Hawaii State Department of Education
Please email your questions to sbac@notes.k12.hi.us
Information for Schools Participating in the Scientific Pilot
At this time, participating schools should have:
- Downloaded the secure browser on all of the computers students will use for testing;
- Attended or be planning to attend a training session;
- Taken the training test; and
- Reviewed test administration materials.
Students were uploaded to TIDE by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Please verify your students have been uploaded.
Other Testing Reminders
- Headphones will be needed for all students taking all ELA tests because each form includes listening items. Headphones will also be needed for those students receiving the Text-to-Speech accommodation in mathematics (grade 3, 7, and 11 only)
- Students for whom a scribe is an accommodation may not use a scribe for the Pilot.
- iPad mini devices are not supported for the Pilot.
- Please remember that schools should test their students within the school's designated window.
- Test administrators are invited to participate in a short survey to provide feedback about their experiences with the Smarter Balanced pilot tests.
RESEARCH (E.G., ACCOMMODATED) FORMS NOW AVAILABLE.
Research forms refer to test forms with Spanish Side-by-Side Translation, Spanish Glossary, Braille, and Text-to-Speech. Districts or schools should ensure that students taking a research form have the correct accommodation set in TIDE.
For students taking a Braille form, the student will be permitted to use a handheld Braille calculator provided by their Test Administrators. Items on the Braille test that allow a calculator have been grouped together for ease of administration. Please contact the Smarter Balanced Help Desk for more information.
POST-TESTING COMMUNICATIONS TO PARTICIPANTS
Test administrators are being invited to participate in a short survey to provide feedback about their experiences with the Smarter Balanced pilot tests.
SCHEDULED SYSTEM DOWNTIME
The Pilot Test will be unavailable on Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29. No schools were scheduled to test on these days. Any schools attempting to "make up" testing days on those dates will not be able to access the system.
References:
Throughout the assessment window please continue to help communicate the following:
- Prior to testing, encourage those involved with the Pilot Test to attend one of the training sessions for coordinators and administrators. Information may be found here:
- Two versions of this presentation are available on the portal. One is a slide show without voiceover and the other is a recorded version. The slide show may be found at the link below on the portal (the recorded version appears directly beneath it): http://sbac.portal.airast.org/Pilot_Test/resources/Smarter-19_WebExTraining_to%20smarter_02.13.13_final_for%20posting_recording.pdf
- Secure browsers must be installed on all machines on which students will be testing at least one day before the administration. Information may be found here: http://sbac.portal.airast.org/browsers/default.html?pilot
- Encourage those involved with the Pilot Test to review the training modules on the portal. Information may be found here: http://sbac.portal.airast.org/Pilot_Test/resources.html?pilot#training
- Remind those involved with the Pilot Test that they must designate Test Administrators in TIDE. You may find more information here: http://sbac.portal.airast.org/Pilot_Test/resources/Smarter-Pilot_TIDE_UserGuide.pdf
If you have any questions about the Pilot Test, TIDE, or the Online Testing System, please contact the Smarter Balanced Help Desk at 866-815-7246 or smarterbalancedhelpdesk@air.org
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