ACT Question of the Week
Q: With the COVID-19 restrictions, are districts/schools required to bring in students to complete the ACT pre-activities prior to the test date?
A: No. Due to the unique circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, ACT will now permit students to complete the non-test portion of their answer document on test day for the 2020 fall administration only.
If students complete the non-test portion on test day, please follow these guidelines:
- Examinees complete the non-test portion of their answer document before completing any other activity on test day. When they are finished, please instruct them to place the Taking the ACT booklet under their seat (students will take the booklet home when testing is complete). Then the room supervisor should proceed with testing.
- Please adhere to all scheduled breaks, as documented in the Test Administration Manual.
- Please submit an irregularity report.
Please ensure the school’s entire testing population adheres to the same non-test procedure decision. A school should not have half of the students come in prior to test day to complete the non-test activities, while the other half complete the non-test activities on test day.
On testing day, please ensure all current COVID-19 guidance procedures are followed.
ACT Training for Room Supervisors, Proctors and Accommodations Providers
All ACT testing staff, both new and experienced, must attend a training session conducted by the Test Coordinator before test day.
Near the end of the ACT Test Administration Manuals (standard time and accommodations) is a section titled “Training Session Outline and Topics for Discussion.” Subjects include the Security of Test Materials, Room Preparation, Pretest Activities, Test Day and After the Test.
During a training session, the Test Coordinator is expected to discuss the topics described in each section with the testing staff. The Test Accommodations Coordinator must also attend and share any relevant issues with accommodations staff in a separate training session.
The following resources are available for training:
Appropriate Administration Manuals
In addition to ACT’s training expectations, all testing staff must be trained in the Administration Code for Kentucky’s Educational Assessment Program. For those providing accommodations, Inclusion of Special Populations in the State-Required Assessment and Accountability Programs training must be completed.
ACT Accommodations Reconsideration Deadline
ACT will reconsider requests for ACT-authorized accommodations and English Learner (EL) supports that were not initially approved. If you would like ACT to review a request, you may use the Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) System to submit additional documentation. The deadline for requesting a reconsideration of ACT-approved accommodations and supports on the ACT is Friday, Sept. 18. Directions for submitting a request for reconsideration begin on page 56 of the TAA User Guide.
ACT Additional Order Materials Deadline
If additional standard time testing materials are needed for the Sept. 22 test date, the deadline to order the materials is Friday, Sept. 11. Directions for ordering the supplemental materials can be found under the Order Materials section of the PAN User Guide.
ACT Non-College Reportable Accommodations Materials Deadline
The school test coordinator authorizes non-college reportable accommodations test materials (NCR) as appropriate f or examinees. These are not requested through the TAA system. The test coordinator is responsible for ordering non-college reportable accommodations test materials in PearsonAccessnext (PAN) for each examinee who needs them. The deadline to order NCR material is Friday, Sept. 11. Directions for ordering the NCR materials can be found under the Order Materials section of the PAN User Guide.
ACT Test Materials Arrive Sept. 8-11 Reminder
If testing occurs at the school on the initial ACT test date (Sept. 22), standard time and accommodations test materials will arrive this week. Test Coordinators are required to check-in materials within 24 hours of receiving them from ACT. Contact ACT immediately if contents do not match packing lists, or if there is evidence of tampering. Materials must be kept in secure storage at all times before and after testing. The Test Coordinator is responsible for the security of all test materials from the time of receipt.