February 18, 2010
Dear Parents/Guardians:
This letter is to inform you that the Texas Education Agency stated in the 2010 District and Campus Coordinator Manual (DCCM) for the Texas Student Assessment Program, “The use of cell phones during testing is not permitted for the following reasons.
• Making or receiving calls disrupts the testing environment by disturbing other students.
• Making or receiving calls could compromise the confidentiality of the test.
• The text messaging, camera features and internet capability of cell phones could be used to compromise the security and confidentiality of the test.” (DCCM p. 179)
The procedure set forth by Life School states that students will not be permitted to bring cell phones or other electronic media devices into the testing environment on state testing days.
Any student who brings a cell phone in the testing environment will be subject to the following:
1) If the test session has not started, the student will be required to check in the cell phone to the test administrator. The cell phone will be turned off, logged in, secured and returned at the end of the day.
2) If the test session is in progress, the student’s test may be invalidated, even if the student’s test document has already been submitted to the test administrator.
3) If the test session is in progress, further disciplinary actions may occur.
This procedure was developed to comply with the Texas Education Agency’s mandate and to help maintain and preserve the security and confidential integrity of the Texas Student Assessment Program (see Texas Education Code, Chapter 39, Subchapter B, for a further definition of the secure testing program).
Thank you for partnering with us to ensure valid test results and provide standard and equal testing opportunities for all students.
Sincerely,
Susan Boggs
Life School
District Test Coordinator
