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Pennsylvania Department of Education Handbook for Secure Test Administration 2023–2024
Handbook for Secure Test Administration
Security Statement
State assessments rely on the measurement of individual achievement. Any deviation from procedures meant
to ensure test validity and security (e.g., group work, teacher coaching, teaching or release of any test items,
use of previously administered Pennsylvania assessments as preparation tools) is strictly prohibited and will
be considered a violation of test security. Local Education Agency (LEA)/school personnel with access to the
assessment materials must not review, discuss, disseminate, or otherwise reveal the contents to anyone. (This
prohibition excludes the Item and Scoring Samplers available on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s
(PDE’s) website.)
Any action by a professional employee or commissioned officer that is willfully designed to divulge test questions,
falsify student scores, or compromise the integrity of the state assessment system will be subject to disciplinary
action under the Educator Discipline Act, 24 P.S. §§ 2070.1a et seq, which may include a private reprimand, a
public reprimand, a suspension of the employee’s teaching certificate(s), a revocation of the employee’s teaching
certificate(s), and/or a suspension or prohibition from being employed by a charter school.
Training and Test Administration Procedures
The purpose of this handbook is to assist in the training of LEA/school personnel to properly and securely
administer state assessments. This handbook is also an important and valuable resource in implementing testing
successfully from planning and preparing to collecting and returning tests.
Roles and Responsibilities: Training
The District Assessment Coordinator (DAC) is responsible for completing all of the Pennsylvania State Test
Administration Trainings (PSTATs) provided by PDE for the DACs, SACs, and TAs/Proctors. DACs must complete the
Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) training on receiving and packaging materials, and any DAC specific training
provided by the PDE. The DAC is then responsible for coordinating all training that takes place in the LEA and for
determining specifics related to test administration such as a schedule, type of administration (paper and pencil or
online) and other LEA-level administrative aspects of the testing. The DAC is responsible for ALL training in the LEA
with primary responsibility for the direct training of SACs. In some LEAs the DAC may train the LEA-level staff who
handle and/or have access to secure test material.
The SAC receives training from the DAC and must also complete both the PSTAT training for SACs and for TAs/
Proctors. The SAC is then responsible to oversee all aspects of test administration in a building, including training
Test Administrators (TAs), proctors, and other building level staff.
The TAs/Proctors must complete the PSTAT training for TAs/Proctors. The TAs/Proctors are responsible for
administering the assessment and monitoring students during the assessment.
Translators, interpreters, and scribes must complete the PSTAT training for TAs/Proctors and must also complete
the training offered by the school/district.
The Handbook for Assessment Coordinators provides more information related to training.