Braille Interface of OAKS Online - May 2011 Proof of Concept

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Home > Testing - Student Assessment > Assessment Administration > Braille Interface of OAKS Online > Braille Interface of OAKS Online - May 2011 Proof of Concept

May 2011 Proof of Concept

During the week of May 23 through May 26, 2011, ODE collaborated with its test vendor American Institutes for Research (AIR), teachers for the visually impaired, other partners, and students who use Braille in districts around Oregon to conduct a small-scale proof-of-concept pilot of the new Braille interface of OAKS Online. Eleven students from eight districts participated in this pilot. Each student had the opportunity to take a short sample test online and provide feedback on the experience. ODE and its partners are using this feedback to make final adjustments to the Braille interface before it becomes available for all Oregon students who use Braille on November 8, 2011.

Purpose of Pilot Test: The purpose of the pilot test was to ensure that students are able to successfully access and navigate through OAKS Online using the Braille interface and supporting Braille technologies. The pilot test evaluated:

Students’ ability to access, navigate through, and enter responses on the test
Students’ comfort using the supporting Braille technologies used to access the test
The functioning of the supporting Braille technologies in an assessment setting
Training needs for both students and teachers for the visually impaired

Pilot Test Composition: Each student who participated in the pilot test was presented with an eight-item practice test in one of the following content areas: Reading, Math, Science, and Social Sciences. Each practice test included a combination of text-based items and items that included a spatial component such as a table or graph. For each content area, the intent was to include a representation of the types of test items a student might encounter on the operational assessment.

Pilot Test Participation: Eleven students from grades 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and high school participated in the pilot test. These students represented over a third of all students who took the operational OAKS assessments in Braille format in 2010-11. ODE’s goal was to include students with a range of Braille skills.

Pilot Test Results:

Student Interviews. Interviews with students completed at the end of each pilot test administration indicated that the students were very comfortable with the test format and supporting Braille technologies. Many of the students commented that the online test seemed to go faster and was more fun to take than the paper-based Braille tests. Several students also expressed excitement at getting to have multiple opportunities to test with their peers.
Survey of Teachers for the Visually Impaired . In an online survey administered after the pilot, the students’ teachers for the visually impaired (TVIs) identified that all students who participated in the pilot had at least some skills with using a computer keyboard and reading embossed Braille materials, and almost all of the students had at least some skills with using a screen reader and refreshable Braille display. Many TVIs commented that their students were able to quickly learn how to use the supporting Braille technologies to navigate through the test, and that the students appeared comfortable with the test format.

Feedback provided by the pilot participants also indicated to ODE those areas of additional training that will be most helpful to students, TVIs, and test administrators as they transition to the online Braille administration of the OAKS assessments.

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