North Carolina Department of Public Instruction WorkKeys Assessments Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) The following FAQ list has been developed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to assist school systems in the administration of WorkKeys assessments. This information should be used in conjunction with other testing materials to manage the administration of the tests. This includes information provided by ACT, which publishes the test. Additional information is posted at http://www.act.org/stateservices/northcarolina/. WorkKeys Eligibility: 1. Who is required to take WorkKeys assessments? All public school students who are enrolled in Grade 12 according to NC WISE and are identified in NC WISE as Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrators are required to complete WorkKeys assessments. The following conditions constitute the only exceptions: Students with a significant cognitive disability who receive instruction in the Extended Content Standards. Students deemed medically fragile because of a significant medical emergency and/or condition and are unable to participate in testing. All medical exceptions must be approved by the Division of Accountability Services/North Carolina Testing Program. Students who previously took WorkKeys assessments and achieved a CRC issued at the Silver, Gold, or Platinum level. Administration Dates and Times: 2. What are the administration dates for WorkKeys assessments? The testing window begins February 1, 2012, and extends through February 29, 2012. 3. Will adjustments be made to the WorkKeys timeline? No. ACT and the NCDPI have confirmed timelines for this year. 4. What happens if a student is absent on test day? School Site WorkKeys Coordinators will schedule makeup dates for students who are absent on the test day. The testing window encompasses the entire month of February, allowing ample time to reschedule students for testing.
2 5. Which WorkKeys assessments are required? Locating Information Reading for Information Applied Mathematics 6. How long does it take to administer each of the required WorkKeys tests? Online version: 55 minutes (recommend scheduling 75 minutes) Paper and pencil: 45 minutes (75 minutes for the first test to allow time to complete all demographics). After the first administration, the answer sheet is reused. 7. How much time should be scheduled for WorkKeys testing? This depends on the administration schedule established by each individual school. A student needs 165 minutes to complete all three tests on the same day. 8. Are schools required to administer the online version of WorkKeys tests? An online WorkKeys test administration is preferred and strongly recommended. Paperand pencil versions of the tests are available for schools that might lack sufficient bandwidth and/or technical facilities. These materials must be ordered by Friday, December 16, 2011. Ordering begins December 6. Lunch and Breaks: 9. Do students have a lunch break during the WorkKeys administration? The standard time allowed for each WorkKeys test must not include breaks for meals (e.g., lunch) or other activities. Breaks for lunch and other purposes must occur between tests and be built into the test administration schedule. 10. Are any breaks allowed between WorkKeys tests? The amount of time for a break between each of the three WorkKeys tests depends on the schedule developed by the School WorkKeys Site Coordinator. Breaks cannot be given during a particular test but might be given between tests.
3 Previous Test Takers and Newly Classified Juniors: 11. Must students who have already taken the same three WorkKeys assessments take the assessments again? Students who have earned a Silver, Gold, or Platinum Career Readiness Certificate do not need to repeat the assessments. The NCDPI is preparing a process for collecting scores for students who have previously taken WorkKeys assessments. 12. Must a minimum percentage (i.e., 95%) of Grade 12 CTE concentrators be tested? Yes. The 95% participation rule for the state accountability program applies. 13. What happens when juniors move to senior status? Proctors: The school principal should take this possibility into consideration when providing the school s Grade 12 CTE concentrator enrollment figure to ACT. WorkKeys will confirm in the number of test booklets and other materials that will be needed for state testing. Students may test online with manual entry of student information. 14. Are proctors required for WorkKeys administrations? Yes. The room supervisor serves as the proctor when 25 or fewer students test in the same room. An additional proctor is needed when the number exceeds 25, another proctor when the number exceeds 50, and so on, as shown below. Each proctor can supervise up to 25 students. Use the following scale (for standard time testing) to determine the minimum number of proctors required in each room: Students per room: 1 25 26 50 51 75 76 100 101 125 each additional 25 Proctors per room: 0 1 2 3 4 +1 NOTE: During tests administered with accommodations, an additional proctor must be available to assist the room supervisor when tests for more than 10 students with the same timing code are administered in a testing room. For all other state required tests, a proctor shall be assigned regardless of the number of students being tested unless otherwise authorized by the NCDPI Testing and Accountability Program.
4 15. May a proctor be used in a situation where the number of students in an administration site does not dictate that one be present? Yes. A school district may elect to assign an additional proctor to a room in which fewer than 25 students are testing. Accommodations: 16. Are accommodations for students with disabilities and students identified as limited English proficient (LEP) permitted for WorkKeys tests? Accommodations for students with disabilities are explained in the Supervisor s Manual. ESL is not considered an ADA disability and does not warrant accommodations. Examinees for whom English is a second language may use a word to word foreign language dictionary only (refer to page 19 in the Supervisor s Manual). 17. Must students Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and/or Section 504 Plans be modified to include accommodations for the 2011 12 WorkKeys administrations? No, WorkKeys testing will be piloted statewide this year. As such, IEPs and Section 504 Plans need not be amended to include accommodations for these tests. 18. Will the IEP accommodations form change in 2012? Yes. The testing accommodations form will be changed to reflect accommodations provided for WorkKeys assessments. 19. Must test administrators notify ACT WorkKeys about approved accommodations? No, notification of ACT is not required. Accommodations must be coded on the answer documents as described in the Supervisor s Manual. Records of all accommodations, including the WorkKeys accommodations forms, should be kept on file with the school. 20. When students are granted accommodations, to what portions of the test do the accommodations apply? Accommodations granted to a student can be used for any or all WorkKeys tests, based on the student s IEP or 504 Plan.
5 21. May students request the Test Administrator Reads Test Aloud accommodation for the WorkKeys Reading for Information assessment? Yes. Students can request that the test be read aloud to them as an accommodation. The WorkKeys Reader s Script represents the equivalent of North Carolina s Test Administrator Reads Test Aloud (in English) accommodation. Approved use of the WorkKeys Reader Script accommodations will result in reportable scores. 22. Can schools order an audio DVD for individual students with the read aloud accommodation? Yes. ACT provides DVDs with audio tracks for WorkKeys tests. DVDs must be ordered in advance of the test event. It is the responsibility of the test administrator to verify that the reader script/dvd matches the test booklet. Students using the audio DVDs may test in the same room with other examinees as long as they wear headphones and remain in control of their materials and machines. As with all testing materials, DVDs may not be copied and must be returned to ACT upon completion of testing. 23. Must students with the read aloud accommodation be tested individually? If use of a reader (human) is approved, the test must be administered individually in a separate room. This requirement does not apply if a student chooses not to use his or her approved accommodation, such as a reader. 24. Who can answer our accommodations questions concerning the WorkKeys tests? Please call 800.WORKKEY (967.5539) or e mail workkeys@act.org. Additional information about accommodations is provided in the Supervisor s Manual posted at http://www.act.org/stateservices/northcarolina/. 25. Must a request for a medical exception be submitted to the NCDPI for students required to take WorkKeys tests? Yes. Such a request must be submitted to and approved by the Division of Accountability Services/North Carolina Testing Program if a student is to receive a medical exception for WorkKeys testing.
6 26. What if a student's diagnosis has changed before testing? Students who were granted medical exceptions before the test administration should be given the opportunity to test if their diagnoses change and they are able to test. Requests for medical exceptions should be submitted for students who experience medical emergencies before testing, even if the NCDPI is unlikely to process them prior to the test event. If such a request is eventually denied, the student who made the request will be counted as part of the 5% that is not tested. 27. Sometimes students transfer into our school before testing. How are testing materials for transfer students managed by their former and current schools? The current school should use manual data entry for online testing. Paper and pencil testing materials are not transported between schools. Materials shipped to a school for use by a student who transferred should not be used by another student. They should be returned to ACT at the end of the testing window. If you have questions, please call 800.WORKKEY (967.5539). 28. When students suffer a broken arm or experience another type of medical emergency after the deadline for submitting requests for accommodations, must they test with standard time? Schools with students who experience medical emergencies should call 800.553.6244, extension 1788, to discuss procedures for requesting accommodations due to special circumstances. 29. What are locally approved accommodations? A locally approved accommodation does not require ACT approval. The student must be able to test in standard time, with normal breaks, and need no special test format. Examples of locally approved accommodations include wheelchair accessible rooms, color overlays, etc. Refer to the Supervisor s Manual for further details. 30. How does a school respond if a student with an IEP who has been approved for testing with an accommodation suddenly decides that he/she wants to test without accommodations on the morning of the test date? The student may choose to test in standard time, and then MUST use the standard time test materials and test in a standard time room rather than use the accommodated materials that were assigned to him/her.
7 31. Can a student be approved to test over multiple days? Yes, although it is important to remember that at least one test must be fully completed in one testing session. An examinee is not permitted to stop a test prior to completion and finish it the next day. Limited English Proficient Students: 32. Are limited English proficient (LEP) students enrolled in their first year in U.S. schools required to take WorkKeys tests? Yes. These LEP students will be counted as part of the 95% participation requirement but will not be included in the state accountability model. Alternate Assessments: 33. Will alternate assessments be administered for WorkKeys tests? No. Occupational Course of Study Students: 34. Are students enrolled in the Occupational Course of Study (OCS) required to take the WorkKeys tests? Yes. OCS students are required to participate in the statewide WorkKeys testing, per IDEA. Career Technical Education Personnel and ACT Responsibilities: 35. Are Career and Technical Education (CTE) personnel permitted to serve as WorkKeys Testing Coordinators? Yes. Each school is responsible for choosing personnel for these roles. Ordering and Managing Materials: 36. Are districts permitted to order, receive, and manage WorkKeys testing materials on behalf of their schools? No. All WorkKeys materials must be shipped directly to each high school s WorkKeys test coordinator.
8 Access to Communications: 37. How will school district Career and Technical Education (CTE) administrators gain access to communications sent to principals regarding WorkKeys tests? The NCDPI is working to provide ACT with an e mail address for each school district s CTE administrator. Messages sent to school principals will also be received by CTE administrators. The CTE Division of NCDPI will also post announcements to the CTE administrator Moodle. 38. How will school district test coordinators gain access to communications sent to principals regarding WorkKeys tests? The NCDPI is working to provide ACT with an e mail address for each school district test coordinator. Messages sent to school principals will also be received by district test coordinators. The NCDPI Accountability Services Division will also post announcements on the Testing News Network (TNN) to update school test coordinators on the latest information. Career Readiness Certificates: 39. Will students receive a Career Readiness Certificate? Yes. Eligible students will receive a North Carolina Career Readiness Certificate that carries the same registration code that is printed on the National Career Readiness Certificate. This code enables North Carolina credentials to be registered and verified in the national system. WorkKeys Important Contact Information: Refer to the WorkKeys Internet Version Users Guide and/or to the WorkKeys Supervisor s Manual posted at http://www.act.org/workkeys private/reference/manuals.html for more information about administering WorkKeys assessments. For additional questions, call 800.967.5539, or e mail workkeys@act.org.