Downloads:
Here you can download the software you need to set up your school labs to participate in the ACFA DRC/CAL testing. CAL is the test delivery software that students will use to take the Alaska Computerized Formative Assessments. This must be installed on every computer that will be used for ACFA testing.
There are two ways to set up your labs for ACFA:
Case 1: CAL testing on-line: This is the easiest way to configure your computers to participate in ACFA. In this case, all you need to do is download and install the CAL software on each of the computers that will be used for ACFA. Each end client system will directly interact with the CAL data center during a test session. Figure 1 shows how this scenario works.
Case 2: CAL testing with Local Caching Server (LCS): In this scenario, you will need to install the CAL software on each computer that will be used for ACFA. You will also need to install the LCS software on one of your school computers. Each computer needs to be configured to interact with the LCS. Figure 2 depicts how this scenario works.
Software Downloads:
Download CAL 4.1
Download LCS 2.0.1
Click here to view the CAL System Requirements
Which setup will best suit my school's needs? For many schools the simple set up without the LCS works fine. But for some schools that have limited bandwidth and need to test a large number of students simultaneously the LCS might be a good idea. Our experience shows that a school with a T1 connection should be able to test up to 150 students simultaneously without a LCS.
If you are not sure if you need to install the LCS, you can set up your lab without the LCS and if your students experience some long delays while loading their tests, you can then install the LCS and configure the end clients to work with the LCS.