Administering the assessments


When the students are ready, they can go on their devices and visit www.nzceronline.org.nz to enter their token codes as shown on the token slips. Ensure everyone has been able to locate the site before starting the assessment. Students must be informed about why everyone starts and finishes the assessment at the same time (timing for the scoring).


Teachers must support students through confirmation and example pages before starting the assessment. 


Confirmation page: Once students are logged in, they will be greeted with an initial screen that asks them to confirm who they are for e.g.“ Are you John Smith?” 


  • If the name on the screen is correct, ask students to click the green ‘Yes’ button. 
  • If the name on the screen is incorrect, check that the student is using the correct Student Token. 
  • If they are using the correct token and it continues to not allow them access to the test, please contact Assessment Services at assessmentservices@nzcer.org.nz. and provide the student with alternative activity for the timing.


Example Questions: After students have successfully passed the confirmation screen, they will proceed to the example questions. This section is designed to provide students with ample time to become familiar with the assessment and the types of questions they will encounter.


Now that students have logged in to their actual assessment, there are several online features available to assist them. Some teachers find these distracting and don't use them, others do. The digital savviness of students leads us to believe they will find them so taking time before the test starts make sense. Reinforce for students they have a set time for the assessment so keep distractions to a minimum.


  • Students can choose to change the font, text size, and background theme by clicking on the hamburger icon on their screen.
  • For static tests only (i.e., non-adaptive): Once a student has completed their assessment, the final screen will show a Review Page with a list of all their answered and unanswered questions. The student will have the option of reviewing a question by clicking on it.
  • It is important that students click the Finish button at the end to close their assessment. Once the token is closed it will no longer be active.







 Instructions to emphasise

  • Students should attempt all questions, even when they are unsure of the answer.
  • Students should choose the one option that they think is the best answer.
  • If students change their mind after choosing an option, they can go back by clicking on the back arrow button to update their answers. Please note that this feature is only available for static tests and not for adaptive tests.
  • Students should read the stimulus material and questions carefully before answering. 
  • Students should be encouraged to keep on trying, even when they meet a harder question.
  • Students have 45 minutes (depending on the assessment) to complete the test. If they finish early, they should check their answers by clicking on the Review Question button or wait quietly.


NB: Teachers must control the timing - the online test DOES NOT TIME OUT. Place 15min intervals on the whiteboard and cross them off - perhaps reduce to 5min intervals through the last 15 mins of the test.


Troubleshooting online errors

Our system saves response data each time a learner answers a question. This approach helps us avoid potential loss of learner data. We know that sometimes things do not go quite as smoothly as we’d hope for in an online world. We have listed some of the potential issues schools and learners might encounter with online testing.
 

  • Assessment session disruption: If one or more learners experiences a disruption the first thing we want to do is rule out any local technical and/or connection issues. If we know the issue is not local then we can escalate the investigation to our IT support team. Once the issue is resolved learners can use the same token to resume and complete their test.

 

  • Accidental log out: If a learner accidentally logs out of the test, they can use the same token to resume and complete their test.

 

  • Token expired: A token expired message will appear if a token is for a different term. Tokens are set to operate in one term only. Create a new assessment or add the learner/s to an assessment running for the current term.

 

  • Invalid CAT rule set on access token: If you get this error message it means the year level of the learner is outside of the year level audience of the test. 

 

  • Special circumstances: If something happens that you feel has affected class or individual learner results, or their online experience, please contact us at assessmentservices@nzcer.org.nz