| (a) Entities eligible to serve as official computer-based
testing centers include:
(1) an accredited school district;
(2) an institution of higher education;
(3) an education service center;
(4) a local workforce development board;
(5) a United States Department of Labor One-Stop Career
Center;
(6) a United States Department of Labor Job Corps Center;
(7) a public or private correctional institution;
(8) a public or private technical institution or career
preparation school;
(9) any other public or private postsecondary institution
offering academic or technical education or vocational training under
a certificate program or an associate degree program; and
(10) an independent, stand-alone testing center.
(b) Entities eligible to serve as official paper-based
testing centers include:
(1) an accredited school district;
(2) an institution of higher education;
(3) an education service center;
(4) an entity approved to provide services under the
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act; and
(5) a local workforce development board.
(c) In order for a testing center to administer a paper-based
test, the testing center must certify in its application that it will
make the following documentation available upon request by the Texas
Education Agency (TEA):
(1) a written description of the testing center management
structure and how any instruction provided by the center will be separate
from testing, including a certification that tests will be administered
and/or proctored by an individual that has not provided direct instruction
to the test taker in the previous 12 months;
(2) a written narrative and photographs that describe
and show:
(A) the building;
(B) distraction-free testing rooms;
(C) a separate but attached registration and admission
room;
(D) sufficient separation of testing space from classrooms
used for instruction; and
(E) desk layout that includes partitions or sufficient
spacing to separate test takers by at least five feet;
(3) a written plan detailing how the testing center
will ensure test security, including:
(A) a secure area for staff to inventory test material
and prepare documents for testing sessions;
(B) restricted access to administrator workstations,
monitors, and printers;
(C) a dedicated locked storage unit for secure test
material in a locked room with access only to test administrators;
and
(D) a secure area for the shipping and receiving of
all test materials, answer sheets, and related materials;
(4) written procedures for administering the test;
and
(5) a written detailed emergency plan.
(d) A testing center that administers a paper-based
test must provide to the test vendor for review written procedures
for administering the test. In addition, the testing center must notify
both the TEA and the test vendor in writing of testing center changes
such as testing personnel, testing rooms, storage of secure documentation,
the emergency plan, or any other change impacting operations.
(e) The appropriate official of an eligible entity
desiring to provide the testing service to residents in the community
must request approval from the TEA to apply for authorization from
the authorized testing organization. If the need for a testing center
in the location exists, the appropriate entity official, in writing,
shall inform the state administrator appointed by the commissioner
of education that the establishment of an official testing center
is requested at that particular entity. The contract to operate a
center shall be between the applicant entity and the authorized testing
organization and its partners.
(f) The authorization to function as an official testing
center may be withdrawn by the TEA if the testing center is in violation
of State Board of Education rules. Potential violations include neglecting
to follow test, vendor, or jurisdictional policies and procedures;
unauthorized use or sale of test candidate information; or misrepresentation
of the testing center's authority to issue transcripts or credentials
on behalf of the TEA.
(g) A testing center may administer the test by paper,
computer, or both, as approved by the TEA, to eligible candidates.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §89.42 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5690; amended to be effective October 15, 2006, 31 TexReg 8361; amended to be effective December 11, 2011, 36 TexReg 8373; amended to be effective October 10, 2013, 38 TexReg 6914; amended to be effective August 21, 2016, 41 TexReg 6015; amended to be effective December 25, 2016, 41 TexReg 9929 |
