Testing Security Plan

Ensuring the integrity of state assessments is a shared responsibility that impacts students, families, and staff alike. Test security stands as a cornerstone, essential to guaranteeing that the results of these assessments accurately reflect students' abilities and provide meaningful insights into their progress. It safeguards the confidentiality of these tests and protects the substantial investments of time, effort, and resources in their development. By upholding test security, we collectively avoid potential investigations, invalidations, or disciplinary actions while providing accurate measures that inform accountability. It is Pickerington Schools' duty and a requirement of Ohio law that we maintain test security. 

Please take a few minutes to review the following "Pickerington Schools Testing Security Plan."

In accordance with OAC – 3301-7-01 “Standards for the ethical use of tests”  (Section C) the  following practices are considered unethical: 

1. Any preparation practice that results solely in raising scores or performance levels on a specific test without simultaneously increasing a student's achievement level as measured by other tasks and/ortest designed to assess the same content domain; 

2. Any practice involving the reproduction of any secure test materials, through any medium, for use in preparing a student for a test; 

3. Any preparation activity that includes a question, task, graph, chart, passage, or other material included in a test, and/or material that is a paraphrase or highly similar in content to what is in a test (does not include practice tests developed by the department); 

4. Preparation for a test that focuses primarily on the test, including its format, rather than on the Ohio learning standards being assessed; 

5. Any preparation practice that does not comply with, or has the appearance of not complying with any statutory and/or regulatory provision related to security of a test; and 

6. Any practice that supports or assists others in conducting unethical or inappropriate preparation activities

In accordance with OAC – 3301-7-01 “Standards for the ethical use of tests”  (Section D) the  following practices are considered unethical: 

1. Any test used for purposes other than that for which it was intended; 

2. Any practice that results in a potential conflict of interest or one that exerts undue influence on a person administering and/or scoring a test, either making or appearing to make a testing process unfair to some examinees;

3. Except for accommodations and/or alternate assessments expressly permitted under Chapter 3301-13 of the Administrative Code, any change in procedures for administering and/or scoring a test that results in a nonstandard condition for one or more students;

4.  Any practice that allows a person without sufficient and appropriate knowledge, skills, and/or training to administer and/or score a test; 

5. Any administration and/or scoring practice that may produce a result contaminated by a factor not relevant to the purpose(s) of a test; 

6. Any practice of excluding one or more students from a test solely because a student has not performed well, or may not perform well, on the test and/or because the aggregate performance of a group may be affected; 

7. Any practice immediately preceding and/or during a test including, but not limited to, the use of a gesture, facial expression, body language, tone of voice, language, or any other action and/or sound that may guide a students' response; 

8. Except for the directions for administration as prescribed by the test developer and/or by the department, any practice such as providing to a student, immediately preceding and/or during administration of a test, any definition and/or clarification of the meaning of a word or term contained in a test; 

9. Any practice that corrects or alters any student's response to a test either during and/or following the administration and/or scoring of a test; and 

10. Any practice that supports or assists any person in unethical and/or inappropriate practices during administration and/or scoring of a test.

In accordance with OAC – 3301-7-01 “Standards for the ethical use of tests”  (Section E) the  following practices are considered unethical: 

1. Providing interpretations of and/or using any result of a test in a manner and/or for a purpose that was not intended; 

2. Making false, misleading, or inappropriate statements and/or unsubstantiated claims that may lead to false and/or misleading conclusions about any result of a test; 

3. Any practice that permits appropriate staff without the necessary knowledge and skills to interpret and/or use any result of a test; 

4. Any practice that violates, or places at risk, the confidentiality of personally identifiable information pursuant to section 3319.321 of the Revised Code; 

5. Any practice that provides an interpretation or suggests a use of any result of a test without due consideration of the purpose(s) for the test, the limitations of the test, an examinee's characteristics,any irregularities in administering and/or scoring the test, and/or other factors that may affect any result;and 

6. Any practice that supports or leads any person to interpret and/or use any result of a test in unethical and/or inappropriate ways

Note: 

Under section 3319.151 of the Ohio Revised Code (Assisting student in cheating on assessments”  it states: 

(B) No person shall do any of the following:

1.  Reveal to any student any specific question that the person knows is part of an assessment or in any other way assist a pupil to cheat on an assessment;

2.  Obtain prior knowledge of the contents of an assessment;

3. Use prior knowledge of the contents of an assessment to assist students in preparing for the assessment;

4. Fail to comply with any rule adopted by the department of education regarding security protocols for an assessment.

(C) On a finding by the state board of education, after investigation, that a school employee who holds a license , as defined in section 3319.31 of the Revised Code, has violated division (B) of this section, the state board shall take any action against the employee under section 3319.31 of the Revised Code that it considers appropriate, based on the nature and extent of the violation. The state board shall give the employee notice of the allegation upon commencing an investigation and shall give the employee an opportunity to respond prior to taking any disciplinary action.

(D)(1) Violation of division (B) of this section is grounds for termination of employment of a nonteaching employee under division (C) of section 3319.081 or section 124.34 of the Revised Code. (2) Violation of division (B) of this section is grounds for termination of a teacher contract under section 3311.82 or 3319.16 of the Revised Code.

Per  PLSD  Board  of  Education  Policy  IL - For  any  incident  of  alleged  assistance  to  a  student  in  cheating, reproducing question for student use, or teaching the test 

A.  The District Test Coordinator and the building administrator will investigate any cases of persons assisting a student in cheating, reproducing the test questions for student use, or teaching the test. 

B.  Investigation  of  violations  will  be  conducted  within ten (10) calendar days of  notification of the alleged violation of test security.

State Assessments:  

• Ohio State Test-Grade 3 Reading-Fall

• Ohio State Test-High School End of Course Exams- Fall (Algebra I, Biology, English Language Arts II, U.S. History, Government)

• Ohio State Tests Grades 3-8-Spring (Math and Reading)

• Ohio State Tests Grades 5, 8-Spring (Science)

• Ohio State Test-High School End of Course Exams-Spring (Algebra I, Biology, English Language Arts II, U.S. History, Government)

1. The district testing coordinator and the building testing coordinator will identify PLSD employees that have access to student tests. 

2. The District testing coordinator or designee will be responsible for ordering any paper materials as needed. The building testing coordinator will be responsible for handling and tracking materials before, during, and after a test session as stated in OAC 3301-13-02.

3. If a testing security violation has occurred, notify your building testing coordinator immediately. 

4. Electronic Devices: All personal electronic devices need to be powered off and given to the test proctor during the test session. 

5. Social Media: Any use of social media will not be permitted during the testing session. No pictures or information about the test should be shared to social media. If this occurs, this is a testing violation, and it should be reported to the Building Testing Coordinator immediately. 

6. The PLSD testing security plan needs to be communicated to staff, students, and families prior to October 1, 2023.