Appendix B: CAASPP Security Incident Reporting Process

Test security incidents, such as improprieties, irregularities, and breaches, are behaviors prohibited either because they give a student an unfair advantage, compromising the validity of inferences from student test results, or because they compromise the secure administration of the assessments. Whether intentional or accidental, failure to comply with security and administration rules, either by staff or students, constitutes a test security incident. Improprieties, irregularities, and breaches must be reported in accordance with the instructions in this section for each severity level.

LEA CAASPP coordinators or CAASPP test site coordinators will use the online STAIRS process in TOMS for reporting test security incidents that occur before, during, or after testing. Some incidents may require that an Appeal be submitted to reset, reopen, restore (if a test had been reset in error), provide a grace period extension, or invalidate a test. LEA CAASPP coordinators or CAASPP test site coordinators can make the determination by reporting the incident using the online STAIRS/Appeals process in TOMS.

Refer to appendix D for definitions of incident types. Refer also to the Correcting DEI Entries topic in this manual and the Identifying Testing Improprieties, Irregularities, and Breaches topic in the CAASPP Online Test Administration Manual for additional information about using the STAIRS/Appeals process to report testing incidents.

PPT Reporting Categories

The following are five categories of test security incidents reported for the Smarter Balanced and CAST PPTs. Refer to the CAASPP and ELPAC Security Incidents and Appeals Procedure Guide for complete details about CAASPP test security and security incident types.

  1. Exposure of secure materials
  2. Student cheating or access to unauthorized devices—for example, cell phones—during testing
  3. Test validity issue
  4. Data entry issue
  5. Restore from Reset (DEI issue)

PPT Appeals Types

If there is an issue entering the student’s responses in the DEI that requires that some or all of the students’ responses be reentered, a STAIRS case is filed to request either a Reopen or Reset Appeal.

The LEA CAASPP coordinator or CAASPP test site coordinator (with a copy sent to the LEA CAASPP coordinator) submitting the STAIRS case will receive an email that includes the details that were entered into the STAIRS data-entry screen and instructions.

An email may be sent to the CDE if there are STAIRS cases that have a new comment added to the “Notes” section of a case that involves the CDE’s approval.

If an Appeal is required—as would be in an incident involving the DEI—it is requested in TOMS when the incident is reported. These instructions will also be presented on the Search STAIRS screen when the STAIRS case is submitted.

STAIRS cases with any status—draft, partial CDE approval, partial CalTAC approval, pending CDE approval, pending CalTAC approval, and completed—are searchable in Search STAIRS in TOMS.

Appeals with any status—approved, pending, pending approval, rejected (Appeals rejected by the CDE or CalTAC), rejected by system, swap approved, and withdrawn—are searchable in Search Appeals in TOMS.