Online Incident Report Form

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The online incident reporting process has been designed to provide district testing coordinators and/or their designees an easy and efficient means to report testing irregularities. Reporting requirements differ based on the severity of the confirmed or alleged violation(s); however, ALL testing irregularities must be reported through the submission of a Student Assessment Division online incident report form. The contents of reports and documentation submitted to TEA must clearly lay out the sequence of events and include the district’s determination in the matter. TEA may also require additional information, such as a Corrective Action Plan, or require certain documentation to be maintained at the district level.

Incidents resulting in a deviation from documented testing procedures are defined as testing irregularities and are viewed by TEA as falling in one of two categories—procedural and serious. Procedural irregularities are less severe and more common and are typically the result of minor deviations in testing procedures. Serious irregularities constitute severe violations of test security and/or confidentiality and can result in the individual(s) responsible being referred to the TEA Educator Certification and Standards Division for consideration of disciplinary action (including suspension or termination of educator certification credentials). Examples of serious irregularities involve, but are not limited to, the following behaviors:

  • directly or indirectly assisting students with responses to test questions
  • tampering with student responses
  • falsifying TELPAS holistic ratings or STAAR Alternate student performance data
  • viewing secure test content or STAAR Alternate performance data during, or after an assessment (unless specifically authorized to do so by the procedures outlined in the test administration materials)
  • discussing secure test content, student responses, or student performance
  • scoring student tests, either formally or informally
  • duplicating, recording, or capturing electronically secure test content without permission from TEA

  Reporting Serious Irregularities

At a minimum, each of the following items must be completed and submitted by the district to fulfill the state’s requirements for reporting serious testing irregularities:

  1. an incident report submitted via the Online Incident Reporting Process
  2. typed and signed statement(s) from the individual(s) involved
  3. a district determination in the matter

To complete the process of reporting a serious irregularity, districts must provide all the required information in the online form in addition to submitting the required supporting documentation. Users will be provided with an opportunity to attach supporting documentation so all submission requirements can be fulfilled at one time. If the district chooses not to use the attachment feature in the online form, all supporting documentation must be submitted by e-mail to testsecurity@tea.state.tx.us. Please make sure to reference the incident identification number that was provided upon the successful submission of the online incident report for any documentation submitted via e-mail.

If TEA determines that a Corrective Action Plan must be submitted, the following link to a form districts may use to fulfill this requirement is provided below.

Reporting Procedural Irregularities

The reporting process for procedural irregularities is more simplified and does not include the requirement to collect and submit supporting documentation or statements from all parties involved. District testing coordinators (or their designees) are still responsible for evaluating these kinds of errors so that they can provide an accurate summary of the incident when completing the online incident report form. The irregularity description should include:

  • a clear sequence of events
  • a determination of what happened, why it happened, and who is responsible
  • an explanation of how the error was discovered, addressed, remedied, or resolved
    • if the irregularity involved any examinee(s) gaining an unfair advantage on an assessment, include information regarding whether the district decided to score or invalidate the test(s)
  • an explanation of what, if any, local action was taken against educator(s) or student(s)

The district’s reporting obligation for procedural irregularities is fulfilled once the online submission has been completed. All reports should be submitted within 10 working days of the district testing coordinator being made aware of the incident.

To report a testing irregularity, click on the link below. Upon completion of the online form, submitters will receive confirmation that their report has been accepted, and an incident identification number will be issued for tracking purposes. If districts need to update or change information once a report has been submitted, they should contact the Student Assessment security team at 512-463-9536 and reference the incident identification number.

Click here to submit an online incident report (external link)

If you encounter difficulty using the online incident reporting system, please contact a member of the Security Task Force at 512-463-9536 for assistance.

For additional information, contact:

Student Assessment Division
1701 North Congress Avenue, Room 3-122A
Austin, Texas 78701 

512/463-9536
testsecurity@tea.state.tx.us

Page last modified on 4/9/2012.