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USBE issues detailed guidance for RISE summative administration, testing windows and security
Summary
Utah State Board of Education staff walked LEA and school testing staff through RISE test windows, secure-browser requirements, training-test use and scheduling guidance including an eight-week spring summative window and local approvals for last-week-of-school testing.
Elise Fry, test administration and assessment specialist with the Utah State Board of Education, led a webinar outlining statewide guidance for administering the RISE summative assessments, including scheduling windows, secure-browser requirements and recommended local procedures.
Fry said spring summative tests must be administered within an eight-week state window and that districts should avoid testing in the last week of school. "You will need to have USBE approval to test your last week of school," Fry said, adding that LEAs should email her or Sydney McCarty, director of assessment, if they need an exception. Fry also said any incomplete mid-year summative tests will be force-completed if not submitted by March 1.
The training emphasized several operational requirements. A secure browser is required on all student devices for summative testing; installation instructions and troubleshooting guides are available in the portal's technology resources. Fry recommended running a training test in each content area before summative administration so students and technology are ready. She noted training tests are grade-band based (grades 3–5 and 6–8) and are intended to practice functionality, not to measure proficiency.
The webinar covered timelines for other RISE resources: interim assessments must be completed and submitted by Feb. 28; benchmarks will remain available through the school year; writing benchmarks and additional benchmark modules were slated to open Feb. 18. Fry said the ELA reading and writing reporting will be delayed and that score reporting for those subjects is expected later in the fall.
On security and local procedures, Fry urged schools to avoid sending testing tickets home with students and to collect printed session IDs or testing tickets at the end of each session and destroy them. She also reiterated that no secondary internet-capable devices (phones, smartwatches) are allowed during testing, except medically required devices, and that proctors must ensure testing rooms are free of unauthorized materials or music.
The presentation covered common proctoring practices: two proctors are recommended for summative administrations; proctors need not be certified teachers but must complete testing ethics training; session creation should be done less than 20 minutes before testing to avoid timeouts; and session IDs must be communicated to students securely. Fry also explained that the system prompts teachers to type the word "summative" when a summative test is selected to reduce misadministrations.
USBE staff said the RISE vendor help desk expands hours during summative windows (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain Time) for technical support. Fry said training materials, the slide deck and the recorded session will be posted to the assessment YouTube channel and the portal for LEA access.
Less critical details: Fry encouraged schools to plan device updates carefully, avoid using auto-update features that might break compatibility, and ensure headphones are available for embedded audio tools and text-to-speech features.
