Texas districts can use Albert as the pre-test and post-test for a Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) student growth measure. This guide covers the full cycle: choose your exams, lock the content, assign it, open it on test day, and export your results.

Albert (Learn by Doing, Inc.) is on TEA's third-party assessment options table under Option 2, covering grades 9-12. Option 2 means Albert supplies the pre- and post-test; your district sets and calculates the growth targets.

Being listed isn't the same as being approved. TEA notes that inclusion doesn't imply endorsement or guarantee System Application approval, and that the listed details are vendor-provided and unverified. Confirm your plan with your district's TIA lead before you build anything.

You'll want to be sure to start teachers on class setup early, too. Classes without students in them are the number one reason a TIA test doesn't go out on time (see Step 4).

Your exam must be an Albert assessment. Restriction isn't available for practice guides, free response guides, or Adaptive subjects.

Each course already contains a matched pair. The pre- and post-test are different forms by design, so don't re-administer the identical exam unless your TIA lead has approved it.

Covered courses (grades 9-12)

Do this before you assign anything. Restrict both the pre- and post-test, and leave them restricted year-round. That's what lets you reuse the exams next year.

2. Hover over the guide level you want to lock, click the three-dot menu, and select Manage restrictions.

3. You’ll see a list of the schools you administer. Toggle the restriction on for each school where you want the content secured.

4. Review the usage warning, which tells you how the content is currently being used, then confirm that you’ve read it.

5. Click Confirm. The content is immediately restricted at the schools you selected, and the guide level will show a message indicating the content is restricted.

Restrictions are per school, so you'll see a toggle for each school you administer. You can restrict content that's already in open assignments; work students already submitted is preserved and still counts.

Prior to assigning the assessment each teacher needs to:

To build your TIA assessment, you'll utilize Albert's Common Assessment feature so every student gets the same exam with the same settings.

Need to combine two assessments or drop specific questions? Build it in the Assignment Builder instead!

The remaining settings are optional. Set them to match how your district is running the administration.

Click Assign. Teachers get an email and can adjust their own settings, but can't edit the assignment content.

The time limit starts when each student clicks in, not when the window opens. Set a 90-minute limit with the window open all week, and a student who starts Monday gets 90 minutes Monday; one who starts Thursday gets 90 minutes Thursday.

If you're testing one period at a time and don't want students starting early, use Duplicate and reassign to make a separate copy per period, each with its own dates.

Most AP practice exams run 55 to 120 minutes, longer than one period. To split it into two sittings:

Keep question sets together: if several questions share one passage or chart, they all go in the same part. Note that students can't stop in the middle of a part and come back later, so each part needs to fit inside one class period. If you'd like a hand splitting them the first time, your account manager can walk through it with you.

Restricted questions stay locked for students until you authorize their class on that specific assignment.

From the assignment's settings, you'll notice that each class with an assignment with restricted questions shows an access status. Use the banner at the top to authorize every class you have authority over in one click, or set them individually.

If a teacher gets there first, they'll see read-only statuses and a Request Access banner that emails you a direct link to the assignment

Authorize the day before testing, not the morning of, and re-check after any last-minute roster changes.

You can watch completion in real time by navigating to your Reports from the top blue toolbar. Select the School you're monitoring and then select Assignments. Here, you can drill down by teacher, classroom, and student.

Because you pushed the test to the class, the teacher can't reopen or extend it. Instead, an admin can reassign the test.

Keep everything else the same as the original inculding time limit, and same Secure Mode setting so their score still lines up with everyone else's.

Your Account Management team can also deliver district-wide, building-by-building, and standards-based reports.

Store the export somewhere permanent and dated; you'll need the raw file at year end. Plan your student ID matching now, too: Albert exports identify students by name and email, not state unique ID. Confirm your SIS join works on the BOY file rather than discovering the problem in spring.

Don't use the admin Growth Report (Beta) for this. It tracks accuracy, attempts, time spent, and skill achievement month over month, which is useful for engagement but isn't a pre/post growth calculation.

My students can't open the assessment. What's wrong?

Their class almost certainly isn't authorized. Check the access statuses on the assignment.

Will teachers still get their data if the content is restricted?

Yes, every score, report, and drilldown. They lose only the ability to view question content and titles, on restricted and authorized assignments alike.

What if a student is auto-submitted by Secure Mode?

The teacher can view the timestamped violation log and reset the submission. Set a district policy on who authorizes a reset before testing begins.

How do I get restricted content enabled?

Contact your Account Manager.