What ACCESS, the New Virginia Test for LEP Students, Means for School Districts LEP Caucus Presentation July 2008

What is ACCESS? Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs) Developed by World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium: Grade Level Clusters Performance Definitions English Language Proficiency Standards Model Performance Indicators (MPI) Tiered Test Assesses English language proficiency for Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), NOT for determining Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Reading Writing Reading SOL or VGLA Plain English Math SOL 4 Math SOL Reading SOL Monitored Students 2 (Year 1 & Year 2) Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4 Status 1 and 4 Students Monitored Students English Language Proficiency Assessment (Grades K-12) 1 Levels 3-4 NCLB Assessment Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) SOLs – Reading 3 and Math (Grades 3-8) Listening Speaking Reading Writing SELP or state- approved local assessments Levels Students in K-2 may be assessed using a local body of evidence. 2. Monitored students in grades 4-8 who have passed their most recent Reading SOL are exempted from the ELP assessment. 3. Students who have been enrolled in a U.S. school for less than 12 months receive a one-time exemption from the Reading SOL. 4. LEP students who are first year enrollees in U.S. schools are also eligible to take the PEM. Math SOL Reading SOL SELP or state- approved local assessments Note that some Monitored students are exempted from ELP Assessment if they have passed their most recent Reading SOL. Those not exempted take only the Reading and Writing subtests. Note that all LEP students who have been in the US for more than a year must take the Reading SOL or VGLA. The ELP assessment cannot be used for the purposes of AYP.

Reading SOL or VGLA Plain English Math SOL 3 Math SOL Reading SOL Monitored Students (Year 1 & Year 2) Status 1 and 4 Students Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4 Status 1 and 4 Students Monitored Students Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) English Language Proficiency Assessment (Grades K-12) 1 Levels 3-4 NCLB Assessment Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) SOLs – Reading 2 and Math (Grades 3-8) Listening Speaking Reading Writing ACCESS for ELLs Levels Students in K-2 may be assessed using a local body of evidence. 2. Students who have been enrolled in a U.S. school for less than 12 months receive a one-time exemption from the Reading SOL. 3. LEP students who are first year enrollees in U.S. schools are also eligible to take the PEM. Math SOL Reading SOL Consideration is being given to testing Monitored students even if they have passed their most recent Reading SOL. Monitored students may also have to take the Speaking and Listening subtests. ACCESS for ELLs will not be used for the purposes of AYP.

5 Challenges to Implementing ACCESS Under current conditions, the following are the key challenges to implementation of ACCESS for ELLs: Testing Monitored students: the USDOE is proposing new regulations requiring that we test monitored students for English proficiency, even when they have passed Reading SOLs Funding: ACCESS is expensive (~$23 a test) and, unlike every other state mandated test, not funded by the Commonwealth Recruitment, training, and coordination of testing staff, particularly if Monitored students are not exempted. Timeframe to test and receive results Statewide Model Performance Indicators (MPI)

5 Components of ACCESS Grade Level Clusters SELP: Allowed for more whole class administration Performance Definitions (6 Proficiency Levels) SELP: 4 performance level narratives English Language Proficiency Standards from WIDA SELP: Aligned with Virginia’s ELP Standards Model Performance Indicators (MPI) for 4 Core Subject Areas and Language Arts from WIDA SELP: Used Virginia’s ELP Standards for Language Arts Tiered Tests within Grade Level by Ability SELP: Did not have tiers within grades

The 2007 WIDA ELP Standards are clustered: PreK−K PreK−K Grades 1−2 Grades 1−2 Grades 3−5 Grades 3−5 Grades 6−8 Grades 6−8 Grades 9−12 Grades 9−12 Grade Level Clusters

Performance Definitions

1. English language learners communicate for Social and Instructional purposes within the school setting. 2. English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts. 3. …in the content area of Mathematics. 4. …in the content area of Science. 5. …in the content area of Social Studies. English Language Proficiency Standards

More than 1000 MPIs, i.e. examples of assessable language skills, are contained in the WIDA ELP StandardsMore than 1000 MPIs, i.e. examples of assessable language skills, are contained in the WIDA ELP Standards Form developmental strands (across the 5 levels of language proficiency) that reflect the second language acquisition processForm developmental strands (across the 5 levels of language proficiency) that reflect the second language acquisition process Describe how students can use the language associated with a given standard and language proficiency level within a language domainDescribe how students can use the language associated with a given standard and language proficiency level within a language domain Model Performance Indicators

Tiered Test ENTERINGBEGINNINGDEVELOPINGEXPANDINGBRIDGING REACHINGREACHING Tier A Tier B Tier C THERE ARE 3 VERSIONS OF THE TEST TO ADMINISTER DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF THE STUDENT

Key differences between ACCESS for ELLs and SELP is that ACCESS: Is a tiered test Tests language of content Has items written by teachers Assesses speaking in a different way, increasing the training burden for that subtest Differences from SELP Each item represents a certain level, scorer decides if a student’s response meets criteria for that level – with SELP, scorer assigns level to each response

Needs Short-Term: Alignment of 5 WIDA levels to Virginia’s current 4 ELP levels Maintenance of current rules regarding LEP testing (for example, exempting Monitored students if they have passed their most recent Reading SOL) Funding Long-Term: Development of Statewide Model Performance Indicators (MPIs) Funding Evaluation: To what extent does the ACCESS meet the needs of Virginia’s LEP students while meeting the requirements of NCLB? Evaluation: To what extent does the ACCESS meet the needs of Virginia’s LEP students while meeting the requirements of NCLB?

Possible Next Steps Testing Monitored students: the USDOE is proposing new regulations requiring that we test monitored students for English proficiency, even when they have passed Reading SOLs Contact Congressmen and Senators Funding: ACCESS is expensive (~$23 a test) and, unlike every other state mandated test, not funded by the Commonwealth Lobby State legislators Recruitment, training, and coordination of testing staff, particularly if Monitored students are not exempted Support districts in developing schedules that minimize disruption to the children’s education Timeframe to test and receive results Work with State Statewide Model Performance Indicators (MPI) Work with State, realize that to do it this year simply is not feasible

What ACCESS, the New Virginia Test for LEP Students, Means for School Districts Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Volunteers? LEP Caucus Presentation July 2008