“There Has to Be a Better Way”: Bringing Sanity and Structure to Testing Season

For many test coordinators, spring assessments don’t feel like a season; they feel like a survival test. The work is high-stakes, the timeline is tight, and even a “small” miss (an accommodation change, a new enrollee, a flag that didn’t get turned on) can turn into a stressful scramble on test day.

In this Conversations with Educators webinar, Jennifer Payne, Guidance Counselor and Campus Assessment Coordinator at Baker County High School in Florida, and Joana Sorrels, District Testing Coordinator for Plano ISD in Texas, shared what testing season really feels like. They also discussed what changed when they moved from managing testing “in their head” (and across endless lists) to building consistent systems their teams can trust.

Key Takeaways

• Testing coordination shouldn’t live “in your head” — systems reduce mental load and missed steps.
• Communication breakdowns (especially around accommodations changes) are where near-misses happen most.
• Strong processes include built-in checkpoints (two weeks out, three days out, daily monitoring, etc.).
• Structure protects people: documentation, timelines, and clear guides reduce burnout and make the work feel doable.
• The goal isn’t perfection; it’s confidence, consistency, and fewer last-minute irregularities.

What did testing season feel like before stronger systems were in place?

Sorrels: When I started this job, I felt super overwhelmed. A lot of this is living in your head, and you feel like you’re constantly forgetting something. That “always behind” feeling is exactly what pushes coordinators into survival mode.  

No one should carry the burden alone. This shouldn’t be a “team-of-one" situation. You have to find your dream team (special education, counselors, technology, administration) because testing just has so many different facets.

Payne: This job is extremely time-consuming and very overwhelming. You’re always trying to correct mistakes. Even when you’re doing everything possible, you can still get blindsided. Even on test day, there can still be some error that I have to try to fix in the moment. It didn’t seem [to matter] how hard I worked, there would be some error and that drove me crazy.

Where do errors and near-misses happen most often — and why are they so hard to prevent manually?

Sorrels: The issues that we see the most, like last-minute changes when a student has an ARD meeting, are usually a result of lack of communication back to whoever is coordinating testing. The communication gap isn’t usually intent — it’s bandwidth. When multiple teams are juggling multiple timelines, one missed message can cause a domino effect.

Payne: I had a really hard time making sure that information was communicated with me, because everyone is wrapped up in their own overwhelming responsibilities.

Another classic source of testing chaos is student movement. If a new student enrolled, or one withdrew, I was having to double-check multiple lists and coordinate updates or makeup testing. These manual systems can break down when the data changes so often because the coordinator becomes the human integration between every source of truth.

What helped you move from “managing testing in your head” to having clear systems everyone could follow?

Sorrels: A very good tip is to pause before you do things. Prioritize if it must happen now, if it can happen later, or if it isn’t absolutely essential. That mindset shift matters because testing work expands to fill every available minute. Pausing creates room to organize the work instead of reacting to it.

One of the best resources is our professional network, the Texas Statewide Network of Assessment Professionals (TSNAP). This role can be isolating, and the TSNAP community has templates, can answer questions, and even provide sanity checks.

Payne: Build a habit of starting earlier than you think you need to. February is actually a good time to start thinking about spring testing. There’s a little bit of a lull, which allows you to take a step back and prioritize things to put them in a better order. I’ve learned to make checklists because there’s so many parts and pieces when it comes to testing.

What does a sustainable accommodations process actually look like?

Sorrels: We first start the school year with our campus testing coordinator (CTC) activity calendar for the entire year. We work backwards, so they know when they are responsible for creating their test events and loading the appropriate files. From that point on, the CTC monitors alerts and maintains or updates what’s in the system or going into TestHound and does any manual adjustment.

We build in multiple checkpoints about 2 weeks out, and then another one about 3 days prior to testing to help ensure that accuracy.

Payne: Before the end of January, there’s a deadline for all information to be uploaded into the student information system (SIS) so all the accommodation information is up to date. Anything that is changed after that, I have to manually update in the system. To be honest, I just kind of do it and hope along the way that I don’t miss anybody, but having a more specific date to make sure all that’s double-checked is a really good idea.

How does structure protect your people and reduce burnout?

Sorrels: The best lesson we learned from COVID was to document our processes so if you have a backup person who needs to step in, they have some documentation and guidance. This becomes a safety net, especially in large districts where new coordinators rotate in every year. Timelines and checklists also help because coordinators will block out the time. They’ll say, ‘I need to work on this task two weeks out, three weeks out.’

New staff stepping into the role are often terrified, but they truly appreciate the documentation, the planning, the guides, and the office hours, so it’s not so scary. Some of them say it’s like night and day. TestHound gives them back time; time with family and time to do all their other duties.”

Payne: Not having a structure will steal hours from your professional and personal life. I was working until late into the night. I had no idea it would take that long.  

Also, many testing coordinators are doing this on top of another full-time job. Knowing they have an efficient, reliable system makes them feel supported. They have procedures and processes to follow and don't have to depend on all these different lists from all these different places.

Having a structure in place has definitely given me more energy and more time for my other responsibilities.

Why This Matters for TestHound Users

Testing season will always be high-stakes. But it doesn’t have to be chaotic, isolating, or dependent on one person’s memory and a dozen spreadsheets. The right structure — clear timelines, consistent documentation, and a single place to manage data and changes — helps teams reduce errors, protect accommodations, and avoid last-minute irregularities.

If you’ve ever thought, “There has to be a better way,” this is your sign to stop carrying the entire season in your head.

Want to see what a more reliable, less stressful testing workflow can look like?

Explore how TestHound helps districts and campuses centralize testing logistics, stay on top of accommodations changes, and bring consistency to every administration, without burning out the people doing the work.