PearsonAccessnext™
Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
Overview
In this Document
This document contains the following information:
 managing participation
 managing contacts
 creating and managing user accounts
Understanding System Basics
To learn more about navigating the PearsonAccessnext™ system, refer to the System Basics guide found on your
program’s web page. The guide covers how to access PearsonAccessnext, staff roles, the definition of a contact vs.
a user, and basic navigation methods.
Viewing Other Organizations’ Data
Users have the ability to view and edit data for all organizations in your jurisdiction. Use the table below to
determine the type of accesses you have.
If you are this type of user …
State
District
School
Then you can access data for…
all districts and schools in your state
all schools in your district
only your school
Schools’ and Districts’ Responsibilities
Schools take an active role in the school participation process by selecting their materials receipt date, and by
confirming that contact information is correct (if the contact information is incorrect, consult with your district test
coordinator promptly). Schools testing online also need to assign a technical coordinator and room supervisors.
Districts also take an active role in the school participation process by ensuring schools submit their information in
a timely manner, or by completing some of the participation information for them.
Important! Making School Test Coordinator Changes
Throughout the year, district test coordinators are responsible for making any updates needed to school test
coordinator information or creating new test coordinator user accounts. School test coordinators cannot create a
new school test coordinator, nor update their contact information. If any information about the school test
coordinator is incorrect, he or she must contact their district test coordinator to make the change.
Programs Testing with both ACT and ACT WorkKeys
If your program is administering both the ACT® and the ACT WorkKeys® tests, you need to manage participation
and contacts in both of those administrations. Refer to the System Basics guide for instruction on how to navigate
between the two administrations.
Terms and Conditions
When a user logs into PearsonAccessnext for the first time, they will see ACT’s terms and conditions, to which they
must agree to before starting to use the site.
© 2017 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. JA10006.OPS2001
Version: 2017.04.27
PearsonAccessnextTM
Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
Part I: Managing Participation
In this Section
In this section, you’ll find the following information:
 purpose of completing participation
 participation process
 how to submit participation data
 how to verify test coordinators and physical addresses
 how to view or edit participation data
 what to do if your school is taking the ACT online
Purpose of Completing a School’s Participation
Submitting participation information is important because it verifies the following information for your school:
 the delivery date for the initial shipment
 the date for the test administration
 the test coordinator contact details
 the address to which materials are shipped
 a reason if your school is not participating
The Participation Process
The table below describes the participation process.
Stage
1
Who
ACT
Does What

Creates the following user accounts in PearsonAccessnext:
 state test coordinator
 district test coordinator
 school test coordinator
Note: If you have a pre-existing user account, ACT will not create a new one
for you. However, you’ll receive email notification of being added to the new
test administration. This notification will state you’ve been granted additional
access to PearsonAccessnext; if you log in, you’ll see verification of the new
administration.
2
PearsonAccessnext

Sends account setup email to the state, district, and school test coordinators.
3
State, district, and
school users
School or district
test coordinator

Set up their accounts.

Completes participation information for their school(s) by logging into the
system and:

submitting participation data for the school

verifying the test coordinator and physical address for the school

verifying the shipping contact/address

if your school is taking the ACT online, creating an account for the
technical coordinator
District test
coordinator


Updates the school test coordinator, if necessary.
Verifies contact/address information if your testing program includes district
shipping.
4
5
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PearsonAccessnextTM
Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
Participation, Part 1: How to Submit Participation Data
To submit participation data for a school, take the following steps.
In PearsonAccessnext, confirm that you are in the correct administration and organization in the upper right hand
corner. See the System Basics document for instructions if needed.
Select the Setup icon, and choose Organizations.
The Organizations screen appears.
Select the dropdown list on the Search button, and check the box next to Show all results.
A list of all organizations appears.
Check the box next to the organization you wish to update.
Select the dropdown list on the Start button, and choose All Tasks.
The Tasks for Organizations screen appears.
Select the Manage Participation tab if it’s not already selected. The school appears on the left.
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PearsonAccessnextTM
Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
Use the table below to determine your next step.
If the school is … Then …
Participating on the 
initial test date
Complete the Participating section by:
o selecting a Materials Receipt Date from the dropdown list (the week in
which you can receive materials for the initial test date)
o checking the box for Submit Participation Details at the top of the screen
Participating but
not on the initial
test date

Complete the Participating section by:
o checking the box for Not Testing on the Initial Test Date
o selecting a Materials Receipt Date from the dropdown list (the week in
which you can receive nonsecure materials)
o checking the box for Submit Participation Details at the top of the screen
Not participating

Complete the Not Participating section by:
o selecting a Reason Not Participating from the dropdown list
o if selecting “Other,” completing Other Reason Not Participating
o checking the box for Submit Participation Details at the top of the screen
Note: Do not remove the checkmark from the ACT Use Only box.
Select the Save button. A Success – Changes saved message appears.
Participation, Part 2: How to Verify Test Coordinators and Physical Addresses
To verify test coordinator information and physical addresses, take the following steps.
If you did not use the Exit Tasks button in the previous section, select the Manage Contacts tab (if you did use
the Exit Tasks button, follow steps 1-5 above first).
Review the following information on the screen:
 Under Contacts, select Test Coordinator from the left side of your screen. If you are a district user, select
the Test Coordinator that you want to review under the school name.
 If your testing program includes district shipping, select Shipping Contact/Address. Update this
information if necessary.
Note: If your school will receive shipments, ACT will ship to the test coordinator’s contact address.
Use the following table to determine your next step.
If you are
at a …
And if the school
contact information Then …
…
School
is up to date

Go to step 13. You do not need to do anything else.
needs updating

Go to step 13 and contact your district test coordinator to make the
change.
is up to date

Go to step 13. You do not need to do anything else.
needs updating

See the “Creating and Managing User Accounts” section in this
guide.
District
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Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
Notes:
 If you entered a new test coordinator, enter only the first and last name in the First and Last Name field,
separated by a single space. Do not enter titles or suffixes. You’ll also need to create a user account for the
new test coordinator (see the “How to Create a User Account” section).
 If you need to change a school’s or the district’s physical address, use the Address Change Request Form.
If you made changes to any information on the Tasks for Organizations screen, select the Save button. A
Success – Changes saved message appears.
Select the Exit Tasks button.
How to View or Edit Participation Data
To view or edit already-submitted data, take the appropriate steps in the “Participation, Part 1: How to Submit
Participation Data” section of this guide.
If Your School is Taking the ACT Online
If your school chooses to administer the ACT online, the test coordinator will appoint a technical coordinator and
room supervisors in PearsonAccessnext by creating user accounts. One technical coordinator must be appointed to
configure computers for testing. When you create test sessions, one room supervisor should be appointed to
manage examinees in each online test session.
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PearsonAccessnextTM
Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
Part II: Creating and Managing User Accounts
In this Section
In this section, you’ll find the following information:
 who manages contacts and user accounts
 how to change a school test coordinator
 how to create a user account
 how to delete a user account
 how to edit the data of an existing user
 how to contact ACT
Who Manages Contact and User Accounts
Use the table below to determine the accounts you can manage.
If you are a user
at this level …
State
District
School
Then you can manage these staff accounts …
 District test coordinator contact and user account
 School test coordinator contact and user account
 Technical coordinator account(s)
 Room supervisor user accounts
Only staff at schools within your district, to include:
 Test coordinator contact and user account
 Technical coordinator user account(s)
 Room supervisor user accounts
Only staff at your school, to include:
 Technical coordinator user account(s)
 Room supervisor user accounts
Note: Set up technical coordinator and room supervisor accounts only if your school will be testing the ACT online.
How to Change a School Test Coordinator
If you need to change a test coordinator at a school, the district test coordinator must do three things:
 Update the contact in the Manage Contacts tab (see the “Participation, Part 2: How to Verify Test Coordinators
and Physical Addresses” section).
 Create the new test coordinator’s user account (see the “How to Create a User Account” section).
 Delete the previous test coordinator’s user account (see the “How to Delete a User Account” section).
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Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
How to Create a User Account
To create a user account, take the following steps.
In PearsonAccessnext, confirm that you are in the correct administration and organization in the upper right hand
corner. See the System Basics document for instructions if needed.
Select the Setup icon, and choose Users.
The Users screen appears. Select the dropdown list on the Start button, and select Create / Edit Users.
The Create / Edit Users screen appears.
Select the Organization Name.
Important! When creating a user account for someone at an organization beneath you in the hierarchy (e.g., if
you are at a district and you are creating a school user account), be careful about the organization you assign
them to. If you inadvertently assign them to your own organization, they will be able to see—and possibly edit—
your information as well as the information for every organization that reports to you.
Select the Role (Test Coordinator, Technical Coordinator, or Room Supervisor) for the new user.
Leave the Account as Enabled.
Enter the person’s email address.
The email address will automatically populate in the Username field. Keep the email address as the username.
Enter the user’s first name and last name.
Leave the Active Begin Date and Active End Date fields blank.
Select the Create button. A Success – Changes saved message appears.
Note: The new user will receive a “new account” email from PearsonAccessnext ([email protected]).
The user will need to follow the instructions in that email to finish creating their account.
Select the Exit Tasks button.
How to Delete a User Account
To delete a user account, take the following steps.
Select the Setup icon, and choose Users. The Users screen appears.
Select the dropdown list on the Search button, and check the box next to Show all results. A list of users
appears. Optional: On the left, use the Filters feature to narrow the list of results.
Check the box next to the account you want to delete.
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Managing Contacts and Participation
State Testing and District Testing
Select the dropdown list on the Start button, and select Delete / Restore Users. The Delete / Restore Users
screen appears. The user you selected appears.
Check the box next to the account you wish to delete, and then select the Delete / Restore button. A Success
– Changes saved message appears. The user’s name will now have a red X next to it.
Select the Exit Tasks button.
How to Edit the Data of an Existing User
To edit the data of an existing user, take the following steps.
In PearsonAccessnext, confirm that you are in the correct administration and organization in the upper right hand
corner. See the System Basics document for instructions if needed.
Select the Setup icon, and choose Users. The Users screen appears.
Select the dropdown list on the Search button, and check the box next to Show all results. A list of users
appears. Optional: On the left, use the Filters feature to narrow the list of results.
Check the box next to the account you want to edit.
Select the dropdown list on the Start button, and select Create / Edit Users. The Create/ Edit Users screen
appears. The user appears on the left.
Select the user’s name.
Update fields with the new information and then select the Save button. A Success – Changes saved message
appears.
Select the Exit Tasks button.
How to Contact ACT
If you have questions, you may:
 Contact us electronically via the Contact Us webpage at: www.act.org/stateanddistrict/contactus
 Call us at 800.553.6244, ext. 2800
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