Example Job Description
Assessment Coordinator
A districtwide assessment leader who coordinates valid, accessible, secure, and instructionally useful assessment programs from planning through reporting and continuous improvement.
Interview Planning Resource
Possible Interview Q&A: Assessment Coordinator
How to use this resource: Select questions that measure competencies established through the district’s current job analysis. Ask candidates the same predetermined questions under comparable conditions and evaluate responses against the same job-related criteria.
The indicators below describe evidence a strong response may contain; they are not required scripts or the only acceptable answers.
- How would you build a districtwide assessment calendar that schools can actually implement?
Strong response indicators: Connects state and local windows with instructional calendars, technology readiness, registration, accessibility verification, training, materials, staffing, makeups, score release, responsible owners, local lead times, contingencies, and regular updates.
- A student begins testing without a required accommodation. What would you do?
Strong response indicators: Protects the student, pauses or secures the session as authorized, verifies the current plan and system setting, follows program incident and appeal procedures, notifies designated personnel, documents facts, avoids promises about outcomes, and corrects the process that failed.
- How would you determine whether schools are ready for an online assessment window?
Strong response indicators: Uses documented readiness criteria for rosters, accounts, training, devices, secure browsers, bandwidth, peripherals, rooms, accessibility, staffing, security, help channels, contingency plans, and evidence-based signoff.
- Describe how you would investigate an unexpected participation-rate gap.
Strong response indicators: Defines the affected population and rule, reconciles enrollment and testing records, examines dates and exclusions, disaggregates patterns, consults source owners, distinguishes data error from access barrier, documents corrections, and monitors completion.
- How would you train experienced staff when procedures have changed?
Strong response indicators: Identifies changed behaviors and risks, provides role-specific examples and practice, distinguishes unchanged from changed rules, confirms understanding, supplies accessible references and support, records completion, and checks implementation.
- A principal asks for an early spreadsheet of student scores by ordinary email. How would you respond?
Strong response indicators: Confirms authorization and intended use, uses an approved secure channel and minimum necessary data, explains preliminary status and limits, follows release rules, documents distribution when required, and offers an appropriate alternative.
- How would you help teachers use summative results without overstating them?
Strong response indicators: Explains purpose, timing, scale and uncertainty; examines patterns and student groups; combines results with classroom and local evidence; avoids causal or diagnostic claims; and turns findings into questions and proportionate next steps.
- A vendor update changes roster behavior shortly before testing. What would you do?
Strong response indicators: Reviews release details, tests representative cases in a controlled setting, compares before-and-after outputs, checks accessibility and identity effects, coordinates technical and program owners, defines rollback or contingency options, and communicates evidence-based readiness.
- What should an assessment-security plan contain?
Strong response indicators: Addresses roles, training, access, secure materials, testing environments, prohibited assistance, device and communication controls, incident reporting, evidence preservation, escalation, inventory, retention, closeout, and periodic exercises.
- How would you balance standardization with the needs of individual schools?
Strong response indicators: Protects nonnegotiable program, security, accessibility, and validity requirements while involving schools in workable scheduling, staffing, communication, training, and support choices; documents approved local variation.
- What continuity materials should exist for assessment operations?
Strong response indicators: Identifies calendars, contacts, account procedures, manuals, workflows, checklists, site rosters, training records, accessibility verification, incident logs, vendor cases, decision records, secure-material controls, and cross-training.
- What would you prioritize in your first 90 days?
Strong response indicators: Maps programs and owners, confirms access and security, reviews calendars and recent incidents, meets school and department leads, assesses readiness and continuity, verifies accessibility workflows, delivers early risk reductions, and establishes a measured improvement plan.
Position Description
Under the direction of the appropriate district administrator, the Assessment Coordinator plans, coordinates, monitors, and improves the district’s state-mandated and locally adopted student assessment programs.
The coordinator leads annual readiness, test administration, accessibility, training, security, student registration, incident response, results review, and communication across schools. The position connects assessment requirements with curriculum, instruction, multilingual learner services, special education, technology, student information, accountability, and family engagement.
The coordinator promotes technically responsible assessment practice and appropriate use of results. The role ensures that students receive assigned supports, staff understand standardized procedures, confidential information is protected, and assessment evidence is translated into clear next steps without overstating what any single measure can show.
Reports To
Insert your school district’s specific reporting relationship here.
Required Education and Credentials
Required
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in education, educational administration, assessment, research, statistics, data science, information systems, public administration, or a closely related field. Additional qualifying experience may be substituted where permitted by district policy.
- Successful completion of all district-required employment clearances.
- Completion of district-required assessment-security, student-privacy, accessibility, and information-security training within established timelines.
Preferred
- Graduate degree or advanced coursework in educational measurement, statistics, research, educational leadership, data science, or a related field.
- Current California administrative services or teaching credential when required by the district’s classification and assigned supervisory or instructional responsibilities.
- Relevant certification or professional learning in assessment administration, project management, data analytics, accessibility, or data governance.
Required / Desired Experience
Required Experience
- Three or more years of progressively responsible experience in K–12 assessment, teaching and learning, educational administration, student data, program coordination, or a closely related function.
- Experience coordinating complex, deadline-driven work across multiple schools, departments, and job classifications.
- Experience interpreting assessment manuals, administration requirements, accessibility guidance, data files, validation reports, and procedural updates.
- Experience training adult learners and producing clear implementation guidance, calendars, checklists, and communications.
- Experience handling confidential student information and resolving sensitive operational issues.
Desired Experience
- Direct coordination of CAASPP, ELPAC, alternate assessments, physical fitness testing, or other California assessment programs.
- Experience with TOMS, CERS, the ELPAC Administration and Scoring Training system, a student information system, assessment platforms, and secure browsers or devices.
- Experience coordinating designated supports, accommodations, alternate assessments, and individualized testing needs with special education and Section 504 teams.
- Experience analyzing participation, completion, performance, growth, and subgroup results while applying suppression and privacy rules.
- Experience supporting balanced local assessment systems, data literacy, and instructional response to evidence.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Assessment Program Leadership and Annual Planning
- Develop and maintain a districtwide assessment calendar covering state and local programs, dependencies, training, readiness checks, testing windows, makeups, score availability, public reporting, and closeout.
- Serve as the operational lead or coordinate designated leads for CAASPP, ELPAC, alternate assessments, and other assigned programs.
- Maintain current knowledge of program regulations, manuals, coordinator communications, accessibility resources, release notes, deadlines, and known issues.
- Define school and department responsibilities, escalation paths, approval checkpoints, and evidence of completion.
- Advise leaders about feasibility, instructional impact, staffing, technology, security, and communication implications of assessment decisions.
Readiness, Administration, and Incident Management
- Coordinate student registration, grade and course assignments, test eligibility, testing modes, school calendars, staff roles, and authorized system access.
- Verify device, network, secure-browser, headset, peripheral, and site-readiness requirements with technology and school teams.
- Coordinate training for test administrators, examiners, proctors, coordinators, and support staff; maintain participation and completion records.
- Monitor testing progress, participation, completion, makeups, irregularities, appeals, and time-sensitive support needs.
- Apply documented incident-response procedures, preserve relevant evidence, notify appropriate officials, protect confidentiality, and coordinate corrective action.
Accessibility and Equitable Participation
- Coordinate universal tools, designated supports, accommodations, alternate assessments, domain exemptions, and other authorized accessibility features.
- Work with special education, Section 504, multilingual learner, health, counseling, and school teams to verify that assignments are current, appropriate, and accurately configured.
- Plan accessible testing locations, schedules, devices, assistive technology, trained personnel, and contingency arrangements.
- Review participation and completion patterns for student groups and schools, investigate barriers, and coordinate timely remedies.
- Ensure communications and training distinguish instructional supports from assessment-specific accessibility rules.
Data Quality, Reporting, and Responsible Use
- Validate rosters, demographics, program indicators, accessibility settings, test assignments, completion records, and score files against authoritative source systems.
- Coordinate secure receipt, reconciliation, retention, and authorized distribution of preliminary and final assessment results.
- Develop clear reports and presentations that identify measure, population, administration period, limitations, suppression rules, and appropriate interpretations.
- Support educators in using multiple sources of evidence for planning, differentiation, intervention, program evaluation, and continuous improvement.
- Prevent inappropriate ranking, causal claims, diagnostic conclusions, or high-stakes decisions unsupported by the assessment’s intended use.
Security, Privacy, Systems, and Vendor Coordination
- Administer or coordinate role-based assessment-system access, multifactor authentication, annual authorization, and timely account removal.
- Maintain test-security plans, inventory and chain-of-custody procedures, secure materials processes, and records of incidents and resolutions.
- Protect student information in exports, reports, screenshots, support cases, email, shared storage, presentations, and training environments.
- Coordinate with technology staff and vendors to test releases, integrations, roster feeds, single sign-on, devices, and network changes before operational use.
- Maintain process maps, decision logs, standard operating procedures, continuity plans, and secure records sufficient for audit and staff transition.
Training, Communication, and Continuous Improvement
- Provide role-specific training, office hours, quick-reference guides, alerts, status reports, and accessible family or community explanations.
- Facilitate after-action reviews using incidents, support trends, completion data, feedback, and quality checks to improve the next administration.
- Coordinate with county, state, consortium, and vendor support organizations and track requests through verified resolution.
- Cross-train designated personnel so essential assessment functions can continue during absences or transitions.
- Perform other related duties consistent with the position’s purpose and classification.
Required Skills and Abilities
Knowledge of
- California K–12 assessment programs, standardized administration, test security, accessibility resources, participation requirements, score reporting, and appropriate interpretation.
- Balanced assessment systems, validity, reliability, measurement error, comparability, achievement levels, growth, and limitations of inference.
- Student information systems, assessment platforms, roster processes, data validation, secure data exchange, and role-based access.
- Student privacy, confidentiality, records management, accessibility, internal controls, change management, and incident escalation.
- Adult learning, implementation planning, project management, training design, and clear public communication.
Ability to
- Translate technical requirements into practical calendars, procedures, training, checklists, and decisions.
- Coordinate high-stakes work across schools, programs, technology teams, vendors, and leadership under fixed deadlines.
- Diagnose registration, accessibility, device, administration, and reporting problems systematically.
- Analyze participation and performance evidence while preserving context, confidentiality, and appropriate use.
- Communicate calmly and accurately with educators, families, technical staff, and executive audiences.
- Exercise discretion, document consequential decisions, and maintain transparent status and escalation.
Work Environment
- Work is performed primarily in district offices, schools, testing locations, training rooms, meetings, and other computer-based professional settings.
- The position requires extended computer use and detailed review of rosters, assessment systems, accessibility settings, reports, spreadsheets, and technical guidance.
- Work involves frequent interaction with educators, administrators, students, families, technology personnel, vendors, and county and state agencies.
- Workload and travel may increase substantially before and during testing windows, score releases, system changes, and state deadlines.
- The employee may encounter frequent interruptions, confidential matters, testing incidents, competing priorities, and urgent requests.
- The position requires secure handling of assessment materials and personally identifiable student information.
Other Requirements
- Successfully complete required criminal-record, fingerprint, and employment clearances.
- Complete a tuberculosis risk assessment and any examination required by applicable law or district policy.
- Complete district-required cybersecurity, student-privacy, assessment-security, safety, nondiscrimination, and workplace training.
- Maintain professional confidentiality and comply with district policies governing records, acceptable technology use, assessment security, and data access.
- Travel between district offices, schools, meetings, training locations, and professional-development activities as assigned.
- Possess a valid California driver’s license and maintain insurability when driving is an essential function of the position.
- Occasionally work early-morning, evening, weekend, or extended hours during critical testing, reporting, or public-release periods.
- Regularly sit, stand, walk, speak, hear, read, and operate computers and standard office equipment.
- Use hands and fingers for keyboarding and handling documents; maintain visual attention while reviewing detailed records and computer displays.
- Occasionally lift, carry, or move records, devices, equipment, or supplies weighing up to 25 pounds.
- Perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.