Performance Matters Assessment and Analytics
Performance Matters Assessment and Analytics
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Use speech-to-text

Students who need assistance entering responses in the online testing platform can use the speech-to-text accommodation.

Speech-to-Text is available for Short Answer Essay responses.

Enable the tool

A teacher or test administrator must enable speech-to-text for the assessment or for individual students.

For the assessment

  1. Open the assessment you want to configure.

  2. In the Test Format section, select Speech-to-Text.

  3. Save the assessment settings.

For the student

When student-level accommodations are used, confirm that accommodations are enabled for the district.

  1. Navigate to student details, then select Test Accommodations.

  2. Select Speech-to-Text for the student.

  3. Save the changes.

Preview the student experience

  1. Open a preview or review of the assessment that includes a Short Answer Essay question.

  2. Confirm the Start dictation microphone icon appears in the response field.

  3. Select Start dictation (microphone icon) and speak a sample response.

  4. Confirm the response is transcribed into the text field.

  5. Check that the word count appears and updates as the response changes.

  6. If needed, use the language list to select a different language and test again.

Speech recognition depends on the browser, device, and microphone permissions. Make sure students use a supported browser and allow microphone access before starting the assessment.

Use speech-to-text

  1. Open a test review, preview, or active assessment that includes a Short Answer Essay question.

  2. Locate the Start dictation (microphone icon) control in the response field.

  3. Select Start dictation (microphone icon).

  4. Speak your response and confirm the spoken words are added to the response field as text.

  5. Review and edit the transcribed text as needed.

  6. Continue typing or select Start dictation again to add more text.

Students can use speech-to-text and typing together in the same response. Typing remains available at all times. Students control when speech recognition is active.

Notes

  • Speech-to-text is currently available only for Short Answer Essay responses. Other response types do not include speech-to-text.

  • Always save changes after enabling the feature at the assessment or student level.

  • Verify that you are editing the correct assessment or student record before saving changes.

  • The Accommodations Profile Template in MyReports includes the speech-to-text accommodation.

Known issue: Safari language support
Safari currently supports speech-to-text reliably only in English (US). On Safari, language selection is limited to English (US). Chrome, Edge, and Brave continue to support the full language selection experience.

Tips

  • Use the assessment-level setting when multiple students need the same accommodation.

  • Use the student-level setting when the accommodation should apply only to an individual learner.

  • Test the microphone and transcription immediately after saving to confirm the feature works as expected.

  • Test non-default languages carefully and review transcription results before broad use.