Online Testing Initiatives in North Carolina

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(No Transcript)
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Online Testing Initiatives in North Carolina

• Presenters
• Randy Craven
• Director for Information Technology
• Technical Outreach for Public Schools (TOPS), NC
  State University
• Scott Ragsdale
• Project Manager, North Carolina Computer Skills
  Assessments
• Technical Outreach for Public Schools (TOPS), NC
  State University

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• Modern science has been a voyage into the
  unknown, with a lesson in humility waiting at
  every stop. Many passengers would rather have
  stayed home.
• Carl Sagan

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• The purpose of this session is to update the
  audience on NCDesk, the Online Test of Computer
  Skills, and other online assessments used in
  North Carolina testing.

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What Initiatives?

• Online Test of Computer Skills
• End-of-Course Online Physics Field Test
  (mandatory)
• End-of-Course Tests (optional 06-07)
• Writing Online Special Study (Grades 7 and 10)
• Online formative assessments (i.e., ClassScape)
• Other online resourced assessments
• NCEXTEND1
• NCCLAS
• Other web applications supporting test
  development/maintenance
• Online Item Writing System
• Experimental Section Review (ESR)

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Online Assessments Success

• The Online Test of Computer Skills was successful
  in its initial administration year of 2005-06 and
  continues to be successful this year.
• NCCLAS online data collection was successful in
  2005-06 and continues to work this year.
• Online Physics Field Test was administered to
  over 3,700 students during the fall
  administration with no significant issues.
• For 2006-07, NCEXTEND1 students have been matched
  to their assessors and have had their Decision
  Tree processes completed.

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Elements of Online Assessments

• More interactive
• Test Simulations required to be available
• More data can be collected
• Opportunity to expand the use of innovative items
• Virtual/performance-based items
• Short and/or extended response
• Quicker data processing and reporting
• Reduction of materials management
• Students have a positive attitude for online
  testing

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Elements of Online Assessments (continued)

• Technology
• Internet aware applications (NCDesk)
• Java version
• Browser based (EOC Physics)
• Session State Cookies
• Javascript
• Flashpaper / Interactive Flash Items / Flash
  player
• Versions

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Performance Components

• Online Test of Computer Skills
• 50 multiple choice
• 50 performance
• Physics Online
• Mostly multiple choice
• Small number of performance-based items
• EOC Online
• All multiple-choice
• Online Writing Special Study
• Single prompt with essay response

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Preservation of State

• Students expect responses to items to retain
  state as they move from one item to another and
  if they return to an item, it will be as they had
  left it before.
• Preservation of state is not always easy since
  online assessment systems must be able to recover
  from disconnection.
• At this time for the Online Test of Computer
  Skills and the EOC Online Tests we are able to
  manage state for all items except the item the
  student is currently working on.

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Problems/Opportunities

• Rate of technology change
• Window of opportunity for testing
• Scheduling
• Having enough
• Bandwidth
• Computers
• Space
• Time

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Managing Things

• NCRegistration
• User Accounts
• Student Registrations
• Scheduling Sessions
• Receiving Reports

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• "There is no reason anyone would want a computer
  in their home."
• Ken Olson
• President, chairman and founder of
  Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), maker of
  business minicomputers, arguing against
  the PC in 1977.

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Online Test of Computer SkillsNotable
Preliminary/Unofficial Numbers from Fall 2006

• 205 students tested in one day at one school (for
  05-06 this was 139)
• 52 schools tested 100 or more students in one day
  (for 05-06 this was 7)
• 5,068 maximum testing sessions used in a single
  day (for 05-06 this was 3,063)
• 23 days of testing in which volume of used
  sessions was 3,000 or more
• 133,980 total students tested
• 106,035 8th grade students tested
• 2,228 different test administrators with 52
  logging in 300 or more students
• 3,446 students had the Computer Reads Aloud
  option

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Online Progress Indicators
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Platform Shifting
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Online Computer SkillsItems for Spring 2007

• Testing Window 3/12/07 6/8/07
• NCRegistration accessible on 2/5/07 for
  scheduling, etc.
• Reports available to LEA Test Coordinators
  through NCRegistration
• JAWS compatibility not tested/approved also
  newer versions of JAWS released since last tested
  research/development ongoing process

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• Even if you're on the right track you'll get run
  over if you just sit there.
• Will Rogers

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NCDesk Moving Forward

• Adjustments for accommodating delivery of Writing
  assessments online
• Assessment selection on login page
• Programmatically remove spell check functions
• Programmatically remove image insertion functions
• Other features deemed necessary
• Additional features for testing audio
  functionality
• Additional features for viewing correct responses
  for the Test Simulation possible

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EOC Online (Optional)

• Fall 2006
• First time EOCs offered online as an option
• One school participated in Algebra I
• No problems reported
• Students enjoyed it
• Spring 2007
• Registration Scheduling now available via
  NCRegistration
• Not included
• Chemistry Field Test
• Physical Science Field Test
• Biology Field Test

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EOCs Online Moving Forward (Next Year)

• Making the answer choices clickable
• Improvement of the calculator
• Moveable/draggable on screen (within test
  interface)
• Add graphing capability
• Improvement of online reference content
• Moveable/draggable on screen (within test
  interface)
• Attempt to improve item view state preservation
• Position
• Zoom percentage
• Optional to continue until such time as it is no
  longer feasible to maintain paper-and-pencil
  testing.

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NCEXTEND2 Online 2007-08

• Process under way to present all NCEXTEND2 in an
  online format
• Format similar to EOC Online
• Format for Writing would be delivered using
  NCDesk with a single editor item.

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• Computers are useless. They can only give you
  answers.
• Pablo Picasso