The Maine DOE is reminding administrators of the new online Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) for Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy developed by Smarter Balanced that any unusual events that occur during the March 16-May 29 testing window must be documented.
In Appendix F of the Online Test Administration Manual, Smarter Balanced categorizes these into three levels of severity: improprieties, irregularities and breaches. Improprieties can generally be handled within the district, irregularities require State involvement and breaches potentially impact the whole Smarter Balanced consortium of states.
The materials needed for documenting and reporting any test security incidents have been posted here.
All unusual events that occur during testing should be document by the district using the District Test Security Incident Log. A process should be in place for Test Administrators to pass information on to School Coordinators who will in turn pass information to the District/System Administrator. Upon the conclusion of testing, the District Test Security Incident Log will be submitted to the Maine DOE as an official record. Instructions as well as necessary state codes are included as separate tabs.
Irregularities and breaches must be reported to the Maine DOE on the date of the incident. This can be done by emailing (without names) the specific line from the District Test Security Incident Log to Bethany.L.Dodge@maine.gov or by faxing the Report of Irregularities and Breaches (included in District Test Security Incident Log) to the Maine DOE at 624-6771. The Maine DOE must be immediately informed of a test security breach by telephone at 624-6770.
Additionally, all Test Administrators must sign this agreement regarding compliance with expectations about test security and about the privacy of student information. These signed agreements should be filed with the School Coordinator and available upon request. School Coordinators must also complete this separate School Coordinator Test Security and Student Privacy Agreement and keep it on file.
For general assessment information or technical assistance, please visit www.maine.gov/doe/assessment or contact the Department’s Acting Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov or 624-6775.