Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 28 - EDUCATION
Part XI - Accountability/Testing
Subpart 3 - Bulletin 118-Statewide Assessment Standards and Practices
Chapter 53 - Test Security
Section XI-5311 - Violations of Test Security [Formerly LAC 28:CXI.311]
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code XI-5311
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 are 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 email a completed void form to the LDE,
as directed in the District and School Test Coordinators
Manual.
2.
Violations by School Personnel or Other Persons. All suspected instances of
cheating should be reported directly to the school's district test coordinator
(DTC) for further investigation, and a report of the incident must be sent by
the DTC to LDE. If it is deemed necessary to void tests, the DTC must submit a
completed void form to the LDE. The original void verification form along with
a written report of the investigation carried out must be mailed to the LDE.
Educators determined by the LEA and/or LDE investigation to have participated
in cheating may receive certification sanctions as defined in Bulletin 746,
Chapter 19.
3. Suspected Violations
Discovered by Scoring Contractors
a. In
addition to erasure analysis for multiple-choice and multi-select 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, including cell phones or other unauthorized electronic devices.
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. If the district
and/or parent(s)/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(s)/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, within five business days, contact the district superintendent to
summarize findings and inform the superintendent 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, nor is the
notice a violation of test security.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:6 and 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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