Alaska Computerized Formative Assessments

General FAQs:

Click on the question that best suits your needs.

  1. What is the CAL software?
  2. Who do we call if we have problems?

Practice Test & Tutorial Questions:

  1. How do I access the Practice Tests and Tutorials?
  2. Is it necessary that I use both the practice tests and tutorials?
  3. Will I get a score on the practice tests?
  4. Do I need to have a test session ticket for the practice tests?
  5. Are there Spanish practice tests?
  6. What do I need to access the tutorials?
  7. Why are the tutorials not working?
  8. Is there an audio version of the tutorials?
  9. How do I use Full Screen Mode?

CAL User Questions:

  1. How do I prepare students to take the Alaska Computerized Formative Assessments?
  2. How does the CAL TestBuilder work?
  3. Can I change my password?
  4. How do I enroll my students to take the ACFA?
  5. What username is used for the ACFA?
  6. How were the formative tests set up?
  7. Can only teachers see results from student tests?
  8. Why is it taking so long for my student to login into CAL?
  9. When my students try to login to CAL I am getting error messages.
  10. Visual display problems with the Reading test.
  11. What happens when Internet interruptions or any other system failure occurs and students are forced out of the test?

Answers:

 

General FAQs:

  1. What is the CAL software?
    • CAL is the software required to participate in the Alaska Computerized Formative Assessments. CAL is a java application that needs to be installed on each of the computers to be used for computerized testing in your school.
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  2. Who do we call if we have problems?

Practice Test & Tutorial Questions:

  1. How do I access the Practice Tests and Tutorials?
    • You must download the CAL software on any computer that will be used to take the CAL test. You can download the software at http://alaska.caltesting.org. Once you download and install the CAL software, you can run the application and access the tutorials from the "Tutorials" link in the "Welcome" page. You can also run the CAL Practice Tests by clicking on the "Practice Using the CAL Software" link.
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  2. Is it necessary that I use both the practice tests and tutorials?
    • All students and teachers must review the tutorials and CAL Practice Tests to help learn how to take a test with the CAL application.
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  3. Will I get a score on the practice tests?
    • No, the CAL Practice Tests should only be used to learn how to use the CAL test delivery engine.
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  4. Do I need to have a test session ticket for the practice tests?
    • No, you only need the CAL software and Internet connectivity. The CAL Practice Tests use a generic login that can be used as often as needed to practice.
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  5. Are there Spanish practice tests?
    • Spanish CAL Practice tests are not provided.
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  6. What do I need to access the tutorials?
    • You will need to have the CAL software downloaded on each machine that will run the tutorial. The tutorial can be accessed by opening the CAL application and clicking on the Tutorials link in the "Welcome" page. You will also need to have Internet connectivity. The CAL tutorials require 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 Player Download Center.
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  7. Why are the tutorials not working?
    • Lack of Internet connectivity and/or having an old version of the Flash player installed on your systems could be some of the reasons for your tutorials not to work properly. If you need help installing or upgrading your Flash Player, you can visit the Player Download Center
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  8. Is there an audio version of the tutorials?
    • Yes. When you run the tutorials you will be given an option to see an audio version of the tutorial.
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  9. 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.

    • Method 1 (PC or Mac)
    • This method describes how to view the tutorials in Full Screen mode while using the Opera browser. Opera is a web browser similar to Firefox and Internet Explorer. Using Opera is recommended for the largest viewable area while in Full Screen mode.
       
      1. Select View > Full screen from the Opera menu.


      2. To exit full screen mode,
        Find the very edge of the page and alt-click outside of the tutorial. The browser menu will have an option to leave full screen mode.


      3. If you have trouble switching modes, you can exit the browser completely:
        • To close the Opera browser, press ALT+F4 on PCs Quit Mac applications by pressing Command-Option-Q-Esc


    • Method 2 (PC only)
    • Use Internet Explorer's kiosk mode.
      To exit kiosk mode, press ALT+F4.
       
      1. Go to START > RUN


      2. Type the following:
        iexplore -k http://alaska.caltesting.org/tutorials/studentTutorials.html


      3. Click OK to open Internet Explorer kiosk mode.
      4. To close Internet Explorer kiosk mode, press ALT+F4
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CAL User Questions:

  1. How do I prepare students to take the Alaska Computerized Formative Assessments?
    • There are many tools available for you that your students should and MUST take advantage of to properly prepare them to test with CAL test delivery engine. A good guide to using these tools is listed in recommended order.
      1. Review the CAL TestBuilder Teacher Manual which can be downloaded at http://alaska.caltesting.org/documentation/documentation.html.
      2. Observe and interact with the tutorial (students and teachers) for your subject (mathematics and reading). Each content area tutorial serves all tested grades.
      3. Complete all (a MUST) practice tests for your appropriate subject (students and teachers). Each subject and grade level configuration has practice tests with one or two parts to experiment with and experience the CAL test delivery engine.
      4. Review as necessary.
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  2. How does the CAL TestBuilder work?
    • The CAL TestBuilder has three levels: District Administrator, Building Administrator, and Teacher. District and Building Administrators accounts are already provided. The Building Administrator is responsible for creating and maintaining Teacher accounts.
    • The teacher can add tests to their My Tests page, set up test administrations for a test, administer a formative test to their students using the CAL Test Delivery Engine (CAL_TDE_), and get results for their students.
    • For more specific information, you can download the CAL TestBuilder Administration Manual and CAL Teacher Manual at http://alaska.caltesting.org/documentation/documentation.html.
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  3. Can I change my password?
    • Yes, after you login you can change your username and password by using the link in the top right of the screen. If you forget your teacher password, please contact your Building Administrator. If you forget your building password, contact your District Administrator.
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  4. How do I enroll my students to take the ACFA?
    • Students are not enrolled to take the ACFA. Teachers use pre-constructed tests and set up test administrations for their classroom.
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  5. What username is used for the ACFA?
    • The username is a flexible field. The student will enter their name in this field, along with the password and session ID that was provided by the teacher. The teacher should instruct their students if they want students to enter their name in a specific way (i.e., last name, first name – Smith, John).
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  6. How were the formative tests set up?
    • Formative tests were constructed to provide coverage of Alaska Grade Level Expectations (GLEs). For reading, the formative tests include sets of items which linked to single reading passages. Six passages from among four text types (narrative, expository, technical and persuasive) and their respective collection of items are available at each grade level, 3-10. Each reading item is matched to an Alaska GLE and content strand area. For mathematics, test items are grouped measuring GLE's related to one of the six content strands: Numeration, Measurement, Estimation/Computation, Functions/Relations, Geometry, and Statistics/Probability. Specific information about responses to questions and their corresponding GLEs can be viewed in the Results after students test.
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  7. Can only teachers see results from student tests?
    • No, results will be able to seen by teacher and building, by both the Building Administrator and District Administrator.
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  8. Why is it taking so long for my student to login into CAL?
    • 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., 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 will not experience further delays.
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  9. When my students try to login to CAL I am getting error messages.
    "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 www.google.com. If your connection is good, try to access a CAL practice test. If you have the same results contact your technical staff to assist in determining if your CAL program is installed properly. Contact us if you continue to have problems logging into CAL!
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  10. Visual display problems with the Reading 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…
    • This issue has been observed with some old Windows 98 platforms and some older Macs. This problem is most likely related to old video cards and/or not enough memory in the computer. If you see this problem: 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 these particular problems.
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  11. What happens when Internet interruptions or any other system failure occurs and students are forced out of the test?
    • Once a student is "out of the system" (either by accident, loss of Internet connection, or exited unknowingly), the student will have 90 minutes to log back into the same test session without having to have his/her login reactivated. Past 90 minutes, or if the student properly ended the test session, you will need to have her/his password reactivated. Once reactivated, then the student can log back into the test and continue.
    • Check the CAL TestBuilder Teacher Manual available at http://alaska.caltesting.org for details on this process.
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