PARCC Technology Bulletin

PARCC Technology Bulletin - Hot Topics Quick Guide
March 17, 2015
The following communication was developed to help school and district Technology Coordinators prepare for and
administer the PARCC assessments. Weekly technology updates will include technology information, implementation
resources, hot topics, and troubleshooting guidance. Previous Technology Bulletins are stored at
http://parcc.pearson.com/bulletins/. The next communication is tentatively scheduled for March 24, 2015.
PARCC Help Forums
Pearson is offering multiple PARCC Help Forums to cover important topics and provide an opportunity for live Q&A.
Please register for any of the PARCC Help Webinars listed below if you wish to learn more. If registration fills up,
Pearson will look at offering additional sessions in future weeks.
Personal Needs Profile Management and Guidance
o Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at 1:30pm Central Time (Duration, 90 minutes)
o Registration URL: Click here
Finding Students and Managing Student Tests
o Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 1:30pm Central Time (Duration, 90 minutes)
o Registration URL: Click here
Commonly Reported Feedback, Questions, and Issues
TestNav Feedback/Common Issues
Reported
Text-to-Speech button not appearing after
login, or an accommodation is not present
TestNav App (Error 2008) – Device is running
out of memory
New- Student cannot get logged back into
TestNav after being resumed (Error 3082)
Java 8 Update 40
Resolution/Status
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: This issue is caused by
either an incorrect PNP configuration for the student, or an updated
PNP configuration that was completed without following the
appropriate PNP update process. Additional Personal Needs Profile
Guidance for this issue and similar issues can be found here:
http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#7427.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: If a device is used by
students for instruction or other purposes, it is good practice to
restart the devices prior to testing to ensure that there are no apps
running in the background and taking up needed memory.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Pearson is
investigating the root cause of Error 3082. After receiving Error 3082
the student may only see a screen that says “Loading” when
attempting to log back into TestNav. Please contact PARCC Support
and escalate the request to Level 2 Technology Support for resolution.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Oracle recently
released Java 8 Update 40. This update is not required or forced.
Pearson recommends that schools do not install this update during
the spring administrations.
PARCC Technology Bulletin – Hot Topics Quick Guide
Ctrl+Alt+Del, and other system commands
(Error 3005)
Proctor Caching (Error 8026)
Issues Launching TestNav
Videos do not play
No sound can be heard on the video
Questions with blue highlighting
Difficulty using Equation Editor
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Some system
commands and background processes cannot be disabled or ignored
by TestNav. Commands such as Ctrl+Alt+Del and Windows Key+L, or
background processes such as Sticky Keys, Automatic Updates, and
Sleep Mode, can interrupt testing with a 3005 error code. It is best to
disable these processes prior to testing, and to avoid using system
commands while students are logged into secure tests.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: The 8026 error
indicates that the student testing machine does not have connection
to the proctor caching machine. Some possible resolutions are:
 Verify the proctor caching machine is on and that the service
is running.
 Verify the TestNav Configuration in PearsonAccessnext has the
correct IP address and port.
 Verify both ports 4480 and 4481 are open on any firewalls or
content filters between the student device and the proctor
caching machine.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: On desktop and laptop
devices, this is commonly caused by the Java plug-in being blocked,
pop-ups being blocked, or security settings for the browser. Setup
guides for Chrome Browser, Firefox Browser, Internet Explorer, and
Safari are available at parcc.pearson.com/technology-setup/.
On Chromebooks and iPads, verify that the TestNav App has been
updated with the version released on January 17, 2015 or newer.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Content filters that
block certain file extensions (mp4 or webm) are a common cause of
this issue. Also verify in the item instructions that a video is definitely
in the item, sometimes there is only an audio file and no video
content is included.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Verify that the student
completed an audio check prior to logging into the test. Volume
cannot be adjusted after logging into TestNav. Also, not all videos
have sound. Check the directions within the item and directly above
the video, it will clearly state if no audio is on the video/slideshow.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Two types of questions
in English Language Arts assessments contain blue highlighting by
default, Text-Extraction and Text-Highlighting. Both of these question
types can be reviewed in the Online Student Tutorials for English
Language Arts at http://parcc.pearson.com/tutorial/.
Note: The Highlighter Tool is disabled on Text-Highlighting questions.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Equation Editor
Guides, Tutorials, and Blank Practice Items are available at
http://parcc.pearson.com/tutorial/
Directions provided in the Equation Editor Tutorials for each grade
have been helpful to students. Try to avoid using spaces in the middle
of an equation and utilize the arrow keys on the keyboard when
editing equations.
PARCC Technology Bulletin – Hot Topics Quick Guide
Difficulty using Drag-and-Drop
Firewall Exceptions and Content Filtering
PearsonAccessnext Feedback/Common
Issues Reported
New- Student status or progress is not
updating in PearsonAccessnext
Updated- Resume-Upload status is no longer
an option
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: In some cases, an
explanation of how the Drag-and-Drop items function can help: Click
and hold the desired dragger option and move it over the answer
bays. All answer bays will turn blue to indicate a dragger can be
placed there; when the dragger option is in position to be dropped
into the answer bay, the selected answer bay will change color to
gray.
URLs and ports to whitelist are included in the “Firewall/Proxy
Servers/Content Filtering” section of the TestNav 8.2 Requirements.
Resolution/Status
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: Test Administrators
have reported that in some cases the student’s status or testing
progress is not updating in real-time on the Students in Sessions
screen in PearsonAccessnext. An enhancement has been pushed out to
resolve the issue. Current troubleshooting steps are to view individual
sessions when checking a student’s status and to use the “Refresh”
button in Students In Sessions to get the most updated information.
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: In a recent update to
PearsonAccessnext, the Resume-Upload option was removed from the
default options on the Students In Sessions screen. The Resume
function will now always attempt to locate a student response file to
upload from the Primary and Secondary Save Locations.
To manually browse for an SRF file, a student can still be placed into a
Resume-Upload status by resuming a student who is already in a
Resumed status, or by clicking on the status options for a student in
Resumed status.
Updating PNP information after test sessions
are created
Precache By Test (Difficulty caching all tests
at the same time)
Recommended process/troubleshooting steps: When updating PNP
information after test sessions have already been created, follow the
directions in the Personal Needs Profile Guidance document, located
here: http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#7427
Resolution In-Progress: An issue has been identified when trying to
cache all tests at the same time using the new “Precache By Test”
feature under the Setup menu. Until the issue is resolved, the current
recommendation is to only cache up to 6 tests at the same time when
using this feature.
PARCC Technology Bulletin – Hot Topics Quick Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What resources are available?
Technical User Guides, and Training Modules are the best sources for information.
PARCC Resource Home Page: http://parcc.pearson.com/
Infrastructure Guide:
http://parcc.pearson.com/resources/PARCC%20Infrastructure%20Readiness%20Guide.pdf
PARCC Manuals: http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#news
PARCC Web-based Training Modules: https://parcc.tms.pearson.com/
Map to Technology Guides: http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#7204
Setup Guides for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and the TestNav App:
http://parcc.pearson.com/technology-setup/ (Technical User Guides)
TestNav Expected Behaviors: http://parcc.pearson.com/technology-setup/ (Technical User Guides)
What are the technical requirements and where are the setup instructions?
The TestNav 8 system requirements, system check, and the technology setup instructions are all available below:
System Requirements: https://support.assessment.pearson.com/x/BwACAQ
System Check: http://systemcheck.parcc.testnav.com/
Technology Setup: https://support.assessment.pearson.com/x/GgACAQ
PARCC Support Center
 If you have questions regarding the administration of the PARCC assessments, please contact Pearson’s PARCC
Support Center: 1-888-493-9888 (open Monday through Friday, 5:00am to 7:00pm CT) or
PARCC@support.pearson.com.
 For state policy questions, please contact your state PARCC contact.
PARCC Technology Bulletin – Hot Topics Quick Guide