Security Breaches from Videos Posted to Social Media

CAASPP email update, April 20, 2023.

Dear LEA CAASPP Coordinator or LEA ELPAC Coordinator:

ETS monitors social media to identify any security breach due to students or teachers posting materials from the CAASPP or ELPAC assessments. This year, ETS is noticing quite a number of videos with students showing their logging on to the assessments, doing the sound checks, or waiting for approval of the test administrator or test examiner to enter the assessment. This indicates that students are not following the security rule of no additional technology being present during testing.

The California Department of Education (CDE) and ETS are requesting that you reach out to your sites and emphasize the need for students to secure phones prior to testing. Any such incidents should be reported using the Security and Test Administration Incident Reporting System (STAIRS). Once reported in STAIRS, the CDE will approve these breaches, and the breaches will result in an Invalidate Appeal for CAASPP and an irregularity flag for the ELPAC. The student will still receive a Student Score Report.

There have been some postings with actual test questions. ETS' Office of Testing Integrity will be contacting the LEAs in which the students were testing for further investigation.

ETS understands that trying to monitor all students and their activities is a difficult task and appreciates the cooperation of coordinators, test administrators, and test examiners.

If you have any questions, contact your assigned LEA Success Agent.

Sincerely,

California Outreach Team

CAASPP website and ELPAC website