Resource

No. This is done by either a DA, DC, or SC user role, prior to the administration of an Interim or Summative Assessment.

The DA, DC, or SC.

Any time prior to student testing in the administration of an Interim and/or Summative Assessment.

Not for the training and practice test, but accommodations need to be set prior to a student taking the Interim assessments.

Universal tools are access features of the assessment that are either provided as digitally-delivered components of the test administration system or separate from it. Universal tools are available to all students based on student preference and selection. The Smarter Balanced digitally-delivered assessments include a wide array of embedded universal tools. These are available to all students as part of the technology platform. Some universal tools may need to be provided outside of the computer test administration system (non-embedded).

Designated supports for the Smarter Balanced assessments are those features that are available for use by any student for whom the need has been indicated by an educator (or team of educators with parent/guardian and student). Designated supports need to be identified prior to assessment administration. Embedded and non-embedded supports must be entered into the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE). Any non-embedded designated supports must be acquired prior to testing.

Accommodations are changes in procedures or materials that increase equitable access during the Smarter Balanced assessments. Assessment accommodations generate valid assessment results for students who need them; they allow these students to show what they know and can do. Smarter Balanced states have identified digitally-embedded and non-embedded accommodations for students for whom there is documentation of the need for the accommodations on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 accommodation plan. Determination of which accommodations an individual student will have available for the assessment is necessary because these accommodations must be made available before the assessment, either by entering information into the TIDE, for embedded accommodations, or by ensuring that the materials or setting are available for the assessment for non-embedded accommodations.

PLEASE NOTE: Any adjustments to the default of regular test Universal Tools (if you’re going to the next level of Designated Supports or Accommodations) must be entered into the TIDE system ahead of signing in for the test. A Teacher/Test Administrator (TA) will not have the credentials to change settings in TIDE – this needs to be done by a School Test Coordinator (SC), District Test Coordinator (DC), or District Administrator (DA) so it should be done ahead of time.

There are two ways a eligible student may access the STT accommodation. 

1.  The student may use one of the approved third-party applications listed in the Assistive Technology Manual via permissive mode. The Assistive Technology Manual is available on the Idaho Portal Resources page.  

2.  The embedded STT accommodation will be available in TIDE and the test delivery system starting on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. The embedded STT is supported by Google and functions much like the STT a student would use in Google.

Print On Demand is an Accommodation for students with a documented disability in an IEP or 504. Print On Demand is an accommodation available for all students and shows in the toolbar on every assessment. For those students needing a paper copy of the test, the help desk must be contacted by the school or district coordinator to place an order for the student. A very small percentage of students should need this accommodation.