Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District TELPAS Reading Training for Campus Testing Coordinators and Principals January 2015

Attending this training does not take the place of reading the appropriate test administration manuals. Read all applicable manuals to include the 2015 District and Campus Coordinator Manuals (DCCM) and the 2015 TELPAS Reading Test Administrator Manual.

General Information About TELPAS Reading for Grades 2–12  The TELPAS domain of reading in grades 2–12 is assessed through online multiple-choice tests.  The reading tests are designed specifically for ELLs, whose ability to demonstrate general reading skills is often obscured by their emerging understanding of the English language.  The tests measure English reading ability according to the TELPAS English language proficiency continuum, which is aligned to the ELPS and based on the stages of second language acquisition of ELLs TELPAS TA manual, page 8

Grade Clusters for Online Reading  The TELPAS reading assessments for grades 2–12 consist of six grade cluster tests: 2015 TELPAS TA manual, page 8

 TELPAS reading tests are not timed. Students must be allowed to work at their individual speed.  Once a student begins a test, he or she must complete it on the same day.  Districts are not required to test beyond regular school hours but are free to do so if they choose.  Districts should exercise judgment about starting a test session after lunch, as some students may not have enough time to work at their individual speed to respond to the test questions before the end of the school day.  Every effort should be made to assess all eligible students. If students are not present for their assigned test session, they should be moved to another test session in the testing window. General Information About TELPAS Reading for Grades 2– TELPAS TA manual, page 8

TELPAS Reading The following procedures are not permitted, as they may invalidate the test. ■ Students may not receive reading assistance. ■ Students may not use English-language or foreign-language reference materials. ■ Test questions and reading selections may not be translated. ■ Test questions, answer choices, and selections may not be rephrased or clarified DCCM, page T-36

Prepare Students for Online Testing Browser-based TELPAS online reading test student tutorials are available to assist students in becoming familiar with the online testing environment. The student tutorials are optional and separate from the online tests; however, it is recommended that students have the opportunity to access the tutorials for the following reasons: ■ Students will increase their familiarity with the TestNav tools. ■ There are no sample questions at the beginning of the TELPAS reading tests. Access the student tutorials at the links listed below. erials/ erials/ Harlingen CISD students must complete the TELPAS online Reading tutorials prior to taking the TELPAS Reading tests online TELPAS TA manual, page 13

Plan for and Conduct Training for Reading Test Administrators 1. Designate Reading Test Administrators In cooperation with the district coordinator and principal, select a sufficient number of test administrators to meet your campus needs. Designate at least one test administrator for every 30 students to be tested. Test administrator credentials, which are the same for STAAR and TELPAS, are found in the STAAR section of this manual. Select any personnel you plan to assign as online session administrators. These individuals are able to perform a broader range of technological functions in the Assessment Management System than test administrators DCCM Page T-20

Plan for and Conduct Training for Reading Test Administrators 2. Schedule Reading Test Administrator Training All test administrators, online session administrators, and monitors are required to have annual training in general and TELPAS-specific assessment procedures. This training is required annually for staff assigned to these roles. The end date for this training is March 13, If necessary, additional training may be conducted after this date to address extenuating circumstances DCCM Page T-20

Plan for and Conduct Training for Reading Test Administrators 3. Distribute TELPAS Reading Test Administrator Manual Distribute the TELPAS Manual in time for trainees to read before the training session. Direct them to prepare for their training by thoroughly reading the sections of the manual for test administrators and applicable sections of the following online resources: ○ the Assessment Management System User’s Guide, which provides details for navigating and using resources of the Assessment Management System ○ TestNav 7 Technical Guide, which provides information about navigating TestNav and conducting online sessions 2015 DCCM Page T-20

Plan for and Conduct Training for Reading Test Administrators 4. Conduct Test Administrator Training Review the test administrator duties in the TELPAS Reading Test Administrator Manual and other applicable online resources. A separate user ID and password are required for the Practice Center. Test administrators can use the Practice Center to practice using the Assessment Management System without affecting real data. A separate user ID and password are required for the Practice Center. Reading test administrators must initial and sign an oath after training and prior to handling secure materials. Allow enough time in the training session for questions and discussion DCCM Pages T-20 and T-21

Become Familiar with the Administration Directions  Prior to testing, familiarize yourself with the administration directions that you will read aloud to students.  The TELPAS reading administration directions take into account the difficulties that some ELLs have in understanding oral administration directions in English, as well as some students’ limited experience with standardized testing.  Sentences are shorter, the language is simpler, and the instructions are more explicit TELPAS TA manual, page 14

You are permitted to… ■ adjust the language and specificity of the administration directions to the level of English proficiency of the students in your test session. This means that you may shorten the directions, explain them further, simplify an explanation, or state the information in a different way in order to make the directions more understandable or suitable for your students. You must not, however, change the substance of the information contained in the directions ■ to translate into the native language of your students the administration directions that you read aloud to the students before the test. (Test questions and reading selections, however, must not be translated. ) 2015 TELPAS TA manual, page 14

Other Steps to Prepare for TELPAS Reading and Entry of Holistic Rating  Ensure that testing infrastructure is in place and that the test delivery system is configured; conduct test of online testing system DCCM Page T-25

Plan for Administration of Online Reading Tests and Entry of Holistic Rating Information.  Create Reading Test Sessions and Generate Student Authorizations All ELLs in grades 2–12 must be assigned to a test session. In coordination with the district coordinator, campus coordinators should create reading test sessions at least one to two weeks prior to testing. Reading test sessions must be created before students can log in to TestNav to take the test. Ensure that proctor caching server is designated in the session details. Student authorizations contain the URL that will be entered into a browser to access TestNav and the unique username and test code needed to log in to take an assessment. Student authorizations should be printed at least one day before the test administration and stored in a secure location DCCM Pages T-31 and T-32

Collect Reading Test Administration Materials  After the final test session, reading test administrators must return all test materials to you. These materials include the following: TELPAS Reading Test Administrator Manual (The manual may be recycled. They will not be returned to the testing contractor.) seating charts test session roster(s) student authorizations (secure documents) scratch paper (secure documents)  Verify that you have received a signed test administrator security oath from each of your test administrators. Retain these security oaths for at least five years.  Destroy the student authorizations and scratch paper DCCM PageT-39

TELPAS Reading Testing Procedures Students must remain seated and are not allowed to converse during testing. Students must not use reference materials. Students may use scratch paper. All scratch paper must be destroyed immediately after testing. Some students may finish a test earlier than others. After they have finished testing, students may be allowed to quietly read books or leave the testing room DCCM Page T-36

TELPAS Reading Testing Procedures Review the TELPAS testing procedures on pages 20 to 25 of the 2015 TELPAS Reading Test Administrator Manual.

TELPAS Submission in Assessment Management System  A student approved by TEA to take a paper TELPAS reading test will need to be placed in a TELPAS rating entry group so that holistic ratings and other rater information can be entered online.  A student approved by TEA to take a paper TELPAS reading test will need to be placed in an online test session so that responses to test questions can be transcribed into a special online form.

TELPAS Student Tutorials  As in the past, tutorials are separate from tests.  Tutorials are recommended for students new to TELPAS  Several different test item formats  No sample items with test  Tutorials available at tutorials tutorials

TELPAS Release of Spring 2014 Grades 2–12 TELPAS Reading Tests  There was a full release of TELPAS forms for all grade bands in fall These are released in the online format to allow them to be seen in the TestNav environment, just as the students see the operational test.  These released tests can be accessed from telpas/released-tests/ telpas/released-tests/

Support  Texas Education Agency (TEA) Phone: (512)  Pearson’s Austin Operations Center Phone: (800)