Guide to Conducting Site Readiness and Certification

Guide to Conducting Site Readiness and Certification

 

The MCAS Portal includes a Site Readiness tool for schools and districts to assess their readiness for online testing via the MCAS Student Kiosk and to identify any potential technology-related issues before testing begins to ensure a smooth testing experience. The Site Readiness tool is used to verify that testing devices meet the minimum requirements and have been properly configured.

Step 1: Locate the Site Readiness credentials in the MCAS Portal 

1. Log in to the MCAS Portal with your username and password.
2. On the Portal home page, click Administration.

 

 

3. The Site Readiness account information appears at the bottom of the Administration home page.

 

 

4. Make a note of the username and password for the school, which you will use to log in to the MCAS Student Kiosk. 

Step 2: Close all conflicting software (Mandatory)

Note: This step is a temporary workaround to a software issue that has been reported to DESE.

1. To use the MCAS Student Kiosk, you must close Microsoft OneDrive. To do this, go to the bottom right corner of your taskbar and right-click on the OneDrive icon.

 

 

If the icon is not visible, click the carrot icon to display the hidden icons.If the OneDrive is not displayed, OneDrive is not currently running on the device so proceed to Step 3. If the icon is displayed, right-click on the OneDrive icon.

 

2. Right clicking the OneDrive icon will open a new window.  In that window, click Quit OneDrive.

 

 

Step 3: Conduct Site Readiness on every device configuration (typically 1-5 devices for each configuration, such as Dell, HP, etc.)

1. Launch the MCAS Student Kiosk on the device. 
2. Log in to the MCAS Student Kiosk with the Site Readiness username and password provided for the school (found in previous step). 

Important Note: Use the Site Readiness login credentials exclusively for the school only, and do not use the credentials for any other purposes. Do not use the Site Readiness credentials for any other school.

 

 

3. Verify your school’s name at the top of the page. Under System Set-Up Test, click Check System Set-Up to begin the test.

 

The screen resolution, host URL (mcas.cognia.org), and operating system for the device are listed at the top of the System Set-Up Test page. The System Set-Up Test consists of four parts: the Connection Capacity Test, the Connectivity Check, the Screen resolution check, and the Text-to-Speech check. The results of each test appear as soon as it is completed.

 

 

4. The Connection Capacity Test evaluates your site’s capacity for simultaneous test downloads. It provides the current download speed between the testing device and the testing servers (data center), and, based on that speed, it provides the maximum number of students that may simultaneously log in and download a test session.

If you plan to test more students concurrently than the recommended number of simultaneous test downloads, it is recommended that you divide the students into groups no greater than the number of recommended simultaneous test downloads and stagger each group’s test log in by 1–2 minutes. This will reduce the likelihood of interruption during sign in.

5. The Connectivity Check is designed to ensure the testing device has access to both the kiosk’s local storage folder, where student responses will be saved if the test device loses internet connectivity, and the testing servers.

• If the Connectivity Check fails with the following message:

“The connectivity check failed. Please check your read and write permissions to the storage folders and try again or contact Support for further assistance. Error Code: 6004 – StorageWriteFail”

• This means that the MCAS Student Kiosk does not have the proper permissions for the storage folder. The kiosk requires read, write, and modify permissions on Windows and Read & Write on Mac. 
• If the test fails for any reason other than “Error Code:6004 - StorageWriteFail,” contact the MCAS Service Center. 

6. The Screen resolution test will ensure that the testing device meets the required screen size and resolution for an optimal testing experience. If this test fails, adjust the screen resolution of the device. 
7. The Text-to-Speech test will ensure that this accommodation is operating as expected for students who have this accommodation. In the Text-to-Speech field, click Test Text-to-Speech to play a voice sample. 

 

 

• If you can hear the voice sample, click Yes.
• If you cannot hear the voice sample, click No, and fix your audio connection. You will need to verify that there is a voice package installed on your machine, that there is an audio playback device connected to the testing device (e.g., internal speakers, external speakers, headphones), the volume is not muted and is audible, and that the desired audio playback device is set as the default device.

8. When you are done, click Return to return to the Site Readiness page. 

• If all the system checks are successful, you are ready to begin the next Site Readiness test. 
• If one or more system checks fail, adjust your configuration as needed and re-run the System Set-Up test. 

 

 

9. When the System Set-Up test is completed, click the blue Check Student Interface button. 

 

You will first see a screen entitled “Options.” Verify that all functionality is correct before moving to the next screen, Check Student Interface Directions.

 

 

10. Confirm that you can effectively respond to a few questions. Click on and try out a few student tools, such as the Notepad and Line Reader, to make sure you can use them. To activate a tool, click on the tool in the tool bar and use it in the test interface.  On the constructed response question, ensure you can type in the response box.  
11. On the last test question page, click Finish. 
12. On the Test Review page, click Turn In to submit your test.  

 

 

13. To confirm, click Turn In again. You should return to the Site Readiness page where the test session is grayed out. 
14. To exit the Site Readiness tool, click Exit in the top right corner of the page.   

 

15. To close the MCAS Student Kiosk, click Exit at the bottom right corner of the student sign-in page. 

 

 

Step 4: Restart OneDrive

1. Click on the Start icon located in the lower left of your screen on the taskbar.

 

 

2. Type “OneDrive” in the search window and click on the OneDrive App. Once selected, OneDrive will launch and process the changes, as well as restore your access to the files saved on OneDrive.

 

Step 5: Site Certification

After all device configurations for your school have successfully completed Site Readiness, the technology coordinator will certify the site for testing. 

1. Log in to the MCAS Portal with your username and password. 
2. Click Administration. 
3. Click Site Readiness at the top of the page. 

 

 

4. On the Site Readiness page, locate the school to be certified, and then click View Details. 

 

 

5. On the Site Readiness Details page, verify that all the devices or device configurations for this location have successfully run the Site Readiness tool and meet the technology requirements. 
6. Click Certify Site Readiness and click Yes to confirm in the pop-up window. 

 

 

The Site Certification section updates with the date and time when the site was certified and the username of the user who certified the site for testing. 

 

 

District and school test coordinators can also view when the site was certified and who certified the site on the Site Readiness tab without having to click into the Site Readiness Details.  

 

 

This certification indicates to the district or school test coordinator that the technology coordinator has tested the devices at the site and ensured they are operating as expected and meet the technology requirements, acknowledging that the site is ready for testing. Once complete, technology coordinators should inform their school test coordinators.