Welcome to the Digital Accommodations
Overview for the SAT Suite of Assessments
This presentation will cover
the following topics ensuring that the
appropriate accommodations are requested,
approved and configured as needed for
students with documented disabilities.  A
brief overview of the AIR test
delivery applications.  An overview of
digital schools test coordinator and SSD
coordinator roles including assigned
user roles and permissions.  An
understanding of common accommodations
for digital testing in the SAT suite
with a description of the digital
accommodations and accessibility tools
including universal tool sets and
embedded versus non embedded
accommodations and supports. Next we will look at how to manage student test
settings in the AIR test information
distribution engine. We will review the
SSD online requirements and policy for
digital accommodations with a review of
digital alternatives to paper-based
accommodations and how paper testing
will be an accommodation request for
digital testing. We will review which
digital accommodations are allowed in
the standard room. Finally we will
discuss the need for pre-testing
students to ensure functionality with
assistive technologies and to help
students become more familiar with the
test environment. And, additional
resources and an appendix is provided
for reference. Testing accommodations for
students with documented disabilities
are available on all College Board exams
but Services for Students with
Disabilities (SSD) approves accommodations
for only some of them, such as:
CB approval required for SAT and PSAT 10.
Accommodations are approved by schools for PSAT 8/9.
Note once approved by the College Board accommodations can be used on all
of these exams. You don't have to make a
new request.
Therefore, if a student has a documented
disability IEP or  504 plan
it is best to start the approval process as early as possible to ensure that the student has the
required accommodation for any tests that they may take including SAT
and SAT Subject Tests, PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10 and AP exams.
Timeline: the request process can
take seven weeks and does not begin
until all required documentation is
received. If additional documentation is
required or if a request is resubmitted
approval can take seven more weeks. It is
recommended that all configurations in
the digital test platform be setup
at least 24  hours before test day.
AIR Test Delivery Applications.
All of AIR's applications are web-based and includes the Test Information Distribution Engine
aka
TIDE, which supports test coordinators throughout the testing process.
TIDE
includes features which allow test coordinators
to manage user and student
information, monitor test progress and
execute administrative functions. The
Test Administration or TA interface
allows Proctor's to administer and
monitor the student testing on test day.
The College Board or CB Secure Browser
or the student testing application is
used for the pre administration and
student testing. Schools must have the CB
secure browser installed on all test
taking computers before administration
activities can begin. Please note that
the expression student site, student
interface, student testing application
and secure browser are used synonymously.
Also, please be aware that states that
currently use an AIR secure browser
must also install the CB secure
browser in order to administer the SAT and PSAT tests.
Lastly, we have the
Digital Test Preview which allows both
students and staff the opportunity to
practice taking and administering
the digital test with all test day testing features.
The Digital Test Preview is a great
opportunity for students with
accommodations, with assistive technology to pre-test the functionality.
Links to all the applications will be available on the digital testing portal.
Access to TIDE, the TA interface and the CB secure browser or student testing application
requires login credentials, while the
digital test preview is publicly accessible.
User roles and Permissions
Each user has a role such as a district
level user or a test administrator level
user. Each role has an associated list of
permissions to access certain AIR
systems and features. Test coordinators
and SSD coordinators as users of the
applications have the system role of
digital administrator and can access the
test administration interface to
administer tests and the TIDE interface
to manage student information, student
test settings, manage rosters, monitor
test progress and print test tickets.
The proctor, as a user of the
applications have the same role of
proctor and can access the test
administration interface to administer
tests and the TIDE interface to view
student information student test
settings and rosters. Coming in spring
2019, a new rule for the EL coordinator
will be created with similar roles and
permissions as the SSD coordinator,
in order to manage and provide designated supports
for English learners.
Determining digital accommodations
follow similar considerations as any and
all accommodations through the SSD
online process. The accommodations that
schools request for students for the
SAT's suite of assessments should be
consistent with the accommodations they
use for taking assessments in school.
We recognize that some terminology used in the creation of an IEP or 504 plan may
differ from the College Board
nomenclature. Digital accommodations will
not appear in SSD online but the digital
alternatives will be accepted.
For example students who typically had
assessments administered with the MP3
audio format will be able to test
digitally with the text-to-speech accommodation.
Students who typically had
assessments administered with the ATC
format and/or the Braille format will be
able to test digitally with the
Assistive Technology test setting with
Braille figure supplements.  The school
can determine the best option in
consultation with the student and family.
Universal Tools, Digital Accommodations
and Non-Embedded Accommodations and Tools.
The digital embedded
accommodations are similar to the
accommodations provided for the paper
and pencil administration but simply
delivered through the testing platform.
The universal tools and accommodations
that are digitally delivered components
of the AIR tests delivery system
include embedded universal tools which
are available to all students based on
student preference and are provided as
digitally delivered components of the AIR
test delivery system.  Accommodations
are available for students for whom
there is a documentation of the need for
these accommodations and are provided
as digitally delivered components of the AIR test delivery system. Non-embedded
universal tools and accommodations are
delivered outside the testing
application. Non-embedded universal tools
which are available outside the test
delivery system and can include scratch
paper, bilingual glossary,
and translated
test directions for EL students,
handheld calculator for math calculator
section etc.
Non-embedded accommodations are available outside the test delivery system
and can include separate setting, scribe reader, paper Braille test forms, etc.
The various tools accommodations and supports include
universal tools not
requiring CB approval or configuration
in the testing application, including mark
for review, online calculator for the
math test calculator section, notes
highlighter, line reader, strike-through,
student clock, zoom in/zoom out.  The
digital accommodations that require
approval ,CB approved or State allowed,
and configuration in the testing
platform include assistive technology,
color contrast, font size, masking, mouse
pointer, streamline mode, text-to-speech
and four function calculator.  In addition
it will be necessary to document in the
TIDE system any non-embedded
accommodations and tools that will be
administered such as modified settings,
use of a reader, or scribe, handheld
calculator, translated test directions
word-to-word glossary, etc.  Embedded
universal tools. A list of universal tools
available in the test delivery system
include: calculator for math tests,
calculator only an embedded on-screen
digital calculator for calculator
allowed items that appears when students
click on the calculator button.
Note four-function calculator is available in the math test no calculator section for
students with prior approval. Context
menu, this menu allows a student to
access test directions and tools such as
a highlighter, strike-through and mark for review.
Expand button, a feature that
allows a student to expand a passage
section or the questions section for
easier readability.  Highlighter, a feature
for marking desired text items or
response options with a color.
Line reader, a feature that a student can use as a guide when reading text.
Mark for review,  a tool that allows the student to flag items for future review during the
assessment. Navigation buttons, buttons
that allow a student to move between
test pages either forward to the next
question or back to the previous question.
Notes, a feature that a student
can use as virtual scratch paper to make notes.
Questions drop-down list, a list
that allows a student to quickly navigate
to specific test questions that were marked for review display "marked" in this list.
Strike-through, a feature that a student may use
to eliminate those answer
choices that seemed incorrect.
Student clock, displays the amount of time
allowed for the test section.
Upon starting the test, the student clock
will begin to countdown. At 5 minutes remaining,
the student clock will turn red and provide a pop-up warning message.
Zoom in/zoom out, a feature that enlarges
the text and images on a test page.
Embedded Universal tools.
Images of the universal tools in the
navigation bar and the context menu are
provided, as an example of how students
engage with the student testing
applications. The images are from the
student Digital Test Preview and the
global menu may change based on the test
that you're taking. For example, the math
test may include a calculator and formula sheet
which you will not see on
the reading, writing and language or optional essay.
Types of College Board
Digital Accommodations
We begin with the category of accommodations that integrate with assistive technology.
The assistive technology or AT accommodation is the
digital version of the test, an
alternative to the ATC format, delivered
in the student testing application. It
enables the use of assistive technology
software and hardware, for example screen
readers refreshable Braille devices, etc.
Like the ATC format accommodation it
must be given with a hundred percent
extended time on the writing and
language section and standard time for
all other sections unless approved for
extended time. The permissive mode is a
test setting that is applicable for
students who use any pre-approved
hardware or software with a secure
browser. It is automatically set for
students with the AT accommodations. As
mentioned above, student receives time
and breaks in accordance to documented
need.  The next category for the types of
College Board digital accommodations is
the visual assistance tools, that include
color contrast, which displays the test
with a different background or font color.
All available options are listed
and examples are provided in the
appendix section. The mouse pointer
adjusts the mouse cursor to match color
and size preference in accordance to the
color contrast and font size accommodations.
All available options are
provided in the slide.  Additional visual
assistance tools, include: streamline
mode,  items are presented sequentially
without a split screen. For example, items
with passage sets will display the
passage above the items. This is
automatically set with the assistive
technology accommodation because the
typical behavior of screen readers is to
read from top to bottom and left to
right and this presentation style works
best. It is also required for zoom | font
size greater than level four.
The various zoom levels are presented. Keep in mind that they must be manually set in TIDE.
The zoom | font size
accommodation sets font size test
content presented in accordance to
documented need. It is the digital
alternative to large print. All available
options are listed. And the size and
comparable print size equivalencies are
provided in the appendix.
The next digital accommodation category is theauditory assistance tools,
which include the text to speech or TTS which allows parts of the test to be read
in the student testing platform. TTS is the
digital alternative to MP3 format.
In order for the TTS to be properly set you
must first select the on option and then
the TTS rule for how it should render
for each test section. Students receive
extended time and extra breaks based on
the TTS rule: read text only or read text
and graphics on all sections. The
text-to-speech rule determines which
parts of the test are read aloud with
options that include:
Read text only (default) -  student receives 50% extended
time.
Read text and graphics -  student receives 100% extended time.
Optimized for screen reader -  automatically set for assistive technology accommodation.
Another digital accommodation category
is the concentration assistance tools
which includes, masking, that allows
students to block off answer choices or
any parts of the test content. An example
of the masking tool is provided in the
next section on managing student test
settings in TIDE. Starting in fall 2018
a four function online calculator is
available for use on the math test-no
calculator section, with prior approval.
The last category of the digital
accommodations is the timing, which
includes many of the same options that
are available in SSD online with a few
additions: standard time (default) no
approval required. Standard time with
breaks, student will receive standard
time with breaks that may include extra
breaks, extended breaks, breaks as needed,
etc., approval required. 50% extended time,
students will receive 50% extended time
for all applicable sections with  approved extra breaks.
100% extended time, student will receive 100% extended time
for all applicable sections with approved extra breaks.
The following timing configurations are also available in the digital testing
platform but are not available options
in the SSD online process. 150 %
extended time, student will receive 150 %
extended time for all applicable
sections with approved extra breaks. Can
be requested in SSD online under the
greater than 100 % option with
documentation required. 200% extended
time, student will receive 200% extended
time for all applicable sections with approved extra breaks.
Can be requested an SSD online under the greater than 100% option with documentation required.
And the last option, Other with documentation, student will receive time and breaks
based on the documentation needed. Can be requested an SSD online
under the greater than 100% option with documentation required.
Note students must use the entire time for which they are approved.
Student will automatically be approved with extra breaks for any of the extended time configurations.
Managing Student Test Settings. Now that
we have completed the overview of the
digital accommodations the following
slides provide information about the
TIDE applications and how to manage test
settings. All student test settings information,
for example, extended time
TTS, etc. must be configured in TIDE
before test day to ensure student access
to the digital test.  TIDE synchronizes
with the secure browser and TA interface
to accurately reflect all student
information across all testing
applications. Some accessibility features
must be enabled before test day for
individual students testing with
accommodations. The test settings and
tools drop-down allows the test
coordinators and SSD coordinators to
view and edit accessibility features and
accommodations for students approved/
allowed to test with an accommodation.
The accommodation settings in TIDE
include all of the accommodation
categories we covered previously
including State or College Board
approved accommodations, Integration with Assistive Technology, Visual Assistance Tools,
Auditory Assistance Tools, Concentration Assistance Tools, Timing/ Scheduling Tools,
and General Testing tools.
Note there are three sets of attributes
in TIDE that can be configured at a
student level: accommodation type,
non-embedded accommodations, EL supports,  coming spring 2019, and accommodation test settings.
Please remember that for SAT
and PSAT 10 the accommodations should be requested and approved by SSD,
prior to entering the settings in the TIDE application.
When each section is fully
expanded you can view the available
options, including the student's
demographic information. The following
slides will provide further details for
each of the accommodations settings.
The TIDE system does not
currently have integration with SSD data.
Test coordinators and SSD coordinators
are instructed to identify whether any
of the accommodations and settings are
College Board approved or State allowed
and to specify if any of the
accommodations are non-embedded.
For example,  permission for food, medication, wheelchair accessibility, preferential seating,
sign language interpreter,
test directions,etc.
Accommodations for the SAT and PSAT 10 must be approved by the College Board
Services for Students with Disabilities. Student accommodations for the PSAT 8/9 are decided by
the students school and do not need to
be reviewed by the College Board.
Please note for state allowed accommodation, student test scores are not eligible to
be reported to colleges universities or
scholarship organizations.
For any  accommodations being administered that
are not listed in the accommodation
sections, such as modified settings,
reader, scribe, paper test books etc. test
coordinators or SSD coordinators should
select YES for non embedded accommodations.
This information was
previously covered but it bears
repeating as it is an important step in
the test settings process that should
not be overlooked. The assistive
technology when set to on, enables the
use of assistive technology software and
hardware including screen readers (JAWS,
NVDA, VoiceOver, Zoomtext etc.) refreshable Braille devices and other technology
designated to support individuals with
severe vision impairment or blindness. In
order to enable access to a computer the
AT accommodation when turned on will
include the relevant TTS accommodations
for example, On and Optimized for Screen
Reader and enabled for Permissive mode.
Test coordinators or SSD coordinators
will not have to set these tools when
the assistive technology is enabled for
each of the test sections. The permissive
mode allows students with screen readers
or other assistive technology to
integrate with the secure browser.
The visual assistance tools including color
contrast, mouse pointer, streamline mode
and zoom | font size can be allowed in the
standard room if no other accommodation is given.
That would require being placed
in a non-standard room. A screenshot of
the test setting category of the visual
assistance tool is presented to show how
to enable these accommodations.
TTS technology or speech synthesis
provides textual alternatives to written
text and non text content in digital
assessments. Verbalizations or audio
presentation of text can be useful to
students who are unable to access test
content due to visual disabilities.
For example, students who are blind or
visually impaired, or due to learning
disabilities, for example, students who have
difficulties decoding words in the
process of reading.
Text-to-speech (TTS) -  the TTS accommodation provides adelivery mechanism for audio
presentation for students not using a
screen reader.
TTS also allows the student
to control aspects of text delivery,
such as what is read and depending on the platform, the voice. Text-to-speech rules -
Read text only: this rule enables the
native screen reader software to read
the text on the screen and only the text
on graphics. It is intended for a variety
of student disabilities including visual
cognitive or print. Read text and
graphics: this rule enables the need of
screen reader software to read the text
on screen and the alternative text
descriptions for graphics.  It is intended
for a variety of student disabilities
including visual cognitive or print.
Optimized for Screen Readers: this rule
is only enabled for integration with the
assistive technology devices including
screen readers, for example JAWS, NVDA etc. and
refreshable Braille displays (RBDs).
to read the text on-screen and the
alternative text descriptions for
graphics. It is intended for students
with visual impairment who are using AT
devices. Refer to the AT Resource Guide
at digitaltesting.collegeboard.org for
required computer configuration for TTS.
The only concentration tool available in
the digital testing application is masking.
It can be used with items, options and/or passages. The timing/scheduling tool provides various timing
options based on the documented need.
Because of the variety of timing
requirements for various accommodations
the SAT, PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10 digital
accommodated testing manual provides
several different test administration
scripts that can be used with the timing
selections. Some important distinctions
will need to be noted when setting up
the various accommodated rooms, including: no self pacing,
students must sit  for the entire duration of extended time requested;
students approved for extended time for reading  must receive extended time on all sections of the test.
Students with various section timings, 
for example, extended time for math;
EL students with 50% extended time;
TTS rule based timing - 50% or 100% extended time;
should be placed in rooms that correspond to their specific  requirements and accommodations.
An embedded on-screen digital four function calculator is available  in the math test no calculator section.
Coordinators  should enable this tool for students who have received approval to use a four-function calculator
on section three math test no calculator.
Accommodated timing for TTS and assistive technology or AT accommodations.
For text-to-speech (TTS) accommodation for the SAT 50% or 100% extended time for TTS
tests over two days. For PSAT 8/9
50% or 100% extended time, testing must
occur on a single day. For PSAT 10, 50% or
100% extended time, testers can test over
two days with permission. For the
assistive technology students testing
with an AT accommodation should test
with standard time
with 100% extended time for the writing
and language section, unless they are
approved for an extended time
accommodation. Test administrators,
including Proctor's, SSD coordinators, etc.
will be selecting the timing option
designated for their room. Any students
that have a different timing setting
than what the room has been assigned
will not be allowed to enter the test
session. The TA interface will generate
an error message if a student's timing
settings do not match the timing settings on the test session.
If a student needs to change
rooms from standard to non-standard no
irregularity report (IR) is needed,  if the
student can be readily assigned to an
accommodated testing room that
corresponds to their accommodation.
Room changes must be made prior to the start of timed testing. If any student is moved
to another room after the test has begun
the proctor is instructed to report this
as an irregularity.  The digital proctor
clock is available in the TA interface
for standard time only. The digital
student clock is available in the
student interface for all timing
schedule variations. Students can hide or
unhide the clock by simply clicking on
it. This section provides information on
the digital alternatives to paper-based
accommodations. As a reminder schools
that are administering a digital test in
the SAT suite of assessments should test
all students in the digital mode. For
those students approved to test on
paper as an accommodation, those
accommodated materials will be provided
as ordered. Some possible guidelines/
considerations for SSD decision making:
If student is blind or has a significant
visual impairment and reads or is
learning to read Braille the student may
test with assistive technology (optimized
for screen reader) with Braille figure
supplement.
If a student has an identified reading based disability
that affects the students decoding fluency or
comprehension skills, the student may
test with the TTS (read text only)
or TTS (read text and graphics).
If student uses
text-to-speech audio books or receives a
read aloud accommodation during
instruction, the student may test
with TTS (read text only) or TTS (read text and graphics).
If student uses text-to-speech or receives a read aloud accommodation
during other  accountability assessments example PARCC, Smarter Balanced, etc.
or other class  or district-wide assessments
the student may test with TTS (read text only) or TTS (read text and graphics)
If someone (teacher, paraprofessional, another student, parent) regularly reads aloud to the student
in school as an instructional accommodation,  the student may test
with TTS (read text only)  or TTS (read text and graphics)
If there are no other accommodations or student test settings,  then students with
the digital alternatives including: zoom, color  contrast, magnifier tool, and larger font size,
and the other visual assistance and 
 concentration tools,
such as mouse pointer, streamline mode, and masking are  permitted to test in the digital standard rooms.
These tools are embedded  in the test delivery system. The zoom and magnifier tools don't require setup but
a bigger font size must be managed in TIDE.  Digital alternatives for non-standard testing rooms include:
for Braille the digital alternative is the
assistive technology with Braille figure
supplement;  for Braille graphs the
digital alternative is the assistive
technology with Braille figure
supplements;  for MP3 the digital
alternative is TTS;  for the ATC format
the digital alternative is the assistive
technology with Braille figure
supplements. Please note that these
digital accommodations require
management of student test settings and
tools in TIDE. Students testing with the
AT accommodation and using a screen
reader and/or refreshable Braille device
for the math sections can request pre-embossed tactical math  graphics
as supplementary materials.
These materials can be requested on SSD
online and ordered through the test
ordering system (TOS).
The digital testing portal. This site contains the most up-to-date information regarding digital
testing for the SAT, PSAT 8/9 and PSAT
10. We encourage you to visit the digital
testing portal at digitaltesting.collegeboard.org and practice giving  the test in the Digital Test Preview
and have students preview the digital test 
experience. Pre-testing AT devices:
assistive technology devices can be 
tested using the Digital Test Preview
through a secure browser as a method of determining if a device
works with the assessment. In addition, schools and  districts can use the Digital Test Preview through a secure browser
to evaluate devices to ensure their functions are consistent with those allowed
by the College Board Services
for Students with Disabilities (SSD).
If the digital accommodation supports within the digital test preview do not meet the
student testing needs the test
coordinator or SSD coordinator will
arrange for alternate accommodation
supports, such as paper test book, reader, etc.
The appendix that follows includes
helpful resources such as examples for TTS Rules,
Streamline Mode, Color Contrast Samples, Zoom | Font size print equivalents and Timing Charts.
Examples of the TTS rules, and the
alternative text descriptions are
provided. The read text only
accommodation renders the alternative
text short description or textual
equivalent for an image regardless of
where that text resides. The alternative
text short attribute is intended for a
variety of student disabilities
including visual cognitive or print.
The read text and graphics
and optimized for screen reader renders the
alternative text long description where
the equivalent alternative text short
cannot be presented succinctly and
therefore a long description is required
to convey the information. The long
description attribute is intended
primarily for screen reader users or
those who use the native speech
synthesizer but require the detailed
description to process the information.
In many instances, the descriptions are
similar, for example equations, expressions, etc.
because the information needed
should only include information that
provides context and not superfluous
visual features. In the streamline mode
the items are presented sequentially
without a split screen, for example, items
with passage sets will display the
passage above the items. This feature is
automatically set or enabled with the
assistive technology (AT) accommodation.
Streamline mode is required for Zoom |
Font size greater than level 4, for
optimum presentation; must be manually
selected in TIDE or turned on.
Example of the streamline mode with Zoom |font
size level 5 is presented to highlight
the need for the linear presentation of
the item passage set. Examples of the
streamline mode with the assistive
technology (AT) presentation is provided
to highlight the modifications included
for screen readers as compared to the
standard presentation. The AT
presentation includes on-screen text to
help visually impaired students to
interact with the content. Examples of
the various color contrast options
available in the digital testing
application are visually presented;  more
examples of the various color contrast
options available in the digital testing.
Font size equivalencies. This is a useful
guide for determining the digital
equivalent to the large print fonts.
Timing charts for the SAT, PSAT 8/9 and
PSAT 10. Please refer to each of the
respective digital accommodated manuals
for specific details including the
scripts as provided in the SAT Digital
Testing Accommodated Manual, PSAT 8/9
Digital Testing Accommodated Manual,
PSAT 10 Digital Testing Accommodated Manual.
We have come to the end of the presentation.
Thank you for joining the
digital accommodations overview.
Contact information is provided. I encourage you
to please review all the resources
provided on the digital testing portal
at digitaltesting.collegeboard.org
