NRS Assessment Administrator Trainings for Certification

All practitioners seeking to administer any of the NRS approved assessments in Massachusetts must obtain certification through the Center for Educational Assessment (CEA) at UMass Amherst.  The specific certification requirements for each test are described in detail below.

Initial Certification for MAPT-CCR Administration

The MAPT-CCR administration training is available as an online, self-paced module based training and can be accessed through the above link (and is also posted on the SABES Calendar). 

Program staff who were previously trained through SABES or through a practitioner-led training do not have to complete the online MAPT-CCR administration training but are strongly encouraged to take the new online training as a refresher and the Assessment Basics webinar.  If you have any questions about your certification status, please contact the CEA at aclstesthelp@umass.edu.

Program staff who have never received the MAPT-CCR training and will be administering the MAPT-CCRmust complete the online Assessment Basics webinar and the MAPT-CCR administration training first. The MAPT-CCR administrator training is designed to be completed within 1.5 hours. ACLS recommends that practitioners complete it in one sitting. No annual recertification is required.

Training Overview

The online MAPT-CCR administration training consists of seven self-paced modules with five questions for practitioners to answer at the end of each module. The training is not timed, and practitioners are given the opportunity to answer the questions multiple times until a correct answer is provided for each question. Practitioners will not be able to move on to the next module until all the questions in the current module have been answered correctly.

Upon completion of the entire training and submission of the comprehension check questions, practitioners will receive an email confirmation that they have completed the training. Practitioners are encouraged to keep that email for their records and forward to their program director as needed. CEA-UMass Amherst and ACLS will receive notification of completion of the training automatically as well, so practitioners do not need to contact either CEA-UMass Amherst or ACLS. 

CEA-UMass Amherst will not provide paper copies of the MAPT-CCR Teacher and Test Administrator Manual. An electronic link to this manual is included in the online training and practitioners are strongly encouraged to save and/or print their own copy. The manual can also be accessed on the ACLS Assessment page.

Initial Certification for TABE 11/12 Level L Administration and Scoring

The TABE 11/12 Level L Administration and Scoring Training is available as an online self-paced module-based training (it is available through the link and also posted on the SABES Calendar). Any program staff who will begin administering the TABE 11/12 Level L (Literacy) must complete the Assessment Basics webinar pre-requisite and the online training provided by CEA-UMass Amherst.  

Staff who were previously trained through SABES or through a practitioner-led training do not have to complete the online training but are strongly encouraged to take it as a refresher and to watch the Assessment Basics webinar. If you have any questions about your certification status, please contact the CEA at aclstesthelp@umass.edu.

Training Overview

The online TABE 11/12 Level L training consists of four modules with three to four questions at the end of each module. The training is not timed, and practitioners are given the opportunity to answer the questions multiple times, until a correct answer is provided. Practitioners will not be able to move on to the next module until all the answers in the current module have been answered correctly. At the end of the four modules, practitioners have to pass a final ten-question quiz.

Once all four modules have been completed, practitioners will receive an email confirmation that they have completed the training. Practitioners are encouraged to keep that email for their records and forward to their program director as needed. CEA-UMass Amherst and ACLS will receive notification of completion of the training automatically as well, so practitioners do not need to contact either CEA-UMass Amherst or ACLS. Certified staff may not train fellow staff members at their programs to administer the TABE 11/12 Level L.

Initial Certification for TABE 11/12 Administration and Scoring, Levels E through A

The TABE 11/12 Administration and Scoring Training (for Levels E, M, D, and A) is available as an online self-paced module-based training only (it is available through the link and also posted on the SABES Calendar). Any program staff who will begin administering the TABE 11/12 (Levels E through A) must complete the Assessment Basics webinar pre-requisite and the online training provided by CEA-UMass Amherst.  

Staff who were previously trained through SABES or through a practitioner-led training do not have to complete the online training but are strongly encouraged to take it as a refresher and to watch the Assessment Basics webinar. If you have any questions about your certification status, please contact the CEA at aclstesthelp@umass.edu.

Training Overview

The online TABE 11/12 training consists of six modules with three questions at the end of each module. The training is not timed and practitioners are given the opportunity to answer the questions multiple times, until a correct answer is provided. Practitioners will not be able to move on to the next module until all the answers in the current module have been answered correctly. At the end of the six modules, practitioners have to pass a final ten-question quiz.

Once all six modules have been completed, practitioners will receive an email confirmation that they have completed the training. Practitioners are encouraged to keep that email for their records and forward to their program director as needed. CEA-UMass Amherst and ACLS will receive notification of completion of the training automatically as well, so practitioners do not need to contact either CEA-UMass Amherst or ACLS. Certified staff may not train fellow staff members at their programs to administer the TABE 11/12 Levels E through A.

Initial Certification for BEST Plus 2.0 Administration and Scoring

In order to receive competency status and be certified to administer the BEST Plus 2.0, practitioners must first complete the Assessment Basics webinar pre-requisite, attend two 3.5 hour BEST Plus 2.0 virtual (synchronous) training sessions, and participate in one virtual (synchronous) 1.5 hour practice administration session.  Directly following the three meetings, practitioners must be approved to continue the certification process by the BEST Plus 2.0 initial trainer and/or CEA-UMass Amherst.

Participants either will be told the day of the training or contacted within one week regarding their status in order to continue the path to full certification.  They must then complete the steps outlined below by the deadline provided at the training in order to become fully certified. 

To ensure alignment with the BEST Plus 2.0 scoring rubric, trainees must complete a Scoring Activity (version to be determined each year) using a copy of the score sheet provided by the CEA (also available in the BEST Plus Refresher Workbook – Test Administrator’s Edition), the BEST Plus Scoring Activity video provided by the CEA (also available on the red DVD entitled BEST Plus Scoring Activities from the Scoring Refresher Toolkit).  Program directors should have the items listed in parentheses; however, all materials are provided digitally by the CEA. Trainees must complete the Scoring Activity with no help or discussion from others.  They must then input their scores online using the Scoring Activity submission page (link provided by the CEA). More detailed directions are supplied during the training and in an email after completion of the two training sessions and practice administration session.

To become comfortable with actual assessment administration, trainees must also perform 10 practice test administrations using the “practice” option of the BEST Plus 2.0 program (there is no cost to administer tests in practice mode). These free 10 practice test administrations are available on the BEST Plus 2.0 USB. Trainees should ask their program director for the USB as this is not included in their training material.  Once the test administrators have been certified and registered with CAL, 10 actual test administrations will be given to the test administrators’ programs by CAL so that the newly certified test administrators can use them for further practice.

The practice administrations may be done with colleagues, family, friends, or students who volunteer to help.  At least 5 of the initial 10 practice administrations must be done with adult non-native English speakers, but none of the practice tests should be administered to students who take the BEST Plus 2.0 to measure their NRS EFL gains.  Trainees must fill out the online Practice Administrations Form with the names of the 10 people tested, and submit the form on or before the establish deadline. 

If a practitioner does not turn in the Scoring Activity and Practice Administrations Form by the deadline, they must retake the entire training to become eligible to complete the requirements at a later date.

If the practitioner passes the initial Scoring Activity and performs the 10 practice test administrations, she/he will receive notification of competency status and then be certified to administer BEST Plus 2.0 assessments.  A passing score for the Scoring Activity is determined by the accuracy with which the practitioner uses each of the three sections of the BEST Plus 2.0 scoring rubric.  The possible combinations of scores for the three sections are:

• R-R-R:  no remediation required
• R-R-A in any combination:  no remediation required
• R-A-A in any combination:  no remediation required
• A-A-A:  remediation required
• Any combination of U, A and R in any area: remediation required
• Any combination of U and A without R: retraining required

(R = recertification recommended; A = acceptable but may need remediation; U = unacceptable)

The CEA-UMass Amherst will send an email confirming their certification and indicating how long it remains valid. Test Administrators must save this email as no paper certificate will be given. The Center for Applied Linguistics will be notified of certification so programs may now purchase BEST Plus 2.0 test administrations.  

If a practitioner does not pass the Scoring Activity, a BEST Plus 2.0 trainer will make contact regarding the next steps (i.e., remediation or retraining) within two weeks.  

If the practitioner does not improve after phone remediation, the CEA-UMass Amherst will inform the practitioner and her/his Program Director that the practitioner must retake the initial training. 

Initial Certification for CLAS-E Reading Administration and Scoring

Practitioners seeking initial certification in the administration and scoring of CLAS-E Reading must complete the Assessment Basics webinar pre-requisite and the online self-paced module-based CLAS-E Reading Administration and Scoring Training provided by CEA-UMass Amherst. 

Training Overview

The online CLAS-E Reading training consists of five modules with five questions for practitioners to answer at the end of each module. The training is not timed, and practitioners are given the opportunity to answer the questions multiple times until a correct answer is provided. Practitioners will not be able to move on to the next module until all the answers in the current module have been answered correctly. Practitioners have to take a ten-question quiz at the end of the five modules.

Once all five modules and final quiz have been completed, practitioners will receive an email confirmation that they have completed the training. Practitioners are encouraged to keep that email for their records and forward to their program director as needed. CEA-UMass Amherst and ACLS will receive notification of completion of the training automatically as well, so practitioners do not need to contact either CEA-UMass Amherst or ACLS. Certified staff may not train fellow staff members at their programs to administer and score the CLAS-E Reading.

Initial Certification for CLAS-E Writing Administration and Scoring

Practitioners seeking initial certification in the administration and scoring of CLAS-E Writing must first complete the Assessment Basics webinar pre-requisite and the online self-paced modular-based CLAS-E Writing Administration Training provided by CEA-UMass Amherst, then attend a face-to-face training. 

Training Overview

The online CLAS-E Writing administration training consists of five modules with five questions for practitioners to answer at the end of each module. The training is not timed, and practitioners are given the opportunity to answer the questions multiple times until a correct answer is provided. Practitioners will not be able to move on to the next module until all the answers in the current module have been answered correctly. Practitioners have to take a final ten question quiz at the end of the five modules.

Once all five modules and final quiz have been completed, practitioners will receive an email confirmation that they have completed the training. Practitioners are encouraged to keep that email for their records and forward to their program director as needed. CEA-UMass Amherst and ACLS will receive notification of completion of the training automatically as well, so practitioners do not need to contact either CEA-UMass Amherst or ACLS. Certified staff may not train fellow staff members at their programs to administer the CLAS-E Writing.

Following their online training in CLAS-E Writing administration, practitioners seeking certification in the scoring of CLAS-E Writing folio section must attend an online facilitated training.  This training consists of two 3.5 hour sessions with CEA-UMass Amherst.

Practitioners will need to pass a test before they receive a CLAS-E scoring competency status and are approved to score. Note: no certificates will be given; program staff must retain their email notification.

The initial certification test consists of 20 items (writing samples that must be scored). Practitioners must have a minimum score of 70%, with six or fewer items incorrect, in order to pass the test.  If the score is between 60%-65%, with seven to eight items incorrect, practitioners must go through a phone remediation and the CEA will contact them to arrange for this remediation. These practitioners cannot score any CLAS-E tests until they have gone through the remediation process. Practitioners who score 55% or less, with nine or more items incorrect, must retake the training and cannot score any CLAS-E tests until they have completed the training again and passed the initial certification test.

Initial Assessment Administration Training Pre-Requisites

The table below describes the pre-requisite(s) required for each of the seven assessment administration trainings:

Standardized Assessment Trainings	Training format	Required Pre-Requisites
BEST Plus 2.0	Facilitated Online, 6.5 hour	Online recorded webinar on Assessment Basics, 35 minutes
CLAS-E Reading Administration and Scoring	Online self-paced modules	Online recorded webinar on Assessment Basics, 35 minutes
CLAS-E Writing Administration	Online self-paced modules	Online recorded webinar on Assessment Basics, 35 minutes
CLAS-E Writing Scoring	Facilitated Online, 5.5 hour	Online recorded webinar on Assessment Basics, 35 minutesCLAS-E Writing Administration online self-paced
MAPT-CCR	Online self-paced modules	Online recorded webinar on Assessment Basics, 35 minutes
TABE 11/12-Level L (Literacy)	Online self-paced modules	Online recorded webinar on Assessment Basics, 35 minutes
TABE 11/12, Levels E (Easy), M (Medium), D (Difficult), A (Advanced)	Online self-paced modules	Online recorded webinar on Assessment Basics, 35 minutes