New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) Present and Future Presented by: Mary Enright, Associate, Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies Vanessa Lee Mercado, NYSESLAT Coordinator, Office of State Assessment New York State Education Department Long Island Teachers’ Institute March 30, 2006

NYSED-State Assessments  Provide a uniform measure of student achievement across all districts, all schools, all classrooms.  State tests assess the extent to which students have achieved the learning standards.  Drive necessary changes in curriculum and classroom interaction.

Test Development Process  The test development process ensures assessments are fair, valid, and reliable measures of student performance in relation to meeting the State learning standards.  The NYSESLAT is designed with input from NYS teachers.

Test Development Process Learning Standards Test Specifications/ Test Blueprint Item Writing Select item writers Train item writers Test Items are submitted and reviewed Testing Items Field test items/forms Range Finding Score Field Tests Operational forms/Tests Test Analysis Field Test data Item Analysis Exam review committees/ Standard setting study

Establish English as a Second Language Learning Standards  Align the NYS ELA standards with the TESOL Standards.  Learning Standards contain content and performance indicators.  Provide a framework for ESL learning experiences, classroom practices, and curriculum development.  Set the parameters for the NYSESLAT.

Understanding the Process  Design test specifications-”test blueprint”.  Solicit and train item writers.  Passage Review: select passages for the field test items.  Item Review Committee: review and edit submitted items.  Field Test forms; scan field test; score items.

Understanding the Process (continued)  Range Finding: select anchor and training set papers.  Perform item and test analysis.  Select items for the operational form of the test.  Standard Setting Study: determine student performance levels through standard setting study-”cut scores”.

What’s new for 2006?  New items developed for and solely owned by New York State.  K-1 Writing activities written by NY teachers.  2-12 Writing prompts revised by NY teachers.  Pre-Writing questions written by NY teachers.  Writing rubrics revised by NY committee.  Printed listening options spoken on audio CD.  Operational scoring training DVD with live items.

Important NYSESLAT 2006 Testing Dates ActivityTarget Dates Five Turnkey Training Sessions on scoring NYSESLAT2/1 – 2/8 Schools order tests via Spectrum2/1-3/10 Speaking test booklets arrive at schools4/24-4/25 Administration of the Speaking Test4/24-5/26 Listening, Reading, and Writing test booklets arrive at schools 5/3-5/5 Administration of the Listening, Reading, and Writing Tests5/8-5/26 DVDs and booklets for scorer training arrive at schools5/24-5/25 Questions and answers for scoring posted at 5/30 Help Line for Scoring available5/30-6/12

Important NYSESLAT 2006 Testing Dates (continued) Scoring of constructed responses5/30-6/12 Submit scorable materials to scanning centers*6/12 Return test booklets to Harcourt6/16 Scanning6/13-6/30 Preliminary files to Repository6/26 Preliminary files to Harcourt6/30 Final data to Repository7/10 Final File to Harcourt7/14 Scores available to schools through GROW8/14 * New York City and Yonkers may establish different due dates for district schools to submit answer sheets for scanning.

For more information regarding the NYSESLAT