Text-to-Speech Accommodation

For students who need questions read aloud, such as English language learners, you can enable Text-to-Speech tools that appear within the test toolbar. You can enable Text-to-Speech for any combination of students in a test session.

Limitations:

  • Reading tests do not stop you from assigning Text-to-Speech, so be careful if your policies prohibit it.
  • For questions with text entry, the text a student types will not play.

Required MAP Role: School Proctor or District Proctor

  1. Open Manage Test Sessions.

  2. Set up a test session, choose a saved one, or click Test My Class.

    For detailed instructions, see Proctor Quick Start

  3. Use Assign Test to pre-assign which test each student will take.

  4. With test assignments complete, select one or more students from the list

    Note: Only select multiple students if they will share the same accommodations. Selected students must share the same grade because some accommodation choices are grade-dependent.

  5. Click Assign Accommodations.

  6. From the window that appears, find Text-to-Speech under either category: Designated Features or Accommodations.

    The only difference is which category will appear in the student’s test records.

    Note: If the option is unavailable, the student might not have an appropriate test assigned (such as K–2).

  7. Specify which parts of questions you want enabled.

    For example, you might limit Text-to-Speech to answer choices only, per your student IEPs.

     

    Note: If you disable the option Assets such as reading passages, then paragraphs that include answer choices will not play the answers. For example:

    Example question with a paragraph containing choices for the best verb to use in a sentence

To complete Text-to-Speech preparations:

  1. Allowlist for network firewall—Your network technician should use the latest firewall settings to allow traffic from the required sites. See Firewall Allowlist and Email Configuration.
  2. Practice with tools—Within the MAP Practice Tests, students can select the Text-to-Speech checkbox to try using the tools.
  3. Headphones—Make sure participating students have headphones.

To change Text-to-Speech assignments:

If needed, you can change an accommodations assignment anytime before a student starts testing. However, once the student starts testing, you cannot change the chosen accommodations, except by using Suspend, choosing Test Again, and then making the change. After you make the change, the student would sign in again.

Using Text-to-Speech Tools

Text-to-Speech tool icons for Play All, Play Selection, Pause, and Volume

If Text-to-Speech tools are enabled, students can use them to hear questions read aloud.

Students use either the first tool (ear) to begin at the top of the page or the second tool (finger) to select the starting point. Pause and Volume operate like most audio controls.

Students can become familiar with the tools using the MAP Practice Tests.

Note: When students use Text-to-Speech tools, the Highlighter and Eraser are disabled, and vice versa.

 

If there is no sound, try the following steps:
  • Check the volume controls.
  • Check the device. If you are using the NWEA secure testing browser, you must use the latest version.
  • Suspend the test, choose Select Action > Test Again, and open Assign Accommodations to ensure you selected the Text-to-Speech setting. If yes, the student could sign on again. If no, consider whether the student should start over (Terminate the test).
  • Consult your network technician to ensure the Text-to-Speech firewall settings were completed on all network devices.