Quick Guide for Configuring Your Digital Testing Equipment

Quick Guide for Configuring Your Digital Testing Equipment

The Test Delivery System (TDS) from CAI consists of two parts: the Interface for Test Administrators (TA) and the Student Interface.

While proctors create and manage test sessions from any web browser using the TA Interface, students access and complete their tests through the Student Interface via the Secure Browser.

This guide outlines the four steps you need to take to set up technology in your district's schools:

Step 1. The test administrator workstation being set up
Step 2. Constructing student workstations
Step 3. The configuration of your network for online testing
Step 4. Configuring assistive technology

Step 1. The test administrator workstation being set up

It's unlikely that your proctor workstations will need to be set up in any way. The TA site can be accessed and testing sessions can be conducted on almost any supported device, including mobile ones like tablets and phones. A website called The TA Interface. Any device you currently use to access Facebook, check your email, read the news, or watch YouTube should be able to administer tests.

With the print-on-request option, proctors can print test session data. Proctor workstations need to be connected to a printer to print.

Step 2: Building workstations for students

Every student workstation must have CAI's Secure Browser installed on it for them to access digital tests. The Secure Browser is a special web browser created by CAI that is intended to secure tests by securing the student's desktop and preventing them from accessing anything other than their test. In contrast to standard web browsers, the Secure Browser presents the student application in full-screen mode without a browser user interface. It lacks a URL bar, back button, next button, and refresh button. When students open the Secure Browser, they are immediately directed to their desired location.

Check to see if your device is supported before setting up your student workstations. Please be aware that using the Secure Browser inside a virtual machine is not supported.

Step 3. Setting Up Your Network for Online Testing

We offer some tools and suggestions in this section to assist you in setting up your network for online testing. For each student taking a concurrent exam, CAI advises a network bandwidth of at least 20 kilobits per second to ensure a smooth administration.

The network analysis tool

To make sure your network has enough bandwidth to support delivering digital tests, CAI offers a network diagnostic tool. Through a supported browser, either the Secure Browser or the Student Digital Test Preview can be used to access the network diagnostic tool.

The proxy servers

You might need to set up the Secure Browser's proxy settings if your school's technology coordinator has installed a proxy server. The "How to Configure the Secure Browser for Proxy Servers" section of the Configurations, Troubleshooting, and Advanced Secure Browser Installation Guide for Windows, Mac, or Chrome OS, Configurations and Troubleshooting for Linux, or Configurations for iOS/iPadOS contains instructions on how to set up the Secure Browser's proxy settings.

Data received from servers must not be cached by proxy servers.

Step 4. Setting Up Assisting Technologies

A secure browser must be used to access CAI's Test Delivery System website.

Taking a practice test while using assistive technologies is the best way to determine whether something is compatible with them. Visit the College Board's resources or get in touch with customer service if they don't work to manage student test settings and assistive technology for digital testing.

To test whether an assistive technology device is compatible with the College Board's exams, use the Student Digital Test Preview in the Secure Browser. To test functionality, launch the Student Digital Test Preview through the Secure Browser application for a list of technologies that are supported and setup instructions.

On student workstations, assistive technologies must be launched before the Secure Browser.

Embedded Features Supported

The Test Delivery System has embedded features that can be accessed through settings. They are accessible without the use of additional outside software. Students require an accommodation to use these embedded features.

Educators and students can continue to monitor development across the SAT Suite of Assessments over time, and the SAT will continue to be scored on a 1600 scale. The tests will still be given in a setting like a school or a testing facility with a proctor present rather than at home. The Digital SAT Full-Length Practice Test materials on Masterclass Space will still be available to students. Students who take the SAT Suite will also keep in touch with the College Board National Recognition Programs and scholarships.

Students say it's easier to take, while educators say it's easier to administer, according to feedback from the fall pilots

Students who took part in the global digital SAT pilot in November reported that it was less stressful than the current paper and pencil test.

A student from Fairfax County, Virginia who took part in the digital pilot said, "It felt a lot less stressful, and a whole lot quicker than I thought it'd be." "The shorter passages made it easier for me to focus on what the question asked of me. Additionally, you won't need to remember to pack a pencil or a calculator."

Every test proctor who took part in the same pilot said that the experience of giving the Digital SAT Guide was equivalent to or superior to giving the current paper-and-pencil test. Teachers won't have to worry about gathering, organising, or shipping test materials. States, districts, and schools will have more options for when, where, and how often they administer the SAT thanks to changes that make it shorter and simpler to administer, as opposed to having to follow a set schedule.

These advancements are particularly crucial because more and more students from all backgrounds are taking the SAT during the school day. 62% of the class of 2021 students who took the SAT did so on a weekday at their school for no cost. Independent studies demonstrate that universal testing during the school day increases the percentage of low-income students who enrol in college.

"It's encouraging to see the supportive comments from educators and students who took part in the digital SAT pilots. The test changes are appropriate and intended to enhance the student experience, "said Ronné Turner, Washington University in St. Louis Vice Provost for Admissions & Financial Aid. "I'm happy that the increased flexibility in test administration will increase access to SAT School Day, which research shows increases the proportion of low-income students who attend college."

Students Have the Option of Demonstrating Their Strengths

The SAT still has a significant impact on an all-encompassing admissions process and helps students find scholarships and postsecondary opportunities.

Millions of students took the SAT even after almost all colleges during the pandemic made testing optional. With the graduating high school class of 2022, this pattern has persisted. The majority of students want to take the SAT, learn their results, and then choose whether or not to send their scores to colleges. 83% of students who responded to a survey said they would like the option to give their test results to colleges. Regardless of whether students have taken the SAT, their race/ethnicity, or the educational level of their parents, this finding holds.

The SAT is a lower-stakes test for college admissions in a world where most tests are optional. Every type of college has an optional submission requirement, and we want students to have the best option possible by using the SAT. No matter where they attend high school, the SAT enables all students to be seen and to access opportunities that will influence their lives and careers.

Said, Rodriguez. "One of those students is me. Being a first-generation American and the offspring of immigrants who arrived in the country with little money, I am aware of how the SAT Suite of Assessments gave me access to colleges, scholarships, and other educational opportunities that I would not have otherwise known about or known about. All students should have access to the same doors of opportunity."

For further information about the Digital SAT for International Students please contact us at info@masterclassspace.com or visit Masterclass Space!