriate staff member at the LDE,
Division of Assessments and Accountability.
a. Professional assessment personnel review
the responses. If it is determined that disturbing content causes a compelling
need to break confidentiality, LDE will contact the district superintendent by
telephone to summarize findings and inform him or her that materials are being
mailed regarding the alert.
b.
Issues regarding troubling content are for the district's information to assist
the student and do not require further communication with LDE.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:24 et seq.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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