Test Definition Maintenance

The sections that follow provide navigation and field-level information for the components comprising a Test Definition. This includes:

Identifying information for the Test Definition including security and teacher access.
Subtests which are the specific types of the main Test Definition that get administered to students.
Test-Tracking fields that allow you to track additional data related to the main Test Definition, such as test administration conditions, proctor, or time limits.
Student-Tracking fields which let you draw data from the student's eSchoolPlus records and display that information as part of the student's Test History record.
Subtest scores which are fields used to store test results received from a test processing center and loaded through the Test Score Import. Score data then gets downloaded in the Assessment Fact file and, when applicable, the Assessment Accommodation Modification fact file.

Test Definitions

Menu path: Select Administration from the main menu, select Test Scores Setup submenu, select Setup, and then select Test Definition.

The fields for the Test Definition form the top part of the Test Definition page. At this point, you are setting up identifying information for a major state assessment that gets administered to students through subtests, which might be tests within specific subject areas, as with Regents Examinations. Taking Regents as an example, you will have a Test Definition identifying the Regents Exams for a specific time of year (January, June, or August), and then the subtests would identify the various Regents subject tests.

Keep this in mind as you set up your own Test Definitions. The Test Definition level is a place where you identify a major category of state assessments. At the subtest level, you set up details for the tests students take within that major category. Following are descriptions of the Test Definition fields.

Field	Description
Test	Unique identifying code for the Test Definition. This is more of a major type of state assessment, like the January Regents Exams. At the subtest level, you identify the more specific test taken by students, like a Regents subject area. [Character/20]
Level	Level associated with the Test Definition, for instance a grade level, if applicable. If no level designation applies, you can repeat the Test code. [Character/10]
Form	Test form that applies to this record. It could identify a test version for a standardized test with more than one equivalent version or form, or it might be the school year when the test was administered if the test changes by year. [Character/10]
Test Key	System-assigned unique identifier for the Test Definition. This is generated only after you save the record. If you upload test scores, make sure the Upload Definition includes the Test Key value assigned for a particular test. Unless you specifically provide the Test Key to the testing company, the value will not be included in the test data you upload. When you define the upload for the Test Definition, you can specify Test Key as a literal value, or you can use fields in the upload file to return the Test Key from your database.
Description	Brief description for the Test Definition record. [Character/255]
Administrator Display	Checked if scores for this test should display in the Test Summary page (menu path: Select Test Scores from the main menu, select All submenu, select Student, and then select Test Summary.
Security Subpackage	Security subpackage associated with the security feature determining if a user has access to test information. The scores for the test only display on the Test Summary and the Student Test History Summary screens if the user has security for the selected feature.
Security Feature	Security feature determining if test scores for this test will display for a user. Scores only display on Test Summary and Student Test History Summary pages if the user has security for the selected feature.
Teacher Display	Select how information for the test displays for teachers in Teacher Access Center. None – Test information does not display in TAC. Read – Test information displays as read-only in TAC. Read/Write – Teachers can view, add, and update test information in TAC.
Substitute Display	Select how information for the test displays for substitute teachers in Teacher Access Center. None – Test information does not display in TAC for subs. Read – Test information displays as read-only in TAC for subs. Read/Write – Substitute teachers can view, add, and update test information in TAC.
PESC Code	Code developed by the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC) that corresponds to this test.
Building List	This only applies if the Teacher Display field is set for the Read/Write option. Choose the buildings for which test scores can be entered by teachers in TAC. All – Teachers can enter test scores regardless of building. Selected – Only teachers in the selected buildings can enter scores in TAC for this test. For example, if a test is only given to students in grade 3, you would select your elementary buildings so only teachers in those buildings could enter the scores.

Subtests

Menu path: Select Administration from the main menu, select Test Scores Setup submenu, select Setup, and then select Test Definition. Select the Subtests and Scores panel.

Subtests are the actual tests students take. They might be tests for a subject area or course that fall under the larger umbrella of the main Test Definition. Following are descriptions of the fields for subtest setup.

Field	Description
Subtest	Identifying code or name for the subtest. [Character/10]
Description	Brief description for the subtest. [Character/255]
Display Order	Order in which the subtest should display relative to other subtests for this Test Definition that share the same Test Key and Test Date. This affects how test results display in the Student Center and on reports.
State Code Equiv	This value needs to match the Test Code for the appropriate Test Definitions NY validation table record. Refer to the previous section on Test Definition Setup State Reporting Requirements for details.
PESC Code	Code developed by the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC) that corresponds to this subtest.
Display	Checked if this subtest should display on the Test Summary page for a student. The Administrator Display box also must be checked at the Test Definition level for the subtest to show. Additionally, if there is a security resource required to display the test, the subtest will only display for those who have the defined resource.
Score Information	This section lists the scores defined for the subtest. Once you save the initial subtest record, this number displays as a link to the Subtest Score Definition page. If scores are already defined for the subtest, the link opens the Define Subtest Scores page.

Test Tracking

Administration > Test Scores Setup > Setup > Test Definition > Test Tracking panel

The Test Tracking panel lets you define data elements and field values that apply to the test and all students taking the test. This could be anything from time allotted for each test section, to information about test conditions, to something as simple as the test proctor's name. The fields for setting up a Test Tracking data element are as follows.

Field	Description
Label	Field label to display for the test-tracking information to be stored. [Character/255]
Value	Value to store for the data element. [Character/255]
Order	Order where this field and value should display relative to other test-tracking information for this test.

Student Tracking

Menu path: Select Administration from the main menu, select Test Scores Setup submenu, select Setup, and then select Test Definition. Select the Student Tracking panel.

The Student Tracking panel lets you define additional data you want to track for each student in Test History. Note that this is student data other than age, grade, and test date enrollment building, which eSchoolPlus already tracks as part of a student's Test History records.

Field	Description
Source	Specify the source of the Student Tracking information. You can select a program-tracked field or the External Data option. To indicate a program-tracked value, you first choose the page where that value is stored using the Source field. The student's value at the time of the test date displays when you review Test History. If you select External Data, you can load data from the file you receive from the testing company or users can enter a value for the student on the Test History page. For example, if the testing information you receive includes the building and proctor for the test, you could set up external fields to store that information for the student. For a data element storing external data, a field displays on the Test History page where the user can enter up to 255 characters.
Program Field	If you used the Source field to indicate a student district-defined page, select the program-tracked field you want to track. In Test History, the student's program value displays as of the test date.
Code	Code identifying the external data you want to store for students for this test. The code is stored as part of the unique record key in the Student Tracking record. [Character/5]
Label	Label identifying the data element in Test History, Test Summary, and on the Test History report. [Character/255]

Subtest Scores

Menu path: Select Administration from the main menu, select Test Scores Setup submenu, select Setup, and then select Test Definition. Select the Subtests and Scores panel and then select the Score Information section.

Click Edit to view an existing score or click Add to create a new one

Scores are the slots where you store the student's results for a subtest. The data either can come from a file you receive from the testing company, or you can update scores through eSchoolPlus and Teacher Access Center.
To report student test information in the Assessment Fact file, you need a specific set of scores and associated State Code Equivalent values defined for each subtest. For the list, refer to Subtest Scores and State Code Equivalent values. Also, for scores tracking test accommodations, make sure the score fields are validated against the NY Accommodation Code table.

For complete subtest score setup field descriptions, please refer to the eSchoolPlus online help topic, Score Definition Detail.