Alaska Compturized Formative Assessments

Documentation | General FAQs

Questions

Click on the question that best suits your needs.


Answers

General Answers

  1. What is the CAL software?
    • CAL is the software required to participate in the computerized testing.  CAL is a java application that needs to be installed on each of the computers to be used for computerized testing in your school.

  2. Who do I contact if I have problems?
    • For further assistance, your district representative may contact DRC's project team.

  3. Is the contact phone number listed a DRC or CAL number?
    • The number connects to DRC.  If there are technical questions that cannot be handled at DRC they will be routed to CAL.

  4. Are districts required to use the CAL software?
    • Districts will not be required to use the ACFA system.  However, the GLEs used for ACFA are aligned to the Alaska summative assessments.  In addition, any district that wants to participate in the pilot next spring for grades 4 and 8 will need to use ACFA this fall.

Student Tutorial & Practice Test Answers

  1. How do I access the Student Tutorials and Practice Tests?
    • The Student Tutorials may be accessed by clicking on “Tutorials”, then “Student Tutorials” from the ACFA Home Page.  To access the Practice Tests, you must download the CAL software on any computer that will be used to take the test.  You can download the software by clicking on "Downloads" from the ACFA Home Page.  Once you download and install the CAL software, you can run the test delivery engine and access the Practice Tests by clicking the "Practice Test" link on the "Welcome" Page.

  2. Is it necessary that I use both the Student Tutorials and Practice Tests?
    • All students and teachers must review the Student Tutorials and Practice Tests to help learn how to take a test with the CAL tools and software.

  3. Do I need to have a Test Session Ticket for the Practice Tests?
    • No, you only need the CAL software and Internet connectivity.  The Practice Tests use a generic login that can be used as often as needed to practice.

  4. What do I need to access the Student Tutorials?
    • You will need to have Internet connectivity and Flash version 7r63 or higher.  We recommend the most current version of Flash for best performance.  If you need to update your version of Flash, visit the Flash Player Download Center.

  5. Why are the Student Tutorials not working?
    • Lack of Internet connectivity and/or having an old version of the Flash player installed on your computer could be reasons your tutorials are not working properly.  If you need help installing or upgrading your Flash Player, you can visit the Flash Player Download Center.

  6. How do I use Full Screen mode?
    • For computers with a screen resolution of 800x600 pixels, or for browsers with several add-on toolbars, your browser's Full Screen mode will provide the largest possible area for viewing the tutorials.

      PC: Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox
      1. Press F11 to enter Full Screen
      2. To exit, click outside of the tutorial, then press F11:

        pic

      Mac: Use Opera
      1. Select View > Full screen from the Opera menu.
      2. To exit, control-click outside of the tutorial.  The browser menu will have an option to leave full screen mode:

        pic


CAL User Answers

  1. How do I prepare students for computerized testing?
    • There are many tools available to help properly prepare students to test with the CAL test delivery engine.  A good guide to using these tools is listed in recommended order.
      1. Review the Test Administration Manual which can be downloaded from the Documentation section.
      2. Observe and interact with the tutorial (students and teachers) for your grade and subject area.
      3. Complete a Practice Test for your grade and subject (students and teachers) to practice using the testing software.
      4. Review as necessary.

  2. How do I enroll my students for computerized testing?
    • Please read the administration manuals from the Documentation section for a detailed description of the student enrollment process.  Districts are responsible for adding/updating all student demographic information via the Management Tools.  These additions/updates can be made by working directly in Student Editor or by uploading a new Student Enrollment File (SEF).  Once the student information is in the Student Editor, students are eligible to participate in the computerized tests.
    • CAL utilizes a "Test Session Ticket" system that allows students to login to take a test.  School administrators are provided with Management Tools in which they will be able to login and print Test Session Tickets that need to be handed out to students before the test session begins.
    • Each student will be assigned a unique Test Session Ticket (username, password, and session id) for each test he/she is to take.  This ticket is valid for one login and once a student uses it he/she will not be able to login again (unless an administrator "reactivates" the ticket to allow the student to login again).

  3. Is there an audio version of the online test?
    • No, audio tests are not being offered.

  4. Why is it taking so long for my student to log into the online test?
    • This situation is not unusual if local bandwidth is limited.
    • When a student logs in, the entire test is downloaded to the local computer.  Some of the tests are relatively large (due to the many illustrations and charts) and it will take longer to download these tests.  To decrease the amount of time to login, stagger your students by a few seconds (i.e., have 10 students login, then direct another 10 students to login after 20 seconds, etc.).  This will help speed things along.  Once students start taking the test, they should not experience further delays.

  5. Why am I getting an error message when my students try to log into the online test?
    • "Unable to connect to the central server.  Please check your Internet connection.  Contact your teacher or test administrator."
    • "Your internet connection has been lost.  Contact your teacher or test administrator to reactivate your password for this part of the test."
    • "A system error has occurred.  Contact your teacher or test administrator."
    • "A system error has occurred.  Contact your teacher or test administrator to reactivate your password for this part of the test."
    • There could be multiple reasons for these errors to occur;  the primary one being the loss of Internet connectivity.  To test your Internet connectivity, try to access a site such as Google.  If your connection is good, try to access a Practice Test.  If you have the same results, contact your Technology Coordinator to assist in determining if your CAL software is installed properly. 

  6. Why am I experiencing visual display problems with the test?
    • Some text seems to be cut off
    • Text seems to be missing
    • The text seems to run off the screen (word wrap)
    • The tools or the screen seems to blur
    • Typos wherein words appear joined (e.g., "appearjoined")
    • One or more of the tools do not work or stop working
    • The computer will not take an answer when selected
    • These issues have been observed with some old Windows 98 platforms and some older Macs.  These problems are most likely related to old video cards and/or not enough memory in the computer.  If you see any of these problems:
      1. Have your student log off the test, reboot the machine, reactivate the student login, and have your student log back into the test;  if this is not successful, then
      2. Have your student log off the test, and increase the color resolution on your monitor before continuing.
      These actions usually correct the problems listed above.

  7. What happens when Internet interruptions or any other system failure occurs and students are forced out of the test?
    • Check the Test Administration Manual available in the Documentation section for details on the reactivation process.

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