Duration of Payment Validity

After payment, your registration will be valid for one year. If you do not submit your assessment or withdraw your registration within that period, your registration will expire and you will receive no refund or credit of any kind.

Payment Processing

If you have any outstanding balance owed by you to Evaluation Systems after a test session for which you were registered or after a Series FLEX submission, all of your test results for that test date or submission may be permanently voided and therefore not reported to you, to the Illinois State Board of Education, or to any institutions.

The following policies apply to you when you have an outstanding balance with Evaluation Systems:

• You will be assessed an additional fee to cover the processing required to clear your account.
• You will not be allowed to register for future tests or assessments until your balance, which includes the additional fee, is paid in full.
• Any credits or refunds for which you may be eligible will be applied first to your outstanding debt, with any excess to be returned to you.

If a credit card charge for an Evaluation Systems service for you is disputed:

• You may not be allowed to make any future payments by credit card.
• You must make your payment to clear your account by cashier's check or money order only.
• If you attempt to pay for any further services by cashier's check or money order before clearing your account, any payments received will be applied first to your outstanding debt, with any excess applied to the requested services.

Additionally, if a personal check submitted by you is returned by the bank:

• You will not be allowed to make any future payments by personal check.
• You must make your payment to clear your account by cashier's check or money order only, unless you are making a subsequent credit card payment for additional services, in which case your credit card will be billed for both the outstanding balance and the additional requested services.
• If you attempt to pay for any further services by credit card before clearing your account, your credit card will be billed for the amount of all services you have requested, as well as the outstanding balance owed. You agree to pay for all such services and outstanding balances in the event your credit card company does not.
• If you attempt to pay for any further services by cashier's check or money order before clearing your account, any payments received will be applied first to your outstanding debt, with any excess applied to the requested services.

Evaluation Systems takes reasonable precautions to protect the integrity of your personal information provided in connection with the registration process, as well as any information generated internally that is specifically pertinent to you, and to keep this information secure.

Your private information will not be made available to anyone but you; Evaluation Systems and the relevant state agency responsible for educator certification, if applicable (including the employees, agents, contractors, or professional advisors thereof); the institution(s) you indicate in your registration; and any institution, entity, or person required or authorized by law to receive this information.

If after registering for your assessment you wish to modify your registration, you may request a modification according to the processes outlined below.

If you need to correct or update personal information (e.g., your mailing address), you may do so through your account. To update your name, date of birth, or social security number, you must contact the ILTS program.

Changing your assessment selection. If you wish to change the assessment for which you registered, you must withdraw your registration for the original assessment and submit a new registration for the new assessment (e.g., if you registered for the Series FLEX Foundations of Reading [Objective 0010] assessment but wish to change your assessment to the Series FLEX Foundations of Reading [Objective 0011] assessment). In most cases, your refund will be issued by Evaluation Systems within one week of your request; however, some requests may take additional time to resolve.

If you have registered for the Series FLEX, have not yet submitted the assessment for scoring, and would like to withdraw your registration, you may do so by logging in to your account, selecting Current Registrations, then Withdraw, and following the instructions provided.

If you have not yet submitted your assessment for scoring and request to withdraw your registration, you are eligible for a full refund if the request is made within one year of your registration date. Your refund will be issued by Evaluation Systems as a credit to your credit card account. In most cases, your refund will be issued by Evaluation Systems within one week of your request; however, some requests may take additional time to resolve. If you do not withdraw before the one-year window has expired, you will not receive a refund or credit of any kind. If you applied a voucher toward registration fees, the amount of the voucher will not be refunded.

Once you withdraw your registration, you will no longer be able to view or edit any materials you may have uploaded for scoring. If you want to retain a copy of any of these materials, be sure to save your files prior to withdrawing your registration. If you choose to complete Series FLEX in the future, you will need to re-register and pay the applicable assessment fee.

Rules of Test Participation

By registering for the Series FLEX, you are agreeing to abide by the Rules of Test Participation and all rules, requirements, and policies specified or referenced on the current program website and communicated to you, orally or in writing.

1. COMPLIANCE AND PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE: I understand that if I fail to comply with the Rules or if I take any prohibited actions, the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson, a business of NCS Pearson, Inc. (Evaluation Systems), or the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) may take certain actions or impose a penalty or combination of penalties, depending on the type and severity of the noncompliance, including, but not limited to: assessment results voided; no refund or credit given; future testing not allowed; assessment irregularity noted in the license file; future testing required under controlled conditions and/or undertaking other special measures, at the candidate's expense; findings reported to a hiring principal or superintendent; limited suspension or denial of access to future educator licensure examinations in Illinois; criminal prosecution; and/or revocation of a candidate's educator license already granted. Additional penalties listed under individual sections below may also be incurred and legal proceedings and actions may be pursued as well as any other remedies that the ISBE may deem appropriate, including, but not limited to, denying, revoking, or suspending an educator license.
2. POLICIES: I have read and agree to the information and policies presented on the current program website, including, but not limited to, payment policy, withdrawal/refund policy, and administrative review policy.
3. PURPOSE OF TESTING: I understand that the assessments are administered for the purpose of licensure only and are to be taken only by individuals either enrolled in a state educator preparation program or seeking educator licensure. I certify that I am taking the assessment(s) for which I have registered for the purpose of educator licensure and for no other purpose.
4. CONFIRMATION OF ORIGINALITY: I understand that by submitting my Series FLEX materials, I am confirming that I am the person who has completed the assessment, that I am the sole author of the written and recorded responses to prompts and other requests for information in this assessment, and that I have cited all materials in the assessment whose sources are from published text, the internet, or other educators. I understand that my uploaded materials will be screened for originality and that the submission of unoriginal work may be grounds for denial, revocation, suspension, or other sanction of any educator license or credential issued to me by the ISBE.
5. DISTRIBUTION AND POSTING OF ASSESSMENT MATERIALS: I acknowledge that I am not permitted to reproduce any of the information or materials from the Series FLEX handbook for commercial purposes or otherwise display publicly (e.g., through personal websites, YouTube™, or Facebook™). If I do reproduce information or materials from the Series FLEX handbook for personal use, I will properly attribute the copyright of such materials to Pearson.
6. USE OF ASSESSMENT: I agree that my Series FLEX submission, including text, images, and video or audio recordings, without the use of my name or other identifying information, may be used by Pearson or other entities authorized by ISBE for Series FLEX program development and implementation. Entities must be authorized by ISBE; I understand that this means I may not provide my submission, including text, images, and video recordings to be used by my educator preparation program for the purposes of preparing future candidates. I agree that I have not shared and will not share my Series FLEX submissions with any other candidate or potential candidate. If I provided consent as part of my response to registration questions, my submission, without use of my name or other identifying information, may also be used for continued Series FLEX program activities conducted by authorized entities such as future validity and reliability studies and other assessment-related research of the Series FLEX. These authorized entities will not show candidate materials publicly, make them available in a non-secure way, or use them as exemplars for marketing purposes.
7. ASSESSMENT RESULTS REPORTING AND CANCELLATION: I have read and understand the following: My pass/fail status will be reported to me and to the ISBE. My assessment results will be reported to the Illinois educator preparation institution(s) identified, if any. With my consent, the last four digits of my social security number will also be reported to my Illinois educator preparation institution (see "Educational Background Questions"). My pass/fail status will also be reported to the additional institution(s) I indicate during registration to receive this information. Any or all information related to my assessment results may also be released to any other institution, entity, or person authorized by law to receive this information. Except as otherwise specified and in accordance with applicable law, any information I have provided as part of my registration may be used to report my assessment results and to contact me regarding assessment- or program-related issues. Once I submit my Series FLEX materials, I cannot request the cancellation of scoring or score reporting.
8. VOIDED ASSESSMENT RESULTS: I understand that if I fail to comply with the Rules, or if doubts are raised about the validity or legitimacy of my registration or my assessment results, Evaluation Systems will notify the ISBE and other parties as deemed appropriate by the Board. The ISBE and Evaluation Systems reserve the right to void my assessment results if, in their sole opinion, I fail to comply with the Rules or if there is adequate reason to question the validity or legitimacy of the assessment results due to circumstances within or beyond my control.
9. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS: I understand and agree that liability for assessment activities, including, but not limited to, the adequacy or accuracy of Assessment Materials, scoring, and score reports, will be limited to score correction or assessment retake at no additional fee. I understand and agree that liability for data loss or file corruption associated with my submission will be limited to an additional submission. I understand that the ISBE and Evaluation Systems are not responsible for disclosure of candidate information by any institution, entity, or person to whom this information has been lawfully released. I waive any and all rights to all other claims, specifically including, but not limited to, claims for negligence arising out of any acts or omissions of the ISBE and Evaluation Systems (including the employees, agents, contractors, or professional advisors of the ISBE and Evaluation Systems).
10. PROGRAM CHANGES: I understand that the testing program is subject to change at the sole discretion of the ISBE.
11. OBJECTION TO RULES: If, for any reason, I object to the procedures presented in these Rules, I must advise Evaluation Systems, in writing, of the basis of my objection at least eight (8) weeks before I plan to register for my objection to be taken under consideration. Under no circumstances may I register if I have such an objection. If I nevertheless object, my registration may be canceled, I may not be permitted to take the assessment(s), or my assessment results may be voided, unless I withdraw my objection in writing.
12. RULE VALIDITY: I understand that should any of these Rules or any other requirement or provision contained on the current program website be declared or determined by any court to be illegal or invalid, the remaining Rules, requirements, and provisions will not be affected and the illegal or invalid Rule, requirement, or provision shall not be deemed a part of the current program website. I agree that any legal action arising in connection with my registration for or participation in the assessment shall be brought in the state and federal courts governing St. Paul, Minnesota, and I consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

Series FLEX Confidentiality and Security of Candidate Materials and Assessment Data

This document describes the policies and procedures related to the confidentiality and security of Series FLEX submissions and candidate performance data. This information applies to the handling of Series FLEX submissions and candidate data by the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson (Evaluation Systems) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

Series FLEX candidates own the content they create and submit for each Series FLEX submission. Neither ISBE nor Pearson owns the candidates' Series FLEX submissions. Candidate submissions should not be displayed publicly (e.g., through personal websites, YouTube™, or Facebook™).

Transfer, Upload, and Storage of Assessment Materials

Candidate assessment materials are uploaded by the candidate directly into the designated Series FLEX ePortfolio site. Transmission of assessment materials via this method is protected using industry standard encryption practices.

Once materials have been uploaded directly into the Series FLEX ePortfolio site, they must be reviewed and verified by the candidate before they are submitted for official scoring.

Storage

Assessment materials are stored by Evaluation Systems in secure repositories and areas accessible only to authorized users via unique, secure login credentials for specific actions and for limited periods of time.

Access

By using industry-standard security software (encrypted protocols and encrypted and expiring tokens), the system ensures that access to view the stored assessment materials is granted only to the following authorized users:

• Authorized Evaluation Systems users, including scorers, scorer supervisors, chief scorers, scorer support personnel, and personnel required to conduct quality control.
• Authorized Evaluation Systems personnel associated with management of the Series program may view candidates' materials for the purposes of assessment development and scoring activities.

Post-Submission and Scoring of Assessment Materials

Access

Following scoring, access to view assessment materials is granted only to the following authorized users:

• Authorized Evaluation Systems users, including scorers, scorer supervisors, chief scorers, scorer support personnel, and personnel required to conduct quality control, or an investigation associated with compliance with the Rules of Test Participation, as needed.
• Authorized Evaluation Systems personnel associated with management of the Series program may view candidates' materials for the purposes of assessment development and scoring activities.

Authorized scorers access candidate assessment materials through Evaluation Systems' password-protected secure scoring system. Candidate assessment materials are available only for the period in which scoring occurs. Scorers' access to the Evaluation Systems scoring system is disabled after the scorers' reviews are completed.

Access to Performance Data

Assessment results will be reported to the candidate, to the preparation program in which the candidate is enrolled, to preparation programs selected during registration, and to the Illinois State Board of Education.

• Candidates will be informed of their status in meeting the approved qualifying score.
• The Illinois Foundations of Reading Coordinator for an approved Illinois educator preparation program will have secure access to candidate-level performance data (the status of each participating candidate in meeting the approved qualifying score) and aggregate-level data for the candidates associated with that program.
• The Illinois State Board Education will have access to all performance data, by candidate, by preparation program, and across all Series FLEX submissions.

Other Uses of Candidate Materials

• Series FLEX submission materials, without candidate or other identifying information, may be used for Series FLEX development and implementation, including scorer training.

Retention and Destruction

Series FLEX submissions are retained through the end of the contract term. At the end of the contract term, Evaluation Systems will work with ISBE to determine the appropriate disposition of materials retained during the duration of the contract term. Materials will be destroyed or transferred to ISBE for further retention.

Candidate performance results and associated identifying information will be retained indefinitely, supporting the reproduction of results reports for candidates as requested.

Candidates must review the Series FLEX Submission Requirements and Unscorable Codes as defined in the Series FLEX Assessment Handbook before beginning to create their assessment submission.

In order to submit your Series FLEX assessment to Pearson for scoring, you must confirm the following.

As the candidate, I confirm that:

• I have reviewed and agree to the "Series FLEX Rules of Test Participation."
• I am the person who has completed the assessment and all of the submitted work products.
• I have attributed all materials in the assessment whose sources are from published text, the internet, or any other source, including other educators.
• I have identified the sources for documents included in my task submission and cited sources appropriately.
• I am the sole author of the submissions, including written submissions and/or video submissions. I have not shared and will not share my submission with any other candidate or potential candidate.
• I have ensured that if my submission includes a video file, I am the only individual that is captured on screen, and that no other individual may be seen on heard on the video.
• I have reviewed the Submission Requirements and confirm that all of my submitted materials meet these requirements for a scorable submission that can be reviewed by a scorer and have scores assigned to the rubric.
• I understand that my uploaded materials will be screened for originality and that the submission of unoriginal work may be grounds for denial, revocation, suspension, or other sanction of any educator license or credential issued to me by the ISBE.

Once you submit your assessment to Pearson, you will no longer be able to view, edit, or retrieve it.

If you have not yet reviewed your uploaded materials in their entirety to ensure that they appear as intended in the Pearson ePortfolio system, you must cancel your submission and do so before submitting.

Retake Eligibility

If a candidate does not meet the qualifying score for their assessment, they may elect to create a new registration to retake the assessment to improve their submission and overall assessment performance. Candidates must wait to receive scores from their last assessment submission before they can register for a retake of that same assessment.

In all cases, when an assessment is submitted as a retake, the entire submission is scored without reference to the previous submission.

Retakes of scored assessments that did not meet the qualifying score must include new or substantially revised materials.

Candidates electing to retake an assessment based on a prior submission that received unscorable codes should carefully review all Series FLEX Submission Requirements and Unscorable Codes, individual assessment components, the unscorable codes that were applied and reported in their score report, and specifications for required work.

You can view current information for any scored Series FLEX assessments by logging in to your account. There, you may view your score report and whether you met the qualifying score.

All work must be completed according to the submission instructions in use during the Program Year of the retake, and will be scored according to the rubrics in use at the time of submission.

There is no limit on the number of times a candidate can register to retake each Series FLEX, although each retake will be charged separately.

Please note:

• You must wait until the official score report for your previous attempt has been posted until you can register for a retake.
• You must wait 30 days between attempts of the same test.
• If the same test is taken within a 30-day period, your scores on the second attempt will be voided.
• You are strongly encouraged to contact your college, university, or alternative route provider for support between test attempts.

If you violate one of the "Rules of Test Participation" or if doubts are raised about the validity or legitimacy of your registration or your test results, Evaluation Systems will notify the Illinois State Board of Education and other parties as deemed appropriate by the ISBE.

Evaluation Systems takes reasonable security precautions in developing and administering National Evaluation Series tests and in processing test results. The ISBE and Evaluation Systems reserve the right to void your test results if in their sole opinion there is adequate reason to question your test results' validity or legitimacy, due to misconduct (including, but not limited to, a violation of the rules set forth on the current program website, including the Rules of Test Participation, and the rules communicated to you, orally or in writing) or to circumstances within or beyond your control.

Further action may be taken, up to and including revoking an educator license. Other actions, as described in Rule 1 of the Rules of Test Participation, may be taken as deemed appropriate by the ISBE and/or Evaluation Systems.