The settings and tools available within the Student Testing Site that provide support for students with disabilities, such as features that allow students to change the color contrast or font size of an online test.
Accommodations
Any modifications provided for a student's testing experience that affect the construct of the test, which is the general skill that the test is intended to assess. For example, in a test intended to assess writing skills, an accommodation that transcribes a student's speech would change the test construct and be considered an accommodation.
Aggregation
The compilation of test result data in a report that provides average scores for a group of students, such as the students in a roster or school.
Alignment
The association between an item on a test and a content standard that identifies which skill or knowledge area that item is intended to measure.
Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC)
A term used to describe the different methods that can be used to help people with disabilities communicate with others. These methods can be used as either an alternative or a supplement to speech, and can include individual methods of sign and gestures, standardized signing, symbol systems, and complex electronic devices.
Alternative Computer Input Technology (ACI)
Assistive tools that allow students with various impairments (such as physical and visual impairments) to interact with a computer without using a traditional mouse and keyboard setup.
Assessment
An online or paper test consisting of one or more items that assess a student's skills or area of knowledge. Also known as a test.
Assessment Reports
Reports available in the Reporting system that provide detailed student performance data for an individual test taken by an individual student or group of students.
Assessment Viewing Application (AVA)
A CAI application within the Test Delivery System (TDS) that allows educators to view the content of interim assessments as they will appear to students.
Assistive Keyboard and Mouse Input Technology
Assistive tools that provide additional support to students with physical impairments who need to use a keyboard and mouse in order to respond to test items.
Assistive Technology
Any hardware or software that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.
Autonomous Single App Mode (ASAM)
A special feature available in some testing devices that allows that device to lock its focus onto a single application.
B
BRF File (BRF)
A Braille file type used to emboss test items containing only text or formatted tables.
C
Cambium Assessment, Inc. (CAI)
An education company owned by Cambium Learning Group that develops innovative online assessment applications, such as TDS and TIDE.
Centralized Reporting System (CRS)
A CAI system that provides comprehensive student performance reports on assessments and allows educators to hand-score some test items..
Checkpoint
A CAI system that allows educators to create original, standard-aligned items and add them to tests, which can be published to the Test Delivery System (TDS) for administration to students.
Chrome OS
An operating system developed and distributed by Google, which is supported by CAI's Secure Browser.
Chromebook
A laptop running Chrome OS.
Cluster
May refer to either of two things: -A category of content standards that measure a related set of skills or knowledge areas. -A set of items or interactions within a single item that engages students in activity aligned to a specific standard.
Cohort
A group of students who have something in common, such as their class membership. In test reports, cohorts are commonly used to aggregate data for a group of students and measure their performance in an individual test or over time.
Comma-Separated Values (CSV)
A type of file in which data are separated by commas. Some CAI systems allow users to create or modify data in bulk by uploading a CSV file.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
A high-quality curriculum aligned to a common core of academic standards; resources and professional development strategies that can be replicated across states for English Language Arts and Mathematics.
Complex Area Superintendent (CAS)
A CAI system user role representing an administrator for an entire Complex Area.
Complex Staff (CS)
A CAI system user role representing an adminitrator for an entire Complex.
Complexity
The level of cognitive demand expected for a student to correctly answer a test item.
Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)
A type of test that selects items for each student that most accurately align with his or her performance on the test to that point.
Condition Code
A code applied in place of a score on an assessment report when a student's response to a test item cannot be scored.
Construct
The set of concepts or skills that a test is intended to measure, such as reading ability or writing ability.
Constructed Response (CR)
An item type that requires student to respond with a written, pictorial, or graphic answer.
Content
Used to refer to the the items and stimuli within a test, the reading passage or other media type within a stimulus, and the prompt and response area within an item.
Content Standard
The skill or area of knowledge that a test item is intended to measure.
Context Menu Tools
Tools in the Student Testing Site that appear inside a menu and are available for individual items and stimuli.
Cut Score
A specific point on a test's score scale that distinguishes between two performance levels. Scores at or above that point are interpreted to mean something different from scores below that point. Cut scores can determine if a student's test score is sufficient, insufficient, almost sufficient, etc.
D
Data Assessment Team Advisor (DATA)
A CAI system user role representing an official for an individual school who specializes in data management.
Device
Hardware that students may use in daily classroom instruction and to take tests, including, but not limited to, desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets and assistive technologies for students requiring accommodations.
Dimension
A type of scoring criterion in an item's rubric.
Disaggregation
The process by which performance data for a group of students, such as a roster or school, is broken down into data for the various sub-groups or demographic groups within that larger student group.
Domain
A category of content standards that measure a related set of skills or knowledge areas.
Drag-and-Drop Grid Item
An item type that requires students to respond by dragging a text or image object onto specified locations in a grid or image.
Duxbury Braille Translator
Accessibility software used to emboss BRF test items in a Braille test.
E
Eligibility Rules
Student attributes set up in TIDE that determine which tests a student will be able to take in TDS.
Embedded Support
Built-in tools and settings in the Student Testing Site that provide assistance in using the application to students testing with the appropriate accommodations.
End of Life (EOL)
The projected date on which CAI plans to end the Test Delivery System's support for an operating system version.
English Language Arts (ELA)
A subject area for assessments.
English Language Learner (EL)
A student whose native language is not English and who has difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language.
Equation Response (EQ)
An item type that allows students to respond by clicking mathematical characters that appear in an on-screen keypad.
Errors of Measurement
Typically referred to as standard error of measurement. The amount or difference between a student’s actual score and the theoretical true score. The degree of inherent imprecision in student performance reports based on test content, administration, scoring, or examinee conditions.
Evidence-Based Selected Response (EBSR)
An item type that requires students to answer a multi-part question related to an accompanying passage or information presented in the stem.
Exemplar
An element included in an item's scoring rubric that provides an example of a student response that would earn a certain number of points.
Exemption from Testing
The exemption of a student from a testing requirement to which others are held.
Expiration Rules
The rules that determine how long it takes a test opportunity to expire when a student starts it without completing it. Students cannot make any additional changes to a test opportunity once it expires.
F
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
A federal law that protects students' privacy regarding education records and also provides parents with rights regarding their children's education records.
Fedora
A Linux distribution supported by CAI's Linux Secure Browser.
Field-Authored Test
A test created in Checkpoint by an educator, as opposed to tests provided by CAI or an assessment program.
Firewall (FW)
A network security system that monitors traffic and prevents unauthorized access to the network.
Force Quit
An action that test administrators may need to take to close the Secure Browser in the event that it becomes unresponsive.
Form
A compilation of test items and/or stimuli that make up the segments of an assessment. Also known as a test form.
Frequency-Distribution Report (FDR)
A report that shows the frequency or count of a particular score or outcome by student group or demographic.
G
Global Tools
Tools in the Student Testing Site that appear at the top of the screen and are available for an entire test segment.
Grace Period Extension (GPE)
A testing incident created in TIDE that allows the student to review previously answered questions upon resuming a test after expiration of the pause timer.
Grade Level
The grade in which a student is enrolled or, for students not assigned a grade, the academic grade of same-age peers who are in a general education classroom.
Grade range
Two or more consecutive grade levels (for example, grades 3 through 6).
Graph Item
An item type that requires students to respond by adjusting the heights or lengths of bars in a graph.
Grid Item (GI)
A type of item interaction that can offer several different ways for the student to interact with a grid area, such as dragging an object onto the grid canvas or plotting points on a graph.
H
Hand Scoring (HS)
The process of manually scoring test items, which may be performed by educators in the Reporting system.
Hawaii State Alternate Assessment (HSA-Alt)
The Hawaii state-owned assessment for students with severe cognitive disabilities.
Hawaii Statewide Assessment (HSA)
A Hawaii state-owned assessment or test.
Hawaii Statewide Assessment Program (HSAP)
Official name for the Hawaii statewide program of assessments.
Hot Spot
An item type that requires students to respond by clicking regions on an image, such as countries on a map.
Hot Text (HT)
An item type that requires students to click words or phrases in a section of text.
I
Individual Student Report (ISR)
A report that provides detailed information about an individual student's performance on an individual test.
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
A written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed and revised to reflect the decisions made by an interdisciplinary team, including the parent and student when appropriate.
Interaction
A component of a test item that students can interact with, such as a list of options they can select from or a text box in which they type a response. A test item may include one or more individual interactions.
Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB)
A type of Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment teachers can use throughout the school year to assess smaller bundles of content.
Interim Comprehensive Assessment (ICA)
A type of Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment that measures similar content to the summative assessment.
Invalidate a test Testing Incident
A testing incident created in TIDE that eliminates the test opportunity, which results in the student having no further opportunities for the test.
iOS
A mobile operating system developed and distributed by Apple, which is supported by CAI's Mobile Secure Browser.
iPadOS
A mobile operating system developed and distributed by Apple, which is supported by CAI's Mobile Secure Browser.
Item
A scored question, exercise, or task on a test that students interact with to enter a response.
Item Rescore Testing Incident
A testing incident created in TIDE that sends a request to CAI to rescore an individual item in a student's test opportunity.
Item Template
A form available in the Checkpoint system that allows users to create the content for original test items.
J
Job Access with Speech (JAWS)
A screen reader software designed to help vision-impaired people use computer applications.
K
Keyboard Command
A key or combination of keys students can press in order to perform an action in the Student Testing Site.
Kiosk Mode
A feature available in certain operating systems in which a device allows access only to a specific application, such as CAI's Secure Browser.
L
Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
A student whose native language is not English and who has difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language.
Linux
A family of free and open source operating systems, some of which are supported by CAI's Secure Browser.
Local Area Network (LAN)
A network that connects a group of computers that are in the same location.
Longitudinal Report
A type of report available in the Reporting system that shows a comparison of assessment results for a particular student or group of students at two or more points in time.
M
Machine Scoring
Item scoring performed automatically by a computer.
Machine-Scored Constructed Response (MSCR)
A type of written response item that requires scoring logic or a machine rubric to score.
Match Item (MI)
An item type that requires students to respond by matching answer options together.
Mobile Secure Browser (MSB)
The mobile version of CAI's Secure Browser. It is used on iPads (iPadOS and iOS) and Chromebooks.
Multiple Choice (MC)
An item type that requires students to select a single answer from a list of options.
Multiple Select (MS)
An item type that requires students to select one or more answer options from a list of options.
N
Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics (Nemeth Code)
A Braille code for encoding mathematical and scientific notation linearly.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.
O
Operational
In student testing, this term refers to live testing, as distinct from practice testing. An operational assessment is one that is developed and administered at a specified time and whose scoring results are used for the purpose of meeting local, state, and/or federal requirements.
Opportunity
An individual chance for a student to attempt a test. A test may allow for one or more opportunities per eligible student.
Options
The response choices to an item's stem from which students select an answer.
P
Participation Rate
In student testing, the percentage of students within a particular group who took a test as compared to the total number of students in the group who could have taken the test.
Participation Report by SSID
A report available in TIDE that details the status for each test opportunity started by a particular student.
Pause Rule
A rule in the Student Testing Site that restricts students from modifying their responses to previous items if they pause their test and return to it after exceeding a certain time limit.
Performance on Tests Report
A report available in the Reporting system that lists all the assessments completed by a user's associated students.
Performance Task (PT)
A component of the Smarter Balanced ELA assessment that involves significant interaction of students with stimulus materials and/or engagement in a problem solution.
Permissive Mode
A Secure Browser setting that allows a student to use pre-approved hardware or software that would otherwise be blocked by the Secure Browser.
Personally Identifying Information (PII)
Information that could identify an individual person, such as a student's name and date of birth.
Plan and Manage Testing Report
A report available in TIDE that details all of a student’s test opportunities and the status of those test opportunities.
Portal
A website that serves as a one-stop shop for educators involved in the online assessment process, providing access to CAI systems, training sites, tutorials, and other resources.
PreID Label
A label affixed to a student’s physical testing materials, such as a paper answer booklet.
Print Request
A TA Site feature in which students with the appropriate test settings may request printouts of test content, which the test administrator may approve.
PRN File (PRN)
A Braille file type used to emboss test items containing Nemeth code or tactile graphics.
Prompt (P)
The component of an item that provides students with the instructions or question they must respond to.
R
Refreshable Braille Display (RBD)
An assistive technology device for visually-impaired students that translates text to a readable braille format.
Re-open a test Testing Incident
An testing incident created in TIDE that reopens a test opportunity that was completed, invalidated, or expired.
Re-open Current Test Segment Testing Incident
A testing incident created in TIDE that reopens a test segment that a student already submitted. This is available only if the student has not yet started a new test segment.
Re-open Previous Test Segment Testing Incident
A testing incident created in TIDE that reopens a previous test segment.
Report Problem with Item Testing Incident
A testing incident created in TIDE that sends a problem report to CAI regarding a particular test item. Scenarios that warrant this request include the following: • A duplicate item appears in a test opportunity for a subject. • The student believes that an item may not contain a correct answer or may contain more than one correct answer. • An item references a stimulus or graphic that does not display.
Reporting Category
A topic or skill area within a test. In the Reporting system, some reports may allow users to view performance data by reporting category.
Reset a test Testing Incident
A testing incident created in TIDE that allows the student to restart a test opportunity (removing all responses on the test), or allows the data entry operator to restart the data entry process.
Review Group
A group of users within the Checkpoint system that is able to review and approve items submitted to a shared items library.
Roster
A group of students associated with an educator. Rosters typically represent classes, but may also represent other groups, such as students who have taken honors courses.
Rubric
A set of criteria explaining how an item should be scored and what precisely merits a full- or partial-credit response. The rubric may also include an exemplar of a valid response.
S
School Test Coordinator (TC)
A CAI system user role representing a test coordinator for an individual school.
School Year (SY)
The academic year, given as a range (for example, 2020 to 2021).
Scoring Rubric
A set of criteria explaining how an item should be scored and what precisely merits a full- or partial-credit response. The rubric may also include an exemplar of a valid response.
Screen Magnifier Technology
A type of assistive technology that enlarges the content displayed on the computer screen in order to assist students with visual impairments.
Screen Reader
An application that transforms the text displayed on a computer screen into synthesized speech for vision-impaired users.
Screensaver Mode
A feature in the TA Site that allows test administrators to temporarily hide any sensitive student data that appears on screen.
Secure Browser (SB)
The CAI browser through which all operational tests are administered. The Secure Browser provides a secure and user-friendly environment for students to complete tests while preventing access to any prohibited tools or applications.
Secure Inbox (Inbox)
The secure inbox shared across multiple CAI systems. It stores files that were exported from those systems.
Shared Items Library
A library of pre-made tests in the Checkpoint system that is available for all users to administer to their students.
Shared Tests Library
A library of pre-made tests in the Checkpoint system that is available for all users to administer to their students.
Short Answer Text Response (SA)
An item type that requires students to respond by typing a short response in a text box.
Simulation (SIM)
An item type that requires students to set the parameters of an interactive animation and extrapolate data in a table.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
A shared component in CAI systems that allows users to use a single set of login credentials to access every CAI system.
Skill Area
A reporting category or topic by which items are organized in a test based on related standards measured.
Speech-to-Text (STT)
A non-embedded accommodation available in the Student Testing Site that transcribes a student's speech and enters it into a text box.
Standard
The specific skill or area of knowledge that a test item is intended to measure.
State Administrator (SC)
A CAI system user role that may have access to any special administrative features available in a system.
State Student Identification Number (SSID)
A unique number code assigned to a student for identification purposes.
Status of Students Tested Report
A report available in TIDE that summarizes the number and percentage of students who have started or completed a test.
Stem
The question or prompt in a test item to which the students must respond.
Stimulus
A reading passage or multimedia resource in a test that students must review in order to respond to a set of associated items.
Student Data File
A spreadsheet file that lists comprehensive test result data for a custom combination of tests and students, which users can generate and export in the Reporting system.
Student Portfolio Report
A report available in the Reporting system that lists all the assessments completed by a particular student.
Student Testing Site
The component of the Test Delivery System (TDS) where students can take tests. Both practice and operational Student Testing Sites are available. The operational site is also known as the Secure Browser.
T
Table Interaction (TI)
An item type that requires students to respond by entering information in a table.
Table Match
An item type that requires students to respond by clicking checkboxes in the cells of a table to match together terms that appear in the column and row headers.
Take a Test (TAT)
A Microsoft application that allows students to take a test securely in Windows. The Take a Test app may be used as an alternative to the CAI Secure Browser.
TA-Student Relationship
In Centralized Reporting, the relationship between a TA and all their proctored students. It allows the TA to view test results for any tests students completed in their test sessions, regardless of whether those students belong to the TA's rosters.
Teacher (TE)
A CAI system user role, typically one that is associated with one or more rosters.
Technology-Enhanced Items (TEIs)
Test items that take advantage of the computer-based environment to present interactions and elicit responses in ways that may not be possible on a paper-based test.
Test
An online or paper form consisting of one or more items that assess a student's skills or area of knowledge. Also known as an assessment.
Test Administration Certification Course (TA Certification Course)
A certification course offered to potential test administrators in order to prepare them for use of CAI's Test Delivery System.
Test Administration Site (TA Site)
A component of CAI's Test Delivery System used by test administrators to proctor online test sessions. Both practice and operational TA Sites exist. Also known as the TA Interface.
Test Administrator (TA)
A CAI system user role for an educator who may administer test sessions in TDS.
Test Delivery System (TDS)
A set of CAI systems used by educators to proctor online test sessions and by students to complete online assessments. TDS includes the TA Site, the Student Testing Site, and the Assessment Viewing Application.
Test Form
A compilation of one or more test items and/or tasks that comprise the full test.
Test Impropriety
Any action or violation, whether deliberate or accidental, that would invalidate a test. Also known as a testing incident.
Test Information and Distribution Engine (TIDE)
A CAI system that allows educators to manage user and student information. It is responsible for student registration, gathering of demographic data, and materials ordering.
Test Label
The name of an assessment as displayed in CAI systems.
Test Opportunity
An individual chance for a student to attempt a test. A test may allow for one or more opportunities per eligible student.
Test Presentation
The language in which a test is displayed to the student.
Test Reason
A category assigned to a test opportunity, which is used to categorize the test for reporting purposes. Test reasons can be assigned to test opportunities in TDS or the Reporting system.
Test Reason Manager
A feature in the Reporting system that allows users to set and modify the test reasons assigned to test opportunities.
Test Segment
A section of a test. Tests may be divided into multiple segments based on the skills measured, types of tasks, and/or tools available in that section.
Test Session
An event created by test administrators in the TA Site in which they select one or more tests and approve students to take those tests in the Student Testing Site.
Test Status Code Report
A report available in TIDE that displays all the non-participation codes for a test administration.
Test Ticket
A piece of paper that includes a student’s username for logging in to a test in TDS.
Test Timeout
When a student's test pauses automatically after a certain period of inactivity.
Test Window (TW)
The date range in which a particular test is available for administration to eligible students.
Testing Incident
A request to resolve a test impropriety (also known as a testing incident), which may interrupt the normal workflow of a test opportunity. Testing incident is created and processed in TIDE.
Text Drag and Drop
An item type that requires students to respond by dragging text elements into the blank spaces within a sentence or paragraph.
Text-to-Speech (TTS)
An embedded designated support or accommodation available in the Student Testing Site that reads aloud text content within a test.
Tiger Max Embosser
Accessibility software used to emboss PRN test items in a Braille test.
Tutorial
A tool within the Student Testing Site that plays a video demonstrating how students interact with a particular item type.
U
Ubuntu
A Linux distribution supported by CAI's Linux Secure Browser.
Uncontracted Braille
A version of Braille that uses cells of dots to represent individual letters, numbers, and symbols.
Universal Tools
Test modifications that are in use in most online assessment programs and that do not change the construct of the test, which is the general skill that the test is intended to assess. For example, the zoom tools available in the Student Testing Site do not change the construct of a test intended to assess writing skills, so they are considered universal tools.
User
An educator who is able to access and use a CAI system. Accounts for users can be created in TIDE.
User Role
In CAI systems, a role associated with a user's email address that determines which systems they may access and which permissions they have within that system.
W
Workgroup
A custom set of users in Checkpoint who regularly share item and test content with each other.
Writing Extended Response/Essay (WER)
An item type that requires students to respond by typing a long answer in a text box, such as an essay.