Idaho CTE Secondary
Resource Links
Policies
Proctors and test site administrators are asked to follow every step of the process to ensure a positive assessment experience. CTECS offers Idaho the official CTECS WRA and a Technical Skills Assessment (TSA). The following policies govern most of the testing experience. Please refer to the Educator Portal for Idaho-specific information on the TSAs.
Idaho policy governing TSAs and the WRA is summarized below (in blue), followed by CTECS’ policy governing the WRA.
- The WRA is now open to Junior Capstone students in addition to Senior Capstones and Seniors in their 2nd CTE course between grades 9–12.
- Any junior/senior enrolled in a capstone course (the final course in a pathway program) is expected to take the TSA. For a full list of current capstone courses and their corresponding TSA, reference the TSA and Capstones document located on the Educator Portal.
- Testing is required for all program concentrators (with a goal of 90% participation rate).
- Idaho allows one retake for the TSA and WRA. See Pricing and Overview sections for more on the tests.
CTECS Assessment Policy
Note! Blue text above is from Idaho CTE policy. The following is additional CTECS policy.
Test Policy
TSA’s and the WRA’s may be taken by a student once per school year. Once the student passes, they should not be registered to take the test again. One retake may be taken by a student once per year.
Test Interruptions
Assessments must be completed in one, 60-minute session, unless a school emergency interrupts the testing period. If there is a test interruption and a student needs to complete the test on another day, the student must log in and finish the test within TWO (2) school days of the initial start date. See the list below for examples of school and personal emergencies that may qualify as an interruption.
- Fire alarms
- Power outage
- Safety evacuation due to inclement weather
- Sudden illness of student
Accommodations
CTECS offers extended-time accommodations for students identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP), and SPED 504 for all technical skills assessments. The WRA allows for the same accommodation for LEP and SPED 504; however, all forms of the WRA have a built-in audio reader for those students listed as LEP or SPED 504.
Students with a Disability (SWD)
It is the responsibility of the school and test site administrator to provide adequate time and space to allow for extended test time for SWD. Test times cannot be split over multiple sittings or periods, as this would jeopardize the validity of the test.
CTECS will continue to offer accommodations for students who have been identified as Students with a Disability (SWD). The universal accessibility feature and accommodations are listed below:
- An extended-time accommodation of 90 additional minutes is added to the standard testing session for a total of 150 minutes. The test session may not be split up into multiple test sessions or given over a multi-day period.
- A text-to-speech (audio) accommodation may be provided to allow the option of listening to the questions. Questions are pre-recorded and read by a professional reader, not by a computerized voice. To minimize distractions for other students testing, headphones must be provided by the school. When beginning the test, the student must click on the speaker icon to hear the audio. Using the audio feature requires additional bandwidth, so there may be slower response times during testing. CTECS recommends using wired computer Internet connections to minimize the effects. In addition, the selected media player needs to be up to date. For visually-impaired students who rely completely on the audio narration of the test, an image-free, alternative form of the assessment can be provided, as needed. Please arrange for this directly with CTECS staff.
- A read-aloud accommodation may be provided by an aide or test proctor who will read the entire test aloud to the test taker (the accommodation of extended time may also be required). Note: Items on the assessment are randomized so more than one reader may be required if several students are using the read-aloud accommodation during the same testing session. This is arranged at the test site by the test site administrator or test proctor.
- A test-item enlargement, universal accessibility feature is permitted, however, the test site administrator will need to check for computer compatibility. This is arranged at the test site by the test site administrator or test proctor and is typically handled by manual enlargement features provided by the computer and display.
CTECS defers to school and state policy when identifying SWD. However, in order for SWD to receive the accommodations, they must be identified on the student registration form submitted prior to the testing session. The use of any of the above accommodations must be based on the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan. The test site administrator should ensure test proctors know which accommodations each student will be using and how to administer them. Further, the universal accessibility feature and accommodations should not be introduced to the student for the first time during the administration of the WRA.
SPED 504
Refer to the Student Registration for specific registration information. It is the responsibility of the school and test site administrator to provide adequate time and space to allow for extended test time for SPED 504. Test times cannot be split over multiple sittings or periods, as this would jeopardize the validity of the test.
CTECS will continue to offer accommodations for students who have been identified as SPED 504. The universal accessibility feature and accommodations are listed below:
- An extended-time accommodation of 90 additional minutes is added to the standard testing session for a total of 150 minutes. The test session may not be split up into multiple test sessions, or given over a multi-day period.
- A text-to-speech (audio) accommodation may be provided to allow the option of listening to the questions. Questions are pre-recorded and read by a professional reader, not by a computerized voice. To minimize distractions for other students testing, headphones must be provided by the school. When beginning the test, the student must click on the speaker icon to hear the audio. Using the audio feature requires additional bandwidth, so there may be slower response times during testing. CTECS recommends using wired computer Internet connections to minimize the effects. In addition, the selected media player needs to be up to date.
- A read-aloud accommodation may be provided by an aide or test proctor who will read the entire test aloud to the test taker (the accommodation of extended time may also be required). Note: Items on the assessment are randomized so more than one reader may be required if several students are using the read-aloud accommodation during the same testing session. This is arranged at the test site by the test site administrator or test proctor.
- A test-item enlargement, universal accessibility feature is permitted, however, the test site administrator will need to check for computer compatibility. This is arranged at the test site by the test site administrator or test proctor and is typically handled by manual enlargement features provided by the computer and display.
CTECS defers to school and state policy when identifying SPED 504 students. However, in order for these students to receive the accommodations, they must be identified on the student registration form submitted prior to the testing session. The use of any of the above accommodations must be based on the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan. The test site administrator should ensure test proctors know which accommodations each student will be using and how to administer them. Further, the universal accessibility feature and accommodations should not be introduced to the student for the first time during the administration of the WRA.
FAQ
General Questions
1. What is the cut score or standard for mastery?
The cut score varies by assessment. Refer to https://www.ctecs.org/idaho-cte/ to see the cut scores for each assessment.
2. May teachers proctor their own students?
No, this could jeopardize test security. You agree to these terms when signing the Test Site Administrator Registration and Agreement form.
3. Must test proctors sign a Test Site Administrator Registration and Agreement form?
No, only the test site administrators sign agreement forms. A test site administrator can identify and use several proctors.
4. Can teachers take the exam?
No. This could jeopardize test security. You agree to these terms when signing the Test Site Administrator Registration and Agreement form.
5. Are there practice tests for the assessments?
Some assessments have pre-tests (practice tests). Refer to the list on this webpage to see which assessments have pre-tests, https://www.ctecs.org/idaho-cte/
6. Will the student receive a certificate for passing this exam?
Yes. Certificates can be produced for students who pass assessments. Student will also earn badges from SkillStack® and certificates can be printed from there.
7. Do you offer refunds or credits for this assessment?
No. However refunds and credits are unnecessary since CTECS only charges for used assessments.
8. Do you offer paper/pencil tests?
No. The assessments are online only.
9. Are there resources available to aid in studying for this exam?
See http://wrs.ctecs.org/practice.
10. What testing accommodations are allowed for students with a disability (SWD) or limited English proficiency (LEP) students?
Refer to the Accommodations section on this Policies page.
Student Registration Related
11. How much time is required between registering students and the actual testing dates?
If the test site administrator uses the Instant Enrollment method, test tickets are available immediately. If the student registration form is uploaded to CTECS for processing, allow up to six (6) business days.
12. What is the CTECS assessment policy? May a student take the assessment more than one time?
A student may not take a post-test more than once during a school year. A single retake is available for assessments. There is a 14-day wait period between the post-test and retake.
There are NO exceptions to this policy.
13. What if I need to make changes to the student information after the students are enrolled in E-SESS?
Refer to the Participant – Edit section in the Using Your E-SESS Administrator Account publication.
14. How long do I have to test students once they are enrolled in E-SESS?
Testing dates/windows are published here, https://www.ctecs.org/idaho-cte/
15. If I register students for pre-tests, are they automatically enrolled for the same post-tests?
No. Students must be registered separately for each form of the test.
16. If I have a student who cannot use the test ticket assigned to them, can I substitute another student on the unused test ticket?
No. Student testing IDs and our tracking data is personalized for each registered student. New students must be properly registered and assigned their own test tickets.
17. How can I ensure that I receive e-mail messages regarding E-SESS login information and student enrollment?
When your students are enrolled or your administrator account is initially set up in E-SESS, an automatic email message is sent. Make sure that you can receive email from [email protected] (our online test provider). Add this address to the “safe sender/never block list” in your email program or ask the IT staff to make sure that messages from this sender are not blocked.
Administering the Test
18. Must students click the “Save Answer” button then the “Next” button when taking the assessment?
Answers are automatically saved every three to five clicked answers, so once the answer is selected, students can click the Next button to view the next question.
19. May students begin the test, stop, then finish the test later?
No, testing time cannot be chunked unless a school emergency interrupts the testing period. Refer to the “Test Interruptions” section on this webpage.
20. May students use calculators when taking the exam?
Yes, they may use the calculator provided on the assessment screen.
21. How does the text-to-speech (audio) feature work?
The audio feature is only available for use by Students With a Disability (SWD) or Limited English Proficient (LEP) and will not be available on the test unless the student was registered as SWD or LEP on the Student Registration form. Headphones should be provided by the proctor. The student must click on the speaker icon next to any item to hear the audio. Using the audio feature requires additional bandwidth, so slower response times may occur during testing. CTECS recommends using hard-wired Internet connections. The selected media player may also need to be updated.
22. How can I access testing data from previous school years?
Logging into E‐SESS is different beginning SY2019-20. E-SESS now offers a way to log in and see all previous years, if you were formerly linked to any.
Follow the link provided in the email message https://www.techfluency.org/esess/admin/ after you submit your TSA webform.
Enter the username name provided in the email message in the User Name field.
Enter the password in the Password field.
Once logged in for the first time, you should change your password. Then you will be able to choose from among different years. The “Active” list always includes the most recent/current year.