Starting a Test Session

When you log in to the TA Site, the Test Administrator Dashboard opens to the Active Sessions tab. To navigate back to the Test Administration Dashboard from another page, select Back to Dashboard from the user menu in the top right corner of the page.

To create a new test session:

1. To administer an all in-person test session to students in the classroom, select Start a New In Person Session Now.
To administer a remote test session, select Start a New Remote Session Now.

Note: If you wish to administer the test session to students in the classroom and to students at home at the same time, select Start a Remote Session. The audio and video features for remote testing will appear for all students in the session, even those taking the assessment in the classroom.

2.Optional: If the pop-up window for selecting an institution appears, select an institution and select Go.

3.The Select Tests tab opens. This tab allows you to select the required tests and start the session. Only the tests that you select will be available to students who join your session.

4.From the list of color-coded test categories, if available, select the test category from which you wish to include tests. This will display the tests or test groups available for that test category.

5.Optional: Expand a test group, if available, to view the constituent tests. All test groups and sub-groups appear collapsed by default and you may have to expand the test group to view individual tests.

To expand a test group, select (or Expand All).
To collapse an expanded test group, select (or Collapse All).
To expand or collapse all the groups within a test category simultaneously, select .

6.To select the tests you wish to administer, do one of the following:

To select individual tests, mark the checkbox for each test you want to include.
To select all the tests in a test group, mark the checkbox for that group.

Note: Once selected, tests are displayed under their respective test categories in the right-hand side panel of the Test Selection window. If viewing on a smaller screen, the test selection count is displayed at the bottom of the Test Selection window. To expand the selected tests section and view the selected tests, select .

7.If a test alert message appears when selecting a test, review the message. Then, select OK to close the pop-up window and proceed as necessary. Alert messages may appear if:

Adding summative or high-stakes tests in a session.
Selecting a stand-alone test, which is a test that can only be administered by itself, along with regular tests.

8.Optional: If you need to remove selected tests, do one of the following:

To remove an individual test, clear the checkbox for the test you wish to remove.
To remove all the selected tests, select Clear All.

9.To add tests from a different test category, if available, do the following:

a.Select Back at the bottom of the Test Selection window to return to the test categories view.

b.Repeat steps 5-8 to select the necessary tests.

10.Optional: You can also search for specific tests by their labels. To search for a test:

a.Select in the upper-right corner to bring up the search panel.

b.In the Search Term field, enter the full or partial test label and select Go. The tests matching the entered label will be displayed. Note, the search term must be at least three characters long.

c.To close the search panel, select Close at the bottom of the panel.

Note: If you perform a search after applying filters, searches are restricted to only the tests that match the selected filters.

11.Select Start Session. The exact label for this button may vary depending on whether you are starting a practice or operational session. The button becomes active after you have selected a test.

12.Do one of the following:

If administering an in-person test session, the Session ID appears on the TA Site. Provide the Session ID to your students.
If administering a remote session, the Session Information pop-up window appears. This pop-up window provides the session ID and link that you need to share with remote students so students can join the session. Students using supported web browsers like Chrome can select the link to be taken to the testing website with the session ID pre-filled for them. However, students using the Secure Browser will need to enter the session ID when signing in. Select Close to close the Session Information pop-up window. You can reopen the Session Information pop-up window by selecting Share Link in the banner at the top of the TA Site.

13.Once students have been approved to join the session, they can begin taking the test.

Note: If the session is a remote session, a pop-up window appears in the TA Site, requesting access to your speaker, microphone, and camera as necessary. Check the I agree checkbox and select Allow. A pop-up window may also appear in your web browser, requesting access to your webcam and microphone. Select Allow. If you do not select Allow, students taking the test will be unable to hear or see you during the session.

Add Tests to an Ongoing Test Session

To add tests to an test session that is in progress:

1.At the top of the TA Site, click Select Tests.

2.In the Select Tests tab, mark the checkbox for the required test and click Add to Session in the lower-left corner.

3.In the confirmation message that appears, verify that you want to add the selected tests to the session.

Note: You cannot remove tests from an active session.