Measuring the Power of Learning.™ Preparing Technology for 2015–16 Online Testing November 17, 2015 1–2 p.m. Presented by Michael McDaniel, ETS California

Measuring the Power of Learning.™

Preparing Technology forPreparing Technology for2015–16 Online Testing2015–16 Online Testing

November 17, 20151–2 p.m.

Presented byMichael McDaniel, ETS

California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP)


2Preparing Technology for 2015–16 Online Testing

Purpose

• The purpose of this Webcast is to review your local educational agency’s (LEA’s) technological resources to ensure they meet requirements for the online CAASPP assessments.



Agenda

• Preparing for Online Testing• Internet and Network Requirements• Hardware Requirements• Software Requirements• Secure Browser Installation• Mobile Secure Browsers• Questions


Preparing for Online Testing



Data Readiness

• California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) is the sole source for student demographic, enrollment, and program data for the student test registration system known as the Test Operations Management System (TOMS).

• All updates must be made in CALPADS. LEAs cannot update student demographic, enrollment, or program data in TOMS.



Data Readiness

• Student accommodations and designated supports are not collected in CALPADS, but the ability to set them in TOMS is validated through CALPADS data.

• Student accommodations and supports cannot be uploaded until CALPADS data are available in TOMS



Staff Coordination

• Planning the technology components for online testing requires close coordination and collaboration among:− LEA CAASPP coordinator(s)− CALPADS administrators− IT/LEA technology coordinators− Curriculum staff


Internet and Network Requirements



Network Configuration Settings• To ensure proper communication and optimal

performance:– Configure network firewalls and proxy servers to allow traffic to

the URLs, IP addresses, and ports without content filtering (see Appendix A of the Technical Specifications Manual).

– Give the URLs high priority settings if your network uses network traffic management techniques (e.g., traffic shaping, packet prioritization, Quality of Service).

– Configure Web proxy servers NOT to cache data from the test delivery system (TDS).

– Maintain a good bandwidth

• To avoid timeouts during tests: – Set session timeout values to be longer than the average

scheduled testing time.



Bandwidth Considerations• Number of students testing concurrently• Size of test content (number of items and average size

of each item)– Low bandwidth: selected-response items – High bandwidth: items with animations, audio clips,

or American Sign Language videos• Reduce other Internet-enabled applications that

compete for bandwidth (e.g., attendance, bell time, sending grades)

• Opening the secure browser and accessing a test for the first time consumes more bandwidth than accessing a test a subsequent time



Bandwidth Considerations

• Location where the secure browser is installed– Installing the secure browser locally on each testing

workstation is recommended. This avoids bandwidth competition that would occur if workstations access the browser from a network or shared drive.

• Wireless networking solutions• Load balancing– Wireless Access Points– Independent of overall network capabilities



Bandwidth Considerations• Average bandwidth used by the secure browser for

testing:

Number of Students Testing Concurrently in School/Building

Average Estimated Bandwidth Consumed

During Subsequent Startup of Secure Browser

Average Estimated Bandwidth Consumed

During Testing

1 8K bits/second 5–15K bits/second

50 400K bits/second250–750K bits/second

(0.25–0.75M bits/second)

100 800K bits/second500–1500K bits/second(0.5–1.5M bits/second)



Determining Bandwidth Requirements

• To determine a reasonable number of concurrent test sessions: – Consider bandwidth for both online testing and all other

non–testing-related Internet traffic.– Run a network diagnostic.

Bandwidth Checker is available on http://www.caaspp.org. Other network diagnostic tools are listed in the Technical

Specifications Manual.

– For wired networks, consider using switches instead of hubs.

– For Internet networks, consider the speed of the Internet Service Provider’s (ISP’s) router connection.



Network Configuration

• All communication with the TDS takes place over the following Internet port/protocol combinations:

– Make sure the above-mentioned ports are open.

Port/Protocol Purpose

80/tcp HTTP (initial connection only)

443/tcp HTTPS (secure connection)



Wireless Networking

• Recommendations on the optimal number of testing workstations per wireless connection:

802.11g Access Point 802.11n Access Point

802.11g Wireless Cards

20 workstations or devices


802.11n Wireless Cards



Mix of 802.11g and 802.11n Wireless

Cards


40–50 workstations or devices (depending on

the ratio of wireless cards used)



Wireless Networking

• A best practice is to maintain a ratio of wireless systems to wireless access points (WAPs) of no more than 20 to 1.– 15 to 1 for older WAPs• Wireless traffic should use WPA2/AES data

encryption.• Try out the Bandwidth Checker, available at

http://www.caaspp.org.


Hardware Requirements



Hardware Requirements• Desktops and Laptops

Supported Operating Systems

Minimum Requirementsfor Current Computers

Minimum Recommended Specifications

WindowsXP (Service Pack 3), Vista, 7, 8.0, 8.1, 10Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (thin client)

• Pentium 4 or newer processor that supports SSE2

• 512 MB of RAM• 200 MB hard drive free space

• Pentium 4 or newer processor that supports SSE2

• 2 GB+ RAM• 80 GB+ hard drive

Mac OS X10.5 (Intel)

• Intel x86 processor• 512 MB RAM• 200 MB hard drive free space

• 1 GHz or faster processor• 1 GB+ RAM• 80 GB+ hard drive

Mac OS X 10.6 - 10.10• Intel x86 processor• 512 MB RAM• 200 MB hard drive free space

• Pentium 4 or newer processor• 2 GB+ RAM• 80 GB+ hard drive

LinuxFedora 19–22openSUSE 13.1Red Hat Enterprise 6.5Ubuntu (LTS) 12.04, 14.04

• Intel x86 processor• 512 MB RAM• 200 MB hard drive free space• See required libraries/packages in

Technical Specifications Manual.

• Pentium 4 or newer processor 2 GB RAM

• 80 GB hard drive• See recommended libraries /

packages.



NComputing and Terminal Services

• Supported NComputing Solutions:

• Supported Terminal Servers:

Supported Server Host

Supported Server Software

Supported Terminals

Windows 2008 R2 vSpace Server 8 L300

Supported Terminal Servers Supported Terminals

Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012Any thin client that supports a

Windows server



Hardware Requirements• Mobile Operating Systems and Browsers

Operating System Supported Devices Browser for Student Sites

iOS (iPads)7.0, 7.18.0–8.2*9.x

iPad 2iPad 34th Generation (Retina Display)iPad AiriPad Air 2

AIRSecureTest Mobile Secure Browser

Android 4.3, 4.4, 5.0, 5.1

Google Nexus 10Motorola XoomSamsung Galaxy Note (2014 edition)Samsung Galaxy Tab (3 and 4)LearnPad Quarto


Chrome OS41–46

ChromebooksAIRSecureTest Kiosk Application

Windows8.0, 8.1, 10

Support for any tablet running 8.0, 8.1 Pro, and 10, but extensive testing has only been done on Surface Pro, Surface Pro 3, Asus Transformer, and Dell Venue.

Windows Secure Browser

*Users of iOS 9.0 and 9.1 will be required to update to iOS 9.2 upon formal approval of this operating system for testing. iOS 9.0 and 9.1 will not be supported for testing once 9.2 is released and approved for installation.



Hardware Requirements• Device displays

– 10″ diagonal display or larger (iPads with 9.5″ screens are acceptable)

– 1024 x 768 display resolution or better– Check monitor settings and brightness

• On-site printers – Print out test session information– Print test stimuli or items for students with the print-

on-demand accommodation.– Only the Test Administrator’s (TA’s) computer should

have access to a single local or network printer in the testing room.



Hardware Requirements• Headphones are required for each test station

– English language arts/literacy (ELA) tests– Text-to-speech accommodation– Job Access with Speech (JAWS) – USB headphones recommended – Microphones not required

• External keyboards required for tablets– Mechanical– Manual– Bluetooth-based – Avoid keyboards with additional “shortcut” buttons


Software Requirements



Software RequirementsSupported Operating Systems & Devices (Windows/Mac)



Software RequirementsSupported Operating Systems & Devices (Linux)



Software RequirementsSupported Operating Systems & Devices (Mobile Browsers)

Supported Operating Systems

Supported Devices Supported Secure Browser

Related Requirements

iOS (iPads)7.0, 7.18.0, 8.1, 8.2*9.x

iPad 2iPad 3 4th Generation (Retina Display)iPad AiriPad Air 2

AIRSecureTest Mobile Secure Browser 3.1

For iOS tablets running version 7.0 or later, either Guided Access or ASAM must be enabled.

Android4.3, 4.4, 5.0, 5.1

Google Nexus 10Motorola XoomSamsung Galaxy Note (2014 Edition)Samsung Galaxy Tab (3 and 4)LearnPad Quatro

AIRSecureTest Mobile Secure Browser 2.0

The secure browser keyboard must be enabled after installing the mobile secure browser.

Chrome OS41 - 46

Chromebooks AIRSecureTest kiosk application

Chromebooks must be in kiosk mode.

Windows8.0, 8.1, 10

AIR supports any tablet running Windows 8.0, 8.1 Pro, and 10, but has done extensive testing only on Surface Pro, Surface Pro 3, Asus Transformer, and Dell Venue.


Disable fast user switching.

*Users of iOS 9.0 and 9.1 will be required to update to iOS 9.2 upon formal approval of this operating system for testing. iOS 9.0 and 9.1 will not be supported for testing once 9.2 is released and approved for installation. 9.2 must be used for the summative exam.



Windows:•Nothing will be dropped this year.•Windows XP likely to sunset at the end of 2015–16.•Windows 10 support now available; Edge browser not yet supported for TA sites.

OSX:•10.4 or 10.5 Power PC machines will not be supported in 2015–16.•10.5 Intel machines are the only version of OSX supported that requires a special browser.•Planning to add support for OS 10.11.

Linux:•Discontinuing support for Fedora Core version 16 through 18.•Fedora Core 19 will be supported, but appropriate libraries must be installed.•Keeping support for Fedora Core 20 and adding support for Fedora Core 21.•Support discontinued for Ubuntu 10.04 (latest is 14.04 LTS).

Operating SystemsSummary of Changes — Desktop Operating System Support



New Security Measures for Windows 8:•New native solution for securing Windows 8 devices. Assist-X will be dropped in favor of that solution.

•New feature works similar to Assist-X with regard to closing all open applications when the browser is launched.

– Part of the browser, no separate install or service to run.

Linux Secure Browser Skipping a Version:•In 2014–15, Linux users were required to use Secure Browser 6.5. A 7.x version was never released due to time constraints.

•Version 8.1 of the Linux secure browser brings along a Firefox baseline upgrade from version 10 to version 30. All security and performance improvements will be available in this version.

Operating SystemsSummary of Changes — Desktop Operating System Support



Operating Systems

• Windows XP (Service Pack 3), Vista, 7, 8.0, and 8.1, 10 Server 2003, 2008 2012

• Mac 10.5 (Intel processors only)• Mac 10.6 -10.10• Linux Fedora 19–22, openSUSE 13.1, Red Hat 6.5,

and Ubuntu (LTS) 12.04, 14.04• Apple iOS 7.0, 7.1, 8.0-8.2, *9.x• Android 4.3.4–4.4, 5.0, 5.1• Chrome OS 41–46




Software Requirements

• Disable pop-up blockers.• Install Verdana font on Linux machines used for testing.• Disable Windows Fast User Switching.• Disable Spaces in Mission Control for Macs.• Enabled Single App Mode, Autonomous Single App

Mode, or Guided Access on iPads (Guided Access no longer recommended by Apple, in order to maintain appropriate assessment security).

• For Android tablets, change the keyboard to the AIRSecureTest.


Secure Browser Installation



What is the Secure Browser?

• Type of software that must be installed on each testing workstation

• Prevents students from accessing other computer or Internet applications during testing

• Different versions of the secure browser for different device types and operating systems– Link to secure browsers download Web page is on

http://www.caaspp.org



Secure Browsers Download Web Page



Secure Browser Installation: Desktops and Laptops

• One-by-one manual installation:– Download and install directly on each computer– Download and save onto a media device (i.e., flash

drive)– Download and save to a network folder



Secure Browser Installation: Desktops and Laptops

• Network installation or distribution:− Shared drive− Push the secure browser installation directory from the

network to client computers− Installation without administrator rights − Thin Client (Windows)− Terminal server− NComputing − Apple Remote Desktop (Mac OS X)



Secure Browser and Proxy Settings

• Secure browsers for Windows, Mac, and Linux are packaged with the proxy setting set to “auto-detect”

• The following proxy values are supported:– 0: Direct connection, no proxy– 1: Manual proxy configuration– 2: Proxy auto-configuration (PAC)– 4: Autodetect proxy settings – 5: System proxy settings (this is the default)



Secure Browser Notes

• Old secure browsers used need to be uninstalled before installing new ones.– Installing the new Windows secure browser will

uninstall previous versions automatically (in most cases).

• Mac secure browser installation: – Secure browser must be launched to successfully

complete the installation. – Disable Spaces in Mission Control (Mac 10.7–10.10).– Disable function keys on Mac computers and

keyboards.


Mobile Secure Browsers



Mobile Secure Browsers• Mobile Operating Systems and Browsers

Operating System Supported Devices* Browser for Student Sites

iOS (iPads)7.0, 7.18.0–8.29.x

iPad 2iPad 34th Generation (Retina Display)iPad AiriPad Air 2


Android 4.3, 4.4, 5.0, 5.1

Google Nexus 10Motorola XoomSamsung Galaxy Note (2014 edition)Samsung Galaxy Tab (3 and 4)LearnPad Quarto


Chrome OS41–46

ChromebooksAIRSecureTest Kiosk Application

Windows8.0, 8.1, 10

Support for any tablet running 8.0, 8.1 Pro, and 10, but extensive testing has only been done on Surface Pro, Surface Pro 3, Asus Transformer, and Dell Venue.





Secure Browser Installation: Mobile Devices

• Install on iPads via the Apple App Store• Install on Androids via the Google Play Store• Install on Chromebooks from the Chrome Web

Store



Secure Testing on Tablets

• iPads:– Single App Mode, Autonomous Single App Mode, or Guided

Access must be enabled and activated (Guided Access no longer recommended) iOS feature that allows users to restrict activity to a single

application Prevents screenshots

• Android tablets:– Secure browser keyboard must be selected before students

can access the logon page Default Android keyboard allows predictive text



Secure Testing on Chromebooks

• Chromebooks must use the secure kiosk application:– Using the AIRSecureTest kiosk application requires

Chromebooks to be run in kiosk mode.– Must be deployed onto managed Chromebooks via the

Chrome Management Console as a kiosk application rather than via a public session.

– Kiosk mode must be set prior to logging into the Chromebook.– The application has to be set up as a kiosk app via admin

management on the device, or from an account logged on with administrative authority.


QuestionsQuestions


Resources and SupportResources and Support



Resources

• Manuals to be available on the Instructions and Manuals Web page at http://www.caaspp.org/ administration/instructions:– Technical Specifications Manual for Online Testing– Secure Browser Installation Manual– System Specifications Manual

• Bandwidth Checker:– Linked on the Instructions and Manuals Web page



Help Desk Support

The California Technical Assistance Center (CalTAC) is there to support all LEA CAASPP coordinators!

Available Monday–Friday from 7 a.m.– 5 p.m. PTE-mail: [email protected]: 800-955-2954Web site: http://www.caaspp.org/

Documents

Measuring the Power of Learning.™ Preparing Technology for 2015–16 Online Testing November 17, 2015 1–2 p.m. Presented by Michael McDaniel, ETS California