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ELP Assessment Update

The window for English language proficiency testing opens today. Information in this communication will address some common questions districts have had and some fixes we are working on for our systems. Thank you for all you do to support our language learners and all students through the testing season.

Ordering Materials

ELPA21

Some districts have indicated that the materials they received from AIR were insufficient for testing. If you are needing additional materials (e.g., K-1 writing booklets), your DAC can order these through TIDE. All initial deliveries have been made.

WIDA

If your district received materials for students identified in December, then you only need to order materials specific for any additional students to test. However, if this is the first time the district will be receiving materials, then order all of the following:

• All grade band specific testing materials needed including
• Alternate ACCESS Listening, Reading, and Speaking Test Booklets
• Alternate ACCESS Student Response Booklets
• Alternate ACCESS TA Scripts

NOTE: Kindergarten students will take the grade 1-2 test.

• DRC Return Shipping Labels
• Return Material Instructions
• UPS RS Labels
• District/School Labels
• From page 51 of the District and School Test Coordinator’s Manual:

District/School Labels are unique to this process. Only SEAs can order additional District/School Labels. Should your school require additional labels of this type, you should contact your state education agency for more information.

ELPA21 Reporting “Proficiency Not Demonstrated” to CEDARS and ELPA21 Eligibility

CEDARS is currently rejecting ELPA21 screener scale scores in J20 for students with a “Proficiency not demonstrated” profile of “0000”. The underlying issue is that the data element in CEDARS is a single integer, so CEDARS turns the “0000” into “0” which in turn fails to recognize the “0000” profile. A fix for this issue is tentatively scheduled to be deployed during the first week of February but the specific schedule is dependent on other issues.

In the meantime, the recognized issue means that students with such a placement test profile are not coded as English learners in CEDARS and therefore not in TIDE, meaning they will not be able to access the ELPA21 summative assessment until either A) the issue in CEDARS is fixed and the student’s data can be correctly communicated to TIDE, or B) an OSPI administrator manually updates the student data in TIDE.

The issue is additionally compounded by the lack of a statewide student extract from ORS to indicate both the extent of the issue statewide and a listing of specific students being impacted. An estimate based on an extract of all ELPA21 screeners administered between September 1 and October 31 2019 points to a possible 2800 students being impacted by this issue during upcoming annual testing. While OSPI’s Assessment Data Analysts investigate whether a parallel workaround system may be necessary, please work with these troubleshooting questions to decide whether to seek assistance from OSPI:

• Do I have any students in my district that scored “proficiency not demonstrated” on the screener?
• If so, can we wait until the first week of February to print test tickets for our ELPA21 testers based on the schools’ schedules?

If the answer to #1 is ‘yes’ and #2 is ‘no,’ email assessmentanalysts@k12.wa.us to address any specific records – we don’t want to discourage proactive behavior for testing, but the volume of records statewide may be more than OSPI’s analysts can handle manually if the problem isn’t resolved quickly. To allow OSPI to best support testers statewide please consider delaying actions like printing test tickets and other preparations for testing until the first full week of February if such actions would not negatively impact student testing experiences. If student testing experiences would be adversely affected by the delay, please follow the steps above and contact OSPI.

Learner Characteristics Survey

OSPI wants to better understand the characteristics and educational experiences of our ELs with significant cognitive disabilities. One approach we are taking in this effort is to request that teachers complete a Learner Characteristics Survey for each of their K through 2 students taking the WIDA Alternate ACCESS for ELLs assessment. A similar survey is used with WA-AIM testers, and we would like to include K-2 students in the data, so we are asking that you respond to the survey linked below for each of your K-2 students.

The data we gain from this survey will inform discussions around test results, exit criteria, and test experiences

Survey link: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4788588/Learner-Characteristics-WIDA-K2-2019

Observations/Monitoring

OSPI is interested in observing ELP testing sessions around the state. If you are interested in having a visit from the OSPI Assessment department to observe an ELPA21 testing session or two, please contact Leslie Huff (leslie.huff@k12.wa.us). 

Work Groups

OSPI is always interested in hearing new voices contribute to the conversation. If you have interest in serving on future OSPI workgroups around ELP assessment, please contact Leslie Huff (leslie.huff@k12.wa.us) to be added to the list.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Leslie Huff, ELP Assessment Coordinator (leslie.huff@k12.wa.us). Questions, concerns, ideas, and solutions are all welcome. Thank you for all that you do each day. 

EVERY STUDENT READY FOR CAREER, COLLEGE, AND LIFE Led by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, OSPI oversees K-12 public education in Washington state. Our mission is to provide funding, resources, tools, data and technical assistance that enable educators to ensure students succeed in our public schools, are prepared to access post-secondary training and education, and are equipped to thrive in their careers and lives.