Linguistic Accommodations and ELL Assessments September 2015 Ileana Gomez LPAC/Intake Specialist Bilingual ESL Department

•Identification, Placement, Assessment Language Proficiency Assessment Committee LPAC: Roles and Responsibilities for ELLs •Identification, Placement, Assessment •Ensure proper placement and service •Instructional methodologies and/or Interventions •Annual Review •Linguistic accommodation and assessment decisions •Parental Notification/Progress •Maintain updated and accurate ELL documentation

Who makes ELL assessment decisions for STAAR/EOC? Per Chapter 101 of TAC: The campus LPAC will meet to make the best assessment decisions on an individual student basis Decisions are made in collaboration with the teacher of record and campus LPAC Decisions made by the campus LPAC in keeping with State and District policy must not be altered or changed by any other campus entities Whole grade and/or class decisions are not allowable

What assessment decisions are made by the campus LPAC? The campus LPAC will make and document decisions regarding the following: The type of assessment offered to the ELL (i.e. STAAR Spanish, STAAR-L, STAAR) The use of specific linguistic accommodations during assessments STAAR Exemption (Qualifying Unschooled Asylee/Refugee) Special Provision for STAAR English I EOC Calculating Years in U.S. Schools

Regulatory Procedural Guide Based on 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapter AA LPACs should be familiar with these commissioner of education rules TEA is required to develop administrative procedures to implement ELL assessment statutory requirements LPACs are required to follow these administrative procedures---outlined in the guide titled ’Linguistic Accommodations for ELLs Participating in the STAAR Program’

STAAR Assessments

ELL Participation in STAAR Spanish and STAAR L

Different Assessment Decisions for Different Subjects •Decisions will often vary by necessity because of the design of the STAAR program Example: Many ELLs will take — –STAAR for reading and writing, but –STAAR L for mathematics, science, social studies •It may sometimes be appropriate to give STAAR Spanish in some subjects and STAAR or STAAR L in other subjects •LPAC decisions to give a student one type of assessment for one subject and another type of assessment for another subject should be well-justified in the required documentation

Linguistic Accommodations

Linguistic Accommodations During State Assessments •Not all accommodations suitable for instruction are allowable during state assessments •Accommodations in instruction are designed to foster and support learning •Accommodations during assessment allow test to more accurately measure degree students have met curriculum and performance standards •Standardization and test administration logistics narrow accommodation possibilities during state assessments

Linguistic Accommodation Eligibility, Criteria, and Decisions LPAC’s linguistic accommodation decisions must be made on individual student basis Decisions must be based on — –student’s particular needs for second language acquisition support –whether student is routinely provided the accommodation in instruction and testing Providing unfamiliar accommodations may hinder rather than help student LPACs must coordinate with subject area teachers

STAAR Linguistic Accommodations

STAAR Spanish 3-5 There are no allowable linguistic accommodations for STAAR Spanish, including extra time Extra time is not an allowable linguistic accommodation for STAAR Spanish

Extra Time (Same Day) as a Lingusitic Accommodation LPACs must adhere to eligibility criteria for this accommodation (page 6 of linguistic accommodation guide) Not an “automatic” decision Extra time not permitted beyond regularly scheduled school day Does not mean ELL must take all day; means student may have additional time needed within school day As a linguistic accommodation, this applies only to STAAR assessments administered in English (STAAR and STAAR L) all subjects

Dictionary Policy

Dictionaries: Important Reminders Bilingual dictionaries must be word/phrase translation dictionaries only. They must not be designed to define words or to illustrate or explain content terminology or concepts Subject specific/topic specific dictionaries are not permitted No downloadable word lists or dictionaries created by campuses are allowed Dictionaries that contain occasional pictures are acceptable as long as the pictures do not illustrate content terminology or concepts

Accommodations During Testing Accommodations that have been documented by the Campus LPAC must be made available to students on the day of testing regardless of whether or not the student requests to use the accommodation

Documenting STAAR Participation and Linguistic Accommodation Decisions The campus LPAC will use the following procedures to document and verify STAAR Participation And Linguistic Accommodation decisions: Verify that all STAAR Determination and Linguistic Accommodation forms have been received for your campus ELLs and disburse them to teachers on campus Work with teachers to determine the most accurate STAAR test and linguistic accommodations to be given based on individual student needs Ensure that the general education teacher has completed the front and back of the form and conduct an LPAC meeting to verify all testing decisions are correct All LPAC members sign each student’s STAAR Determination and Linguistic Accommodation form Copy the second page of each form and give it to the testing coordinator

STAAR Participation and Linguistic Accommodation Form

STAAR Participation and Linguistic Accommodation Form

Reporting Linguistic Accommodations STAAR Accommodations and Assessment Decisions MUST be accurately coded and reported to TEA Please ensure STAAR Participation and Linguistic Accommodation documentation is available during testing and supports what has been reported to TEA A student who is coded as receiving linguistic accommodations is not eligible to exit the Bilingual/ESL program at the end of the school year

Individual Student Decisions and Final Decision-Making Close to Assessment Time Previous slides illustrate some examples of the need for — •individual student decisions, and •the reviewing of student progress shortly before the assessment (in cases where an assessment decision may change because of progress made) STAAR assessment decisions should not be made until the Spring semester

Special Circumstances

Unschooled Asylee/Refugee Grade 3-8 Only •Amendment to 19 TAC §101.1005 allows for the exemption of certain qualifying Unschooled ELL asylees and refugees from being administered a STAAR assessment in grades 3–8 •This exemption only applies to those unschooled asylees and refugees in their first year in U.S. schools •Applies to assessments in grades 3–8 only •Exemption limited to 1 year to comply with federal law

Unschooled Asylee/Refugee Grade 3-8 Only Exemption applies only to asylee or refugees with limited or no prior schooling To qualify students have to be enrolled in U.S. schools as an asylee or refugee as defined by Federal Regulations Only applies to qualifying students in their first year of enrollment in U.S. schools

Unschooled Asylee/Refugee Grade 3-8 Only

TELPAS

TELPAS Collaborate with the Campus LPAC chair to ensure all identified ELLs are assessed with the TELPAS TELPAS data collection is a very important time of year, and information input into TAMS during this window can and will affect campus accountability LPAC Chairs will share ELL student information with you regarding Years in U.S. Schools, and Unschooled Asylee/Refugee students for input into TAMS

Student History Worksheet The Campus LPAC will collect and share information regarding the school history of every identified ELL They may share the information using the Student History Worksheets or via an Excel spreadsheet

Thank You Testing Coordinators and LPAC Chairs should maintain a strong partnership throughout the school year We thank you for all of your hard work in supporting the academic success of students in our District

LPAC Specialists

LPAC/Intake Center Contacts 2617 N. Henderson Ave. Suite 700 75206 (Behind Bonham Elementary) Amanda Clymer Director of ELL Compliance/Student Intake Center Mahiri Salcido LPAC/Intake Supervisor 972-749-5739 Msalcido@dallasisd.org George I-Hernandez Data Supervisor 972-749-5792 gihernan@dallasisd.org Office of Language Proficiency Testing (OLPT) 972-749-5730 Fax 972-749-5751 Linda Wainscott LPAC/Intake Specialist 972-749-5793 lwainscott@dallasisd.org Ileana Gomez Murillo 972-749-5765 ilgomez@dallasisd.org Antonio Sanchez 972-749-5736 antosanchez@dallasisd.org Susan Kim 972-749-5788 sukim@dallasisd.org