DAY OF TESTING GUIDE Contact Information General Contact clateam@cae.org (212) 217-0700 ITS Technical Support Monday-Friday, 8AM-8PM ET (800) 514-8494 Outside of business and weekends, press 1 to be taken to after-hours support or 2 to leave a voicemail. (you will be contacted the next business day) Websites Proctor Interface: http://admin-cwra.cae.org Student Interface: http://cwra.cae.org Users Portal: http://www.cae.org/cwrausersportal Please do not bookmark the Proctor Interface or the Student Interface. Copyright 2016 Council for Aid to Education
Quick Reference for Proctors The following list summarizes the proctoring procedures that occur each day of testing. 1. Prior to testing: Run the System Check to verify your network capacity and ability to use at secure browser: http://cwra-systemcheck.programworkshop.com (also available in the Help section of the Proctor Interface). 2. Before students arrive: Make sure you have the phone number for your institution s computer services/help desk in case technical issues surface. Log in to the Proctor Interface and set up the testing session: Go to http://admin-cwra.cae.org. Select Test Delivery. Enter a Session Name and select the Test Administration. Click Create Session, which will bring you to the Proctor Session page. Record the Test Session Number. Write the session number on the classroom board. Place a few pieces of scrap paper at each computer station (optional). All scrap paper should be collected and disposed of after testing is complete. At each workstation, open the Internet browser to http://cwra.cae.org and disable the pop-up blocker. 3. Administering CWRA+ to students: Take attendance and place a sign on the outside of the classroom door noting that CWRA+ testing is in progress. Direct students to http://cwra.cae.org. Assist students with downloading of the secure browser. Read the Proctor Script. Provide students with the Test Session Number. Use the Waiting for Approval table to approve students into CWRA+. Verify the entire roster of students and click Approve All Waiting; or Approve students individually by clicking Approve next to each name. If students ask you questions during the exam, refer them to the Help button on their screen. If any irregularities occur during the test session, contact your CWRA+ Rep. If any technical irregularities occur, call ITS Technical Support at (800) 514-8494 or email CLAsupport@testsys.com. Contact your CWRA+ Rep if your problem is not resolved. 4. When the institution has completed CWRA+ testing: Collect all scrap paper before students leave. Contact your CWRA+ Rep to confirm all testing at your institution is finished. ADDITIONAL NOTES All institutions are only assigned one test administration to select from when creating testing sessions. Contact your CWRA+ Rep for any questions. 1
On The Day of Testing This section details the steps necessary to proceed with CWRA+ on the scheduled date and time of a test session. Remember to conduct the System Check prior to testing; this can be found in the Help section on the Proctor Interface. PROCTOR PERSPECTIVE CREATING A SESSION In order for students to access the test, a proctor must first initiate the login process by creating a test session from the Proctor Interface. Each test session will contain a unique ID number that students will use to log in. To create a test session from the Proctor Interface, select Test Delivery on the left, which will bring you to the following screen. If any test sessions have already been created for the day, they will appear in table format as shown in the image below. All sessions must be created on the day of testing. Three steps are required to create a new session. Sessions expire at 11:59 PM local time on the day of the session. 1. Enter a Session Name under Create a New Session. The name of the session can be anything you wish. We recommend using unique session names for each individual session; as an example, you may name your session after the proctor and the time of testing. 2. Select the CWRA+ test type from the Test Administration drop-down menu. Select the Fall [current year] CWRA+ Test Administration for testing in the fall and the Spring [current year] CWRA+ Test Administration for testing in the spring. 3. Click Create Session. PROCTOR SESSION DETAILS Once you have created a session, you will be brought to the Proctor Session page. This page will provide the Test Session Number, which students use to access CWRA+. You will also use this page to approve students into CWRA+. The next image illustrates what the page will look like if there are no students waiting for proctor approval. 2
While students are waiting for approval, they will appear in the Waiting for Approval table. You have two options to approve the students in to test: you may click Approve next to each individual student s name, or you may click Approve All Waiting to approve the students as a group. VIEWING THE STUDENT ROSTER To view a roster of the students who tested within the active CWRA+ testing window, select Test Administrations on the left-hand menu and then click on the hyperlinked Roster. Doing so will bring up the Roster page, where you can review the students who tested Locally or Remotely. These lists will be populated with all students who have tested within the active CWRA+ testing window. 3
Standardizing Testing PROCTOR SCRIPT OR TEST OVERVIEW VIDEO Proctors have two options before students enter the Student Interface: Read the Proctor Script or; Instruct students to watch the Test Overview video on the opening page of the Student Interface at http://cwra.cae.org. Please read the script in the bordered boxes to students when you are ready to begin CWRA+. It is important to adhere to this script because it helps standardize testing across institutions. PROCTOR SCRIPT Thank you for coming today to take CWRA+. Your performance on this exam will help (name of school) assess how it contributes to your critical-thinking and written-communication skills. It is important that you put forth your best effort on this assessment. As a test-taker, you will complete a Performance Task and a group of Selected-Response Questions. The Performance Task is an essay-based question and requires a written response. Please be sure that you have finished writing before moving past the yellow warning screen to begin the Selected-Response Questions. *The entire testing process will take up to 90 minutes. For test security reasons, we ask that you do not discuss the specific contents of the exam with other students. Testing will occur through a secure Internet browser; you will not be able to access websites or computer files while testing. Please launch CWRA+ by going to http://cwra.cae.org, When you are ready, please enter the following Test Session Number:, and fill out the requested information in the student profile presented to you. Please do not talk during the assessment. Raise your hand if you have any questions or difficulty with your computer. If for some reason you are unintentionally logged out of the assessment, please notify me immediately. It is vital that proctors do not comment on, or in any way add to, the assessment. During the session, if a student has a task-related question, say, Do the best you can, or refer them to the Help button on their computer screen. 4
Student Perspective STUDENT LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS This section outlines the CWRA+ experience from the student perspective. To begin the assessment, students computers must be open to the CWRA+ student testing website: http://cwra.cae.org. As a precaution, please: Do not allow students to use a bookmarked version of this website. Disable pop-up blockers on all computers prior to testing. SECURE BROWSER Students will take CWRA+ through a secure browser, which prohibits access to any other programs. To download the secure browser, students testing on a PC will click the Download Button on the testing website. They will select Run to access CWRA+ in secure browser mode. Mac users will click the Download Button, prompting the browser to automatically begin downloading to a default location (usually the desktop). If the computer does not automatically unzip the file, double-click the file to decompress the secure browser. At this point, Mac users may double-click the icon on the desktop and begin CWRA+. Note, CLA+ is also an umbrella term used to refer to all of our assessment programs. SESSION NUMBER Students will enter in the relevant Test Session Number provided by the proctor. Next, students will be prompted to enter an email address. It is recommended that school email addresses be used. In most cases, when asked if they have registered, students should select No, I have not registered. Students will then be prompted to re-enter their email address and provide their date of birth to register. Students who have previously taken CWRA+ (in most cases as freshman) should select Yes, I Have Registered and enter the same email addresses and their date of birth to log in. If a student tested in the past, but is having issues logging in, the proctor can find this information in the Students component on the left-hand side of the Proctor Interface. Students will complete a short login profile and will then see a Waiting for Approval screen. They will not be able to begin CWRA+ until they receive proctor approval. 5
PROCTOR APPROVAL At this point, the proctor must approve students for access to CWRA+. As a reminder, this process takes place on the Proctor Session page, which appears after you have created a session, on the day of testing. This page automatically refreshes every 30 seconds. You must approve each student into the exam. 6
Configuration Requirements This page includes a list of supported and recommended browsers, connection speeds, and hardware. Please remember to conduct the System Check prior to your testing session(s). The System Check can be accessed using the following URL: http://cwra-systemcheck.programworkshop.com. The System Check can also be accessed via the Help section of the Proctor Interface. OPERATING SYSTEM AND BROWSER REQUIREMENTS Proctor Interface http://admin-cwra.cae.org Student Interface http://cwra.cae.org Operating Systems Browsers Special Notes Windows XP or higher Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher Windows XP or higher Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher Mac ios6 or higher (ipads) ipad 2 or higher RECOMMENDED CONNECTION SPEEDS AND HARDWARE Internet Connection Monitor Size Resolution Color Depth Chrome 4.0 or higher Firefox 3.0 or higher Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher Safari 3.0 or higher Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher Safari 3.0 or higher Mac OS X 10.4 or Windows XP without the Service Pack 3 installed are not supported. The most recent version of Flash is required Mac OS X 10.4 or Windows XP without the Service Pack 3 installed are not supported. While dial-up modems are supported, we recommend a broadband connection (DSL, Cable, or T1) for best results. We recommend a 17 monitor or larger. Tests can be delivered at any resolution. Most are designed for resolutions of 800x600 or better. We recommend a 1024x768 resolution or higher. On Windows, the highest resolution is 32-bit color. Ninety-seven percent of users have 16-bit color or greater. Although 8-bit color resolution is supported, it may not present complex graphics perfectly. We recommend a 16-bit color depth or greater. VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENT ACCOMMODATIONS Students with visual impairments are able to use a magnification feature in the Secure Browser. The minimum system requirement for this function for PCs is Windows 7 operating system and Internet Explorer 10 (or higher). To zoom in, students should press Ctrl +, to zoom out students should press Ctrl -. On Macs you may use Command + and Command -. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CLA+ REP IF YOU PLAN ON USING: Thin clients Laptops Virtual machines WiFi for test delivery XBoxes Tablets/iPads with Cloud environments keyboards Remote desktops Chromebooks 7
Common Testing Issues and Troubleshooting Through feedback collected from institutions, we have compiled a list of four common testing issues and solutions. SCENARIO 1 A student has clicked through the test, past the yellow warning screen, a pop-up reads: Warning! Time remaining. This is the end of the task. You have not used all the time allotted for completing this task. Once you click Next you will not be allowed to return to this task. If you would like to review your responses, please use the Back button. Click the Next button only if you are finished with the task. In this scenario, the student will appear as Complete on the Proctor Session page. Solution: If this occurs, the proctor should call the institution s CWRA+ Rep for additional instructions. SCENARIO 2 A student s computer fails or a power outage occurs during testing, causing the student to be logged off of the Student Interface. Solution: If this happens during testing, your institution will have one week for the student to log back in using the same email address and date of birth. The student s work and location in the exam will be saved automatically (the system automatically saves student answers every 30 seconds). The remaining time will resume when the student logs back in. SCENARIO 3 A test freezes when the Internet connection becomes slow, causing the connection to time out. Solution: Run the system check to see if current bandwidth is an issue. If bandwidth is not a problem, we advise you to clear the cache and resume. In Internet Explorer, this can be found under Tools and then Internet Options. When the window appears, click Delete under Browsing History. When prompted, delete all files, including temporary internet files, cookies, and history. It is also recommended you restart the computer after clearing the cache. In Safari, this can be found under Preferences in the Security tab on the top browser menu bar. Click the Show Cookies button and then Remove All. It is also recommended that you restart your computer. SCENARIO 4 A student completes the exam and clicks exit, but is brought back to the login page instead of receiving messaging that he or she has completed the task and should close the browser. Solution: Proctors should not worry if this occurs. This is often the result of local browser settings. Instruct the student to exit the Student Interface by closing the browser. By default, a student s work is saved every 30 seconds and by clicking exit, the task is marked complete. 8
SCENARIO 5 There is an emergency event where a student is unable to complete CWRA+ testing (e.g. an unplanned fire drill, a student becomes suddenly ill, etc.). Solution: Proctors should instruct the student to shut down his or her computer by clicking the manual power button. Students will be able to complete their CWRA+ exam where they stopped by logging back into another proctor session within seven days. Please contact your CWRA+ Rep for further instructions. Do not instruct students to click through the test, or they will not be able to re-enter. SCENARIO 6 In the selected response section a student accidentally hits the Review button on the lower left hand corner and is brought to the end of the section. Solution: On the Review Screen, the student may return to the section by cllicking on the Review All or Review Incomplete button on the lower left hand corner. The student should not click Mark Complete, as it will complete and end the section. COMMUNICATION ERRORS If you are receiving communication errors, restart your local Internet connection. This doesn t necessarily mean that the connection is down, but it usually means that the connection was running at a high level at that time, causing the connection to slow down to a point at which it timed out. This can happen because your Internet connection is shared with other people around you, so the more people who are using the Internet, the slower your connection will be. When your connection slows down, it can cause your test link to disconnect. You should be able to click OK to continue testing if any error messages appear. If you continue to have issues, you should close out of the test altogether and restart your computer. When the computer powers up again, please log in to your test again, and you will be able to pick up where you left off. If this continues to happen, please contact ITS Tech Support and your institutional IT department. 9