System Requirements:

The list below provides all of the information and requirements needed to use the IFG survey properly. Not checking your system's hardware may result in poor system performance during student testing. If you need any help please contact your district technical coordinator to assist you.

• Hardware
• Operating System
• Internet Connectivity and Security
• Bandwidth
• Additional Software

• 64MB of RAM. 128MB recommended.
• Running the Information for Growth software requires an average of 32 MB of memory. Under normal conditions, a system with 64 MB of RAM should suffice to run the application; however, if your computer is simultaneously running several applications, the IFG performance could be affected.

• Monitors should have a resolution of at least 800X600 pixels. Video adapters should have at least 8 MB of memory.
• For MAC systems we strongly recommend to set the Dock system to the "Right" position and "Automatically Hide" mode; otherwise the Dock system could interfere with the testing environment.

• 300 MHz or higher.

Windows

• Your system must have a sound card with necessary drivers installed and atleast 128MB of RAM.
• Windows users must also have Microsoft SAPI 5.1 or SAPI 4.1 SDK installed in their system.
• Windows XP and 2000 by default have SAPI components installed with a single voice option: Microsoft Sam.
• Windows 98 does not have these components by default. The SAPI components can be downloaded and installed from the Microsoft website or from the link shown below.
• This SAPI will add two more voices: Microsoft Mary and Microsoft Mike. These two voices have a better quality than "Sam" and are recommended.
• Windows 2000 and XP users are advised to also install this SAPI to add the extra two voices.
• By default the voice selection in your system would be "Sam". To change it open "Speech" in the Control Panel, select the "Text To Speech" tab and make your choice in the "Voice selection".
• Download Microsoft SAPI 5.1 Redistributable

Mac

• Macs usually have the necessary hardware and software to support Text to Speech, no additional installation is necessary.
• You can change the default voice in your system from the "Speech" settings in the System Preferences.
• The 'Vicki' or 'Victoria' voices are recommended.

Operating System: back to top

• Windows 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP, 2003 Mac OS X

Internet Connectivity and Security: back to top

• Allow connections to the Internet using HTTP and HTTPS protocols on port 80 and 443.
• Allow communication to the following servers:

• http://ifg.caltesting.org
• https://ifg.caltesting.org
• http://ifg3.caltesting.org
• https://ifg3.caltesting.org
• http://updates.caltesting.org

Bandwidth: back to top

• The bandwidth demands directly depend on the sizes and nature of the items in the test to be taken by your students (number of items, how graphically intensive the items are, etc). As an illustration and for planning purposes let's determine the testing capacity of a school with a T1 connection and assuming an average test size of 60KB:
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• Bandwidth available: T1 - 1.54 Mbps or 1540 Kbps
• Assuming a practical 30-second timeframe for all students to login concurrently we have:
• 1540Kbps * 30sec = 46200 Kbits capacity
• Test size: 60KB or 480 Kbits
• Testing capacity: 46200Kbits / 480Kbits = 96 users
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• A T1 connection can support at least 64 users. However, assuming a longer than 30-second concurrent login time for your students, you could increase your network testing capacity.
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Additional Software: back to top

• Recommended Adobe Flash Player Version: 9r16
• Minimum Adobe Flash Player Version: 7r63

Adobe recommends that all Flash Player users upgrade to the most recent version of the player through the Adobe Flash Player Download Center to take advantage of security updates.