West Virginia ELPA21 Q & A January 8, 2018 Copyright © 2017 American Institutes for Research. All rights reserved.

West Virginia Portal https://wv.portal.airast.org

Portal: Accessing ELPA21 Information Click on card for English Language Proficiency Assessment on left side of portal home page:

ELPA21 Portal Page

ELPA21 Resources

Contacting the Help Desk Click on the Contact Us card on the right hand side of the portal landing page for information on reaching the Help Desk:

TIDE (Test Information Distribution Engine)

Q: I was added to TIDE but I have not received an email to activate my account. What should I do? A: Click on the red “Forgot your password” link on the TIDE login page. You should receive an email with a link to set up your account. If you do not receive an email in 15 minutes, contact the West Virginia ELPA21 Help Desk for assistance.

Q: What are the test status codes for our state as to why not tested? A: West Virginia collects these codes: Special Code Description 1 No longer enrolled 2 Emergency medical waiver 3 Student misclassified/no longer LEP/ELL 4 Parent/Guardian refusal 5 Absent for entire/partial testing window  

Q: Will we need to print pre-ID labels for K-1 with the blank labels? A: Your district’s shipment of kindergarten and grade 1 paper writing supplements will include pre-ID labels for all kindergarten and grade 1 students who were entered in TIDE with an LEP flag prior to December 19, 2017. You will need to print On Demand pre-ID labels for any kindergarten and grade 1 students who enrolled in your district after the list was extracted from TIDE on December 19.

Q: If we should place a student before testing window, do we need to manually enter that student's data in order for them to take the test? A: Any new students have to be entered in WVEIS system first. There is a nightly upload to TIDE system everyday, so once the students are entered into WVEIS, those students should be in TIDE system next day.

Q: Will students be pre-populated from WVEIS? A: West Virginia has uploaded students to TIDE. Only the state can add West Virginia students to TIDE. Districts cannot add students.

Q: What is the process for adding new students Q: What is the process for adding new students?  Is that picked up from WVEIS, does the district coordinator do it, etc.? A: In West Virginia, the state uploads all students to TIDE. The state is sending nightly files to TIDE with new students.

Q: What is the process for fixing student demographic data Q: What is the process for fixing student demographic data?  Is it through WVEIS or does the district coordinator fix it within TIDE? A: All demographic information has to be entered in WVEIS system first.

Q: How early can you print test tickets? A: Test tickets can be printed at any time. However, test tickets includes students’ names and state IDs. Therefore they should be kept in a secure place after they are printed out.

Q: What is the best way to roster Q: What is the best way to roster?  By school/grade level or are there ways to move between rosters? A: Rosters can only be created for students in a single school but they can include students in multiple grades in that school. Rosters are assigned to Test Administrators and Test Administrators only have access in TIDE to see students assigned to them in a roster. The District Coordinator who creates rosters should know whether a Test Administrator needs to see students in multiple grades or just a single grade.

Q: I did not see a module for "Adding-Editing Students and Students test settings". Is there a module for that? A: West Virginia only allows state-level users to add and edit students and student test settings. Therefore we have not posted this module for West Virginia.

Q: We don't need any Braille but I did not see a module on ordering paper Braille. Is there one? A: At this time West Virginia does not anticipate that any districts will need Braille or paper tests so we do not post that module for West Virginia. If a student who requires a Braille or paper test enrolls in your district, contact the state and the WV Help Desk so we can provide the correct test for that student and provide you with instructions on how to administer the test.

Test Delivery System (TDS)

Q: I am assuming we can have students take all 4 tests in one day Q: I am assuming we can have students take all 4 tests in one day? Tests are still untimed correct? A: There are no restrictions on the number of tests that students can take each day. Tests are not timed.

Q: How long does each test take?

Q: After a student selects the answer, will going back and forth on the test, will the test keep their answer? A: Student responses are automatically saved each time the student clicks “Next” to move onto the next question. In addition, responses are automatically saved every 30 seconds if the students spends more time than that on a page.

Q: Should you create a session ID per test domain. Ex Q: Should you create a session ID per test domain?  Ex. one for reading, one writing, etc. A: Multiple tests can be included in the same test session. If you plan to administer two or more different tests during the same test session you can include all the tests in the same test session.

Q: If you don't create a separate session for each domain, is there the flexibility to stop the test after 2 sections and pick up at a later date? A: Each domain is a separate test. Students can take the domain tests over multiple days, but they should be administered in this order: Listening Reading Writing Speaking

Q: If you create a session and there is one student absent, do you have to create a whole new session with different IDs, test tickets, etc.? A: Test sessions need to be created each time you have students testing. For example, if you administer tests on Tuesday morning and then administer additional tests on Tuesday afternoon you should close the test session you created on Tuesday morning and create a new test session on Tuesday afternoon. There is no reason to leave a test session open if no students are testing. Test tickets provide each student with their ID number so the students can log into the test. This does not change between test sessions so test tickets printed out for one test session can be used for a different test session. However, test tickets should be kept secure because they include students’ names and state IDs.

Q: There is a discrepancy in the automatic logout and pausing of students’ tests. Is it 30 seconds or 20 seconds? A: Students will receive a warning message if their test is inactive for 20 minutes. Students will have 30 seconds to click “OK” after the message appears if they are still working on their test. If they do not click “OK” they will be logged out of the test. This is done for security reasons. We do not want a test to stay open on a computer if the student has walked away from the computer.

Q: Time for the screen savers to come on will need to be checked so it doesn’t effect student testing. A: We recommend that you disable any features that display a screen saver or log users out after a period of inactivity on all devices used for testing. If such features activate while a student is testing, the secure browser logs the student out of the test.

Q: In the Listening test, in the upper right hand corner we see 3 boxes. We need clarification of those boxes. Does it mean 3 answers for that question??? Some stimuli or reading passages have more than one question associated with them. When that happens, each question is presented individually and there are tabs in the upper righthand corner of the tests for each question. Students can move to the next question by clicking on the arrow for Next or by clicking on the numbered tab.

Q: Where are the manuals for the test script to be found? A: The Test Administration Manual will be posted in the Resources section of the West Virginia portal under ELPA21/User Guides and Manuals.

Q: Do we have print options? A: West Virginia does not allow students to request that test passages or questions be printed. TAs can print out a copy of the test session from the TA interface if they need a record of which students were included in the test session.

Q: Will iPads be compatible with the test this year? A: iPads are supported for ELPA21 testing. Supported iPads and operating systems are listed on the WV portal. Click on the “Secure Browsers” link. You will need to install AIRSecureTest app on any iPads used for student testing. iPads and Versions of iOS Currently Supported

Q: Is the Secure Browser already set-up or will it need to be installed? A: The Secure Browser needs to be installed on all computers and devices used for secure student testing. The Secure Browser can be downloaded from the Secure Browser page on the West Virginia portal. If you are using a computer or device that has a Secure Browser installed from 2016-2017 you will need to install the new 2017-2018 Secure Browser.

Q: Is "print request" available in WV? A: Print on Request is not available for ELPA21 in West Virginia.

A: The three highlighted topics are: Q: Practice Test--Under Content it has 3 highlighted topics but we can only click on one per each sample test. What are we doing wrong? There is good information in all 3. Would we need all of them at one practice test as we train students or is it designed for one at a time? A: The three highlighted topics are: Overview of the Test Site Test Rules About Print-on-Demand Print-on-Demand is not allowed for ELPA21 in West Virginia so this section does not apply to West Virginia. You can access the other two sections by clicking on the titles or by just scrolling down. If you scroll down you can see the content for all sections.

Q: What is the difference between “Practice Test” and “Practice Test Administration”? A: The portal card for Practice Tests links to the student practice tests. The portal card to Practice Test Administration links to the TA Interface for the practice tests. Students can take a practice test without the TA setting up a TA test session. However, we provide a practice test TA site to allow TAs to practice setting up a test session and approving students to test.

Q: What is the difference between “Practice Test” and “Practice Test Administration”? (continued) If you set up a TA session for the practice tests you will need to have the student uncheck the box next to Guest Session on the student sign-in page so they can enter the TA session ID.

Q: I need some more explanation about the "translated test directions" Q: I need some more explanation about the "translated test directions". Can we use it even if we have no human translator? A: Translated test directions are available in these languages: Arabic Chinese (simplified) Marshallese Russian S’Gaw Karen Spanish Vietnamese Scripts and recordings are posted in the Resources section of the portal. The translated directions can be played from the recording if an adult is not available to read the script. The script indicates which track on the recording corresponds to each translated direction.

Q: Since the test format needs certain types of headsets, do we need to use those headsets to do the practice tests or will any headset do? A: If you are taking a practice test using the Secure Browser you will need to use a supported headset that is compatible with the Secure Browser. If you are taking a practice test using a non- Secure Browser you can use any headset that is compatible with the non-Secure Browser. We recommend that you take a Speaking practice test with the Secure Browser and any headset that you intend to use for operational testing prior to administering an operational test to students. If you encounter any issues, including issues with recording and playing back responses, contact the WV Help Desk for assistance.

Online Reporting System (ORS)

Q: With the ORS how soon will we receive the test results? A: For the Summative assessment, scores will not be posted until after the close of the window. We anticipate that West Virginia summative test scores will be available in the Online Reporting System on May 11, 2018. For the Screener, scores are posted in the Online Reporting System as the tests are scored and the scores are available. All Screeners are scored and reported within 7 days of when the tests are submitted for scoring.

Thank You! Contact the West Virginia Help Desk if you have additional questions: Phone: 1.844.560.7367 Email: WVHelpDesk@air.org