SPECIAL PROGRAMS: HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY TESTING CENTERS

Tests shall be administered by authorized contracted testing centers under applicable state law and rules of the State Board of Education.

Entities eligible to serve as official computer-based testing centers include: an accredited school district; an institution of higher education; an education service center; a local workforce development board; a U.S. Department of Labor One-Stop Career Center; a U.S. Department of Labor Job Corps Center; a public or private correctional institution; a public or private technical institution or career preparation school; any other public or private postsecondary institution offering academic or technical education or vocational training under a certificate program or an associate degree program; and an independent, stand-alone testing center.

Entities eligible to serve as official paper-based testing centers include an accredited school district, an institution of higher education, an education service center, an entity approved to provide services under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, and a local workforce development board.

The appropriate official of an eligible entity desiring to provide the testing service to residents in the community must request approval from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to apply for authorization from the authorized testing organization. If the need for a testing center in the location exists, the appropriate entity official, in writing, shall inform the state administrator appointed by the commissioner of education that the establishment of an official testing center is requested at that particular entity. The contract to operate a center shall be between the applicant entity and the authorized testing organization and its partners.

19 TAC 89.41, .42(a)–(b), (e)

Test Materials

A testing center may administer the test by paper, computer, or both, as approved by the TEA, to eligible candidates. 19 TAC

89.42(g)

Paper-Based Test

In order for a testing center to administer a paper-based test, the testing center must certify in its application that it will make the following documentation available upon request by TEA:

1. A written description of the testing center management structure and how any instruction provided by the center will be separate from testing, including a certification that tests will be administered and/or proctored by an individual who has not

provided direct instruction to the test taker in the previous 12 months;

2. A written narrative and photographs that describe and show:

a. The building;

b. Distraction-free testing rooms;

c. A separate but attached registration and admission room;

d. Sufficient separation of testing space from classrooms used for instruction; and

e. Desk layout that includes partitions or sufficient spacing to separate test takers by at least five feet;

3. A written plan detailing how the testing center will ensure test security, including:

a. A secure area for staff to inventory test material and prepare documents for testing sessions;

b. Restricted access to administrator workstations, monitors, and printers;

c. A dedicated locked storage unit for secure test material in a locked room with access only to test administrators; and

d. A secure area for the shipping and receiving of all test materials, answer sheets, and related materials;

4. Written procedures for administering the test; and

5. A written detailed emergency plan.

A testing center that administers a paper-based test must provide to the test vendor for review written procedures for administering the test. In addition, the testing center must notify both the TEA and the test vendor in writing of testing center changes such as testing personnel, testing rooms, storage of secure documentation, the emergency plan, or any other change impacting operations.

19 TAC 89.42(c)–(d)

Examinees

Eligibility

Verification that any person being tested meets the eligibility requirements in 19 Administrative Code 89.43 will be provided according to procedures established by the TEA. 19 TAC 89.43(b)

Identification

Test centers shall require each examinee to present a driver's license or Texas Department of Public Safety identification card, or a government-issued identification card (both national and foreign), provided that the identification includes date of birth, photograph, address, and signature. The examinee must also meet the age, residency, and other requirements of 19 Administrative Code Chapter 89, Subchapter C. 19 TAC 89.44

Examinees with

Disabilities