State education staff, Pearson outline TestNav setup and network steps for Utah Aspire Plus

Elise Fry, test administration and formative assessment specialist with the Utah State Board of Education, opened a technical training with Pearson support on preparing devices and networks for the Utah Aspire Plus assessment. The session covered installation methods for TestNav, verification with App Check, Chromebook and iPad specifics, firewall and URL exemptions, and where districts can get hands‑on help.

The training matters because improper setup can interrupt secure statewide testing. ‘‘App Check is a, it’s gonna basically check two things,’’ said Joseph Hinkleman, a level‑2 technical support supervisor leading the session, ‘‘It’s gonna check to make sure that the test app can go into full screen or lockdown mode for test security, and it’s also gotta do some basic connectivity checks.’’ Hinkleman advised schools to run App Check on representative devices before test day and, where feasible, run network checks from central locations to better estimate capacity for large administrations.

Pearson recommended using the Windows Store version of TestNav for automatic updates or, if districts prefer an MSI deployment, to plan for summer reinstallation. Hinkleman said devices must allow TestNav to read and write to a user directory and that a 9.5‑inch minimum screen size is required. For iPads, TestNav relies on Apple’s Automatic Assessment Configuration (AAC) to enter secure kiosk mode; districts using mobile device management solutions such as Jamf should not allow the MDM to invoke a separate assessment mode that would interfere with TestNav’s kiosk behavior.

Chromebooks must be managed through the Google Admin Console and use the new TestNav web app; the legacy Chrome kiosk app should be uninstalled and replaced by adding the TestNav web app by URL, applying settings at the appropriate organizational unit, and saving extension IDs and origin URL entries so full‑screen behavior and allowed origins are enforced. Hinkleman walked participants through the Google Admin Console steps and emphasized that administrators should be careful to apply settings at the correct OU level so that all intended devices receive the configuration.

On network and security configuration, Hinkleman instructed districts to exempt TestNav and related Pearson content delivery URLs (including pearsontestcontent.com and the TestNav delivery origins) from SSL inspection and reverse DNS checks, and to exempt assistive‑technology URLs if those accommodations are used. He warned that reverse DNS or out‑of‑date DNS tables on security appliances can produce false positives because test content is hosted on Amazon Web Services. For complex firewall or security setups, Hinkleman recommended scheduling a one‑on‑one appointment with Pearson’s level‑2 support or field service engineering team to verify configuration or run stress tests.

Participants asked whether changes to the TestNav Chrome app would affect ACT administrations; Hinkleman said districts should install the new TestNav home app for both Utah Aspire Plus and any ACT tests they administer. Fry noted the slides for the session are available in the Midas course and the recorded session will be posted to the Utah State Board of Education YouTube channel. She also reminded attendees of a separate Utah Aspire Plus administration training scheduled for Thursday, January 29, from 9 to 11 a.m.

District technology and assessment staff were urged to run App Check on teachers’ or proctors’ machines prior to test administration, disable intrusive prompts and background notifications that could exit TestNav (for example, Teams, antivirus scans, or system update prompts), and exempt Pearson directories from restoration tools such as Deep Freeze so locally written test data persist after restarts. Hinkleman closed by offering follow‑up support and personal appointments for verification and troubleshooting.