E-

Testing
Guidelin
es and
Procedur
es for
Secondar
y School
Teachers
Acknowledgements

Roberta Phillip-Ghouralal – Instructional Designer

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Table of Contents

Purpose of the Manual.....................................................................................................................4

Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
What is an E-test?............................................................................................................................5
Benefits of E-Testing.......................................................................................................................5
What is Safe Examination Brower?.................................................................................................6
Procedures for Accessing the E-Testing Student Dashboard...........................................................7
Interruption of internet access........................................................................................................11
Instructions for Special Needs Candidates....................................................................................12
General Guidelines for Attempting an E-Test................................................................................12
Suggested Keyboarding Requirements..........................................................................................13
Overview of the Rapid Typing 5 Software....................................................................................13
Rapid Typing Interface..................................................................................................................14
Student Statistics........................................................................................................................15
Lesson Editor.............................................................................................................................16
Options Menu.............................................................................................................................17
Rapid Typing 5 Scope and Sequence.............................................................................................17
Rapid Typing Customization Tips.................................................................................................18
Rapid Typing 5 - Student Self-Study Plan.....................................................................................19

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Purpose of the Manual

The purpose of this manual is to provide teachers with information about e-testing. It is hoped

that teachers will use the “quick reference guide” and this procedural manual and PowerPoint

presentation to sensitize students about E-testing prior to the conduct of the May/June, 2020

examination.

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Introduction

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is offering an Electronic Testing option to

candidates across the region which began in January 2017 in some subjects with the Caribbean

Secondary Education Certification (CSEC®) Multiple Choice examinations.

What is an E-test?

Electronic testing, also referred to as computer-based testing, is a test conducted using a personal

computer or an equivalent electronic device.

Benefits of E-Testing

1. Improved Quality

Electronic testing brings improved validity to the test forms candidates are given. The use of

a variety of stimuli and response formats using different media adds to the authenticity of the

tests. Thus allowing for more accurate judgement being made about the candidate’s

competence.

2. It fits into candidates’ skill set

Today’s candidates are digital natives who know and live and breathe digital technology

every day. E-testing therefore is a natural fit as it leverages the skills that they are developing

on a daily basis. Candidates will be able to take advantage of their texting, typing, and

keyboarding skills as well as their general tech savviness with e-testing. They use electronic

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 devices regularly for social purposes. This is an opportunity to use those skills for

educational purposes.

3. It enhances the possibilities for disabled candidates accessing the examinations.

E-testing makes testing more accessible to candidates with disabilities than paper-based

testing. With the flexibility provided by the technology, screen readers can present text as

synthesized speech, prints can be magnified, and use of graphics and videos enhances the

authenticity of the test and provides for various ways of giving responses.

4. Candidates perform better

The research shows that candidates who use the electronic platform to take their tests

perform better than those who take the same tests using pen and paper. There are many

reasons attributed to this including reduction in transcription errors.

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What is Safe Examination Brower?

The Safe Exam Browser (SEB) must be installed on the computer prior to the examination. At

the School, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Teacher is responsible for

installing the SEB.

• Safe Exam Browser (SEB) is a browser designed to carry out online examinations safely.

The software changes any computer into a secure workstation.

• SEB prevents cheating by locking down access to resources on the computer such as other

websites and applications on the local storage for the duration of the examination.

• SEB facilitates a secure examination environment by preventing unauthorized access to other

sites and applications. Candidates taking CXC’s online examinations will be required to use a

SEB. The software will, normally, be pre-installed on the device provided at the examination

centre.

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Procedures for Accessing the E-Testing Student Dashboard

Step 1

Step 2

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Step 3

Step 4

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Step 5

Step 6

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Step 7

Note:

1. On the Confirm Delivery page, review any unanswered question by clicking on the

question.

2. Having reviewed you unanswered questions, select the last tab on the Footer Bar. This will

take you to your final response, where you will find the Deliver button displayed instead of

the Next Task option. You will then be invited to confirm that you are ready to submit your

work by going through the tasks outlined at items 3 and 4, again.

3. After you have confirmed your responses, select Submit Now

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Step 8

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Interruption of internet access

1. If you experience loss of Internet access, the Informational Offline Alert will be displayed:

2. If internet connection is not restored within a minute, the Critical Offline Alert will be

displayed.

3. The Supervisor or Invigilator at the centre will follow the appropriate procedures to ensure

that all candidates are able to submit their work. Once the required procedures are followed,

the candidates’ work will not be lost, even if the network or Internet goes down during the

examination or remains down until the end of the examination.

Instructions for Special Needs Candidates

1. Special needs such as additional time and use of Screen Readers, can be accommodated

during electronic examinations. Additional information for making Special Assessment

Arrangements is available by selecting the URL:

http://www.cxc.org/examinations/csec/students-with-special-needs/

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General Guidelines for Attempting an E-Test

Candidates should:

• read the instructions carefully

• read each question carefully

• remember that the examination will be timed and the remaining time will be displayed on the

screen; and pace themselves to ensure that they can complete the examination

• answer each question

• alert the Supervisor/Invigilator immediately of any problems which occur during the

examinations

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Suggested Keyboarding Requirements

Students should be able to type at a minimum of 25-30 words per minute. Rapid Typing 5 has

been pre-installed on all laptops distributed under the 5-Star initiative. Students' can also

download this software for use offline. Students can also utilize online typing tutors to

developing their keyboarding skills. Teachers can share the under-mentioned links with students:

 https://www.typingclub.com/

 https://www.typingstudy.com/

 https://www.keybr.com/

 https://www.typing.com/student/start

Overview of the Rapid Typing 5 Software

Rapid Typing 5.2 is a free program that will teach you the concept of touch typing as well as

correct hand and finger positions. It will furthermore help improve your speed and accuracy.

Rapid Typing is easy to use and delivers a great variation of exercises and drills to develop

muscle memory and to improve overall performance.

Being suitable for kids and adults alike, the exercises are categorized by difficulty grade,

whereas drills become more challenging when leveling up. This way everyone can start their

current skill level. You will also learn to type accurately and fast without looking at the

keyboard.

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Core features include:

 Beginner and expert courses

 Virtual keyboard layouts: Qwerty, Dvorak, Colemak

 Animations such as moving hands

 Create lessons with your own material

 Suitable for classroom use

 Home, top, bottom row and number pad exercises

 Progress tracking

 Online games

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Rapid Typing Interface

Student Options
Statistics Lesson Editor

Current
Lesson

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Student Statistics

To open the Student statistics section, choose the tab-button in the top-left corner of the
main window. The Student statistics screen will open as shown below:

The Student statistics window is composed of the following controls:

 Student accounts, this area consists of three parts:

o Student toolbar for adding, removing, inserting(import), saving(export) existing

student accounts and student groups and save student statistics in the different
formats: PDF, HTML, XML, CSV.

o Student accounts is the area for selecting the current student account or student
group.

o Property panel is the area where you can edit group or student properties of the
selected item in the Navigation Tree.

 Statistics Panel, this area consists of three parts:

o Statistics toolbar has buttons for choosing courses, removing selected statistics
and customizing the statistics display options.

o Course diagram show the common statistics for all lessons of the current course.

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 o Lesson diagrams show the statistics for each character or keystroke of the
selected lesson in the course diagram.

o Lesson statistics table show the full statistics of the selected lesson in the course
diagram.

 Characters used in the current lesson statistics are highlighted in red/black on the Virtual
keyboard.

Lesson Editor

To open Lesson Editor, click the tab-button in the top-left corner of the Main window. The
screen will appear as shown in the picture below:

The Lesson Editor window is composed of the following controls:

 Course and lesson list

o includes buttons: for adding, removing, inserting (import), and saving (export)
existing courses and lessons.

o Navigation Tree includes the current keyboard layout choose, current course,
section and lesson.

 Editing panel is the area where you can edit the course options or of the selected lesson
in the Navigation Tree.

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 Text analysis table displays the number and percentage of words, characters, spaces and
specific characters in the lesson.

 Virtual keyboard highlights the characters used in the selected lesson. Keyboard
language depends on the course language; you can choose it in the Keyboard layout.

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Options Menu

The options menu provides you with additional support and information about the software.

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Rapid Typing 5 Scope and Sequence

The Rapid Typing 5 scope and sequence outlines the five (5) levels available in the software

(introduction, beginner, experienced, advanced and testing). The Form level provides the teacher

with suggestions at which each level can be introduced into the curriculum. The automaticity

goal specifies the minimum words per minute (wpm) that the student should aim for at the

identified level. Students can utilize the self-study planner to monitor the development of their

keyboarding skills.

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 Rapid Typing 5 - Student Self-Study Plan
Introduction and Beginner

Level Automaticity Goal Level Automaticity Goal

Introduction Achieved (Y/N) Beginner Achieved (Y/N)
20 wpm 25 wpm
Introduction Lesson 1 & Shift Lesson 1 fjdk FJDK Beginner Lesson 1 & Shift Lesson 1 fjdk FJDK

Date completed Date completed

Introduction Lesson 2 & Shift Lesson 2 sla; S LA: Beginner Lesson 2 & Shift Lesson 2 sla; S LA:
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Lesson 3 & Shift Lesson 3 ghty GHTY Beginner Lesson 3 & Shift Lesson 3 ghty GHTY
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Lesson 4 & Shift Lesson 4 vmbn VMBN Beginner Lesson & Shift Lesson 4 vmbn VMBN
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Lesson 5 & Shift Lesson 5 ruei RUEI Beginner Lesson 5 & Shift Lesson 5 ruei RUEI
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Lesson 6 & Shift Lesson 6 woqp WOQP Beginner Lesson 6 & Shift Lesson 6 woqp WOQP
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Lesson 7 & Shift Lesson 7 c,x. C<X> Beginner Lesson 7 & Lesson 7 c,x. C<X>
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Lesson 8 & Shift Lesson 8 z/‘\ Z?“| Beginner Lesson 8 & Shift Lesson 8 z/‘\ Z?“|
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Lesson 9 & Shift Lesson 9 ‘[ ]= ~{}+ Beginner Lesson 9 & Shift Lesson 9 ‘[ ]= ~{}+
Date completed Date completed
Introduction Digit lessons 1-3 1 2 3 Beginner Digit lessons 1-3 1 2 3
Date completed Date completed
 Keyboarding in the Classroom using Rapid Typing 5
STUDENT SELF-STUDY PLAN
Experienced, Advanced and Testing

Level Level Automaticity Level Automaticity

Automaticity Goal Goal Achieved Achieved
Experienced Achieved (Y/N) Advanced (Y/N) 30 wpm Testing (Y/N)
25 wpm 35 wpm
Experienced – Letters to select (f d j k) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Lesson 1 Lesson 1
Date completed Date: Date:

Experienced – Letters to select (s l a) Lesson 2

Date completed Date
Experienced – Letters to select (g h t y) Lesson 3
Date Date
Experienced - Letters to select (v m b n) Lesson 4
Date Date
Experienced – Letters to select (r u e i) Lesson 5
Date: Date
Experienced – Letters to select (w o q p) Lesson 6
Date Date
Experienced – Letters to select (c x) Lesson 7
Date Date
Experienced - Letter to select (Z) Lesson 8
Date Date
Lesson 9

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 Level Level Automaticity Level Automaticity
Automaticity Goal Goal Achieved Achieved
Experienced Achieved (Y/N) Advanced (Y/N) 30 wpm Testing (Y/N)
25 wpm Date 35 wpm
Lesson 10
Date

Lesson 11
Date
Lesson 12
Date:
Lesson 13
Date:
Lesson 14
Date:
Lesson 15
Date:
Lesson 16
Date:
Lesson 17
Date:

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