SECTION 101.3031. Required Test Administration Procedures and Training Activities to Ensure Validity, Reliability, and Security of Assessments

(a) Security and confidentiality.

(1) All assessment instruments included in the student assessment program are considered secure, and the contents of these tests, including student information used or obtained in their administration, are confidential.

(2) School districts and campuses, the superintendent and campus principals in each school district, open-enrollment charter schools and campuses, and the chief administrative officer and campus principals of each charter school shall:

(A) implement and ensure compliance with state test administration procedures and training activities;

(B) notify the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as soon as the school district or charter school becomes aware of any alleged or suspected violation of the security or confidential integrity of a test as listed in paragraph (3) of this subsection;

(C) report all confirmed testing violations to TEA within 10 working days of the school district or charter school becoming aware of the violation in accordance with the reporting process stipulated in the test administration materials;

(D) ensure that the only individuals with access to secure test materials are school district or charter school employees who have:

(i) met the requirements to participate in the student assessment program;

(ii) received training in test security and test administration procedures; and

(iii) signed an oath affirming they understand their obligation to maintain and preserve the security and confidentiality of all state assessments and student information, acknowledge their responsibility to report any suspected testing violation, and are aware of the range of penalties that may result from a violation of test security and confidentiality or a departure from test administration procedures; and

(E) ensure the security of the test materials by:

(i) verifying that all boxes of testing materials have been accounted for and match the school district or charter school shipping notices upon receipt from the state's testing contractor(s);

(ii) requiring campuses to immediately inventory all testing materials received and to notify the school district or charter school testing coordinator of any shortages or discrepancies;

(iii) immediately notifying the state's testing contractor(s) of any discrepancies between the materials received and the school district, charter school, and campus shipping notices;

(iv) placing test booklets and answer documents in secure, limited-access, locked storage when not in use;

(v) collecting and destroying any scratch paper, graph paper, or reference materials that students have written on, as well as any recordings, after the completion of a test administration;

(vi) requiring that all secure materials assigned to individual campuses have been accounted for and packaged in accordance with the procedures for returning materials as detailed in the test administration materials;

(vii) requiring that all test item image cards and photocopies or reproductions of secure test materials have been collected and returned to the school district or charter school testing coordinator for return to the testing contractor(s); and

(viii) maintaining inventory and shipping records for five years.

(3) Violations of the security and confidential integrity of a test include:

(A) directly or indirectly assisting students with responses to test questions;

(B) tampering with student responses;

(C) falsifying holistic ratings or student responses;

(D) viewing secure test content before, during, or after an administration unless specifically authorized by TEA or by the procedures outlined in the test administration materials;

(E) discussing or disclosing secure test content or student responses;

(F) scoring students' tests, either formally or informally;

(G) duplicating, recording, or electronically capturing confidential test content unless specifically authorized by TEA or by the procedures outlined in the test administration materials;

(H) responding to secure test questions;

(I) fraudulently exempting or preventing a student from participating in the administration of a required state assessment;

(J) receiving or providing unallowable assistance during calibration activities (e.g., taking notes, providing answer sheets, or sharing answers);

(K) encouraging or assisting an individual to engage in the conduct described in subparagraphs (A)-(J) of this paragraph or in any other serious violation of security and confidentiality;

(L) failing to report to an appropriate authority that an individual has engaged or is suspected of engaging in conduct described in subparagraphs (A)-(K) of this paragraph or in any other serious violation of security and confidentiality under this section;

(M) failing to implement sufficient procedures to prevent student cheating; and

(N) failing to implement sufficient procedures to prevent alteration of test documents by anyone other than the student.

(4) If a school district or charter school determines that a student has cheated or attempted to cheat on a state assessment either by providing or receiving direct assistance, the school district or charter school shall invalidate the student's test results.

(5) Any violation of test security or confidential integrity may result in the TEA:

(A) invalidating student test results;

(B) referring certified educators to the State Board for Educator Certification for sanctions in accordance with Chapter 247 of this title (relating to Educators' Code of Ethics) and Chapter 249 of this title (relating to Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases); and

(C) lowering the school district's or charter school's accreditation status or a school district's, charter school's, or campus's accountability rating in accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.003(d), or appointment of a monitor, conservator, or management team to the school district or charter school in accordance with TEC, Chapter 39A.

(b) Test administration procedures. Test administration procedures shall be delineated in the test administration materials provided to school districts and charter schools annually. Districts and charter schools must comply with all of the applicable requirements specified in the test administration materials. Test administration materials shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) general testing program information;

(2) procedures for maintaining the security and confidentiality of state assessments;

(3) procedures for test administration;

(4) responsibilities of personnel involved in test administration; and

(5) procedures for materials control.

(c) Training activities. School districts and charter schools shall ensure that test coordinators and administrators receive training to ensure that testing personnel have the necessary skills and knowledge required to administer assessment instruments in a valid, standardized, and secure manner.

(d) Records retention. As part of test administration procedures, the commissioner shall require school districts and charter schools to maintain records related to the security of assessment instruments for five years.

(e) Applicability. The required test administration procedures and training activities established annually in the test administration manuals and test security supplements for prior years remain in effect for all purposes with respect to the prior year to which they apply.

Source Note: The provisions of this §101.3031 adopted to be effective March 26, 2012, 37 TexReg 2083; amended to be effective March 27, 2013, 38 TexReg 1974; amended to be effective March 30, 2014, 39 TexReg 2287; amended to be effective February 16, 2015, 40 TexReg 702; amended to be effective March 15, 2016, 41 TexReg 1835; amended to be effective March 19, 2017, 42 TexReg 1121; amended to be effective January 31, 2018, 43 TexReg460;amended to be effective April 23, 2019, 44 TexReg 1985; amended to be effective January 11, 2022, 47 TxReg 27