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CASAS Testing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 27, 2020, OCTAE released guidance on administration of NRS-approved tests during the COVID-19 outbreak.

CASAS will be adding a field in TOPSpro Enterprise to indicate students who were not tested due to an inability to conduct in-person testing due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

CASAS is actively exploring the feasibility of several options that may be possible for remote pre- and post-testing of CASAS standardized tests used in WIOA programs. We will communicate with you as we learn more.

In the meantime, programs are not permitted to do any remote CASAS testing. A proctor must be physically present to administer all CASAS tests.

Excerpt from Program Memorandum OCTAE 20-30 published on March 27, 2020:

Q7. What flexibilities will OCTAE allow in terms of assessment, as it relates to education practices? Will States be given the option to conduct virtual pre/post-assessment testing?

OCTAE recognizes that local programs may not be able to conduct in-person testing of students enrolled in distance learning programs during program closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. If local programs are unable to conduct in-person testing, States may be able to report measurable skill gains (MSG) using other measures available to AEFLA programs under the MSG indicator, such as credit completion or high school completion. The inability to test distance learning students may adversely impact the number of MSGs a State would report in the NRS. States that are experiencing declines in testing rates should put procedures in place to identify students who were not tested due to an inability to conduct in-person testing, so that the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak can be appropriately tracked.

Additionally, States may choose to develop procedures to implement virtual test proctoring. States that choose to use this flexibility must have procedures to ensure that (1) the student who is testing can be properly identified, (2) any approved test (i.e., any test determined suitable for use in the NRS) that is used is properly secured, and (3) the virtual proctor can properly administer the test. Test security measures would require that only secure electronic versions of a test are administered by a virtual proctor and are deemed secure by the test publisher.

See full memo:
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/octae-program-memo-20-3.pdf

3/27/2020

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