1. ELL Assessment Update Title III ELL Symposium July 30, 2012
Laura Ayala
ELL Assessment Director
Student Assessment Division
Texas Education Agency

2. Topics ELL Measure of Progress
Alignment of TELPAS with Academic Language Demands of STAAR
Preview of Topics for September Update TETN on ELL Assessment
STAAR Performance

3. Inclusion of ELLs in STAAR
All ELLs participate in STAAR grade 3–8 and EOC assessments
TAC § (h) requires policies for including academic performance of ELLs in accountability measures to take into account second language acquisition developmental needs of this student population

4. Key Components of Framework for ELL Assessment and Accountability
Allow linguistic accommodations for all grades and subjects for assessments administered in English
Acknowledge time it takes to learn English and impact on instruction, assessment, and accountability
Struggling to understand English in class affects ability to learn challenging subject matter
Difficulty understanding test questions in English affects ability to fully demonstrate knowledge and skills
Avoid “one standard fits all” perceptions that disregard second language acquisition developmental processes and portray students and educational systems as failing
Measure annual progress toward proficiency in both academic English and academic knowledge and skills, considering time it takes to learn English

5. STAAR and TELPAS Relationship
TELPAS is aligned with the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS), which target development of academic English language proficiency
By supporting development of academic English, ELPS support learning of content area TEKS
As part of transition to more rigorous STAAR program, TEA will examine relationship of TELPAS to STAAR and make adjustments as needed to ensure strong link between academic language proficiency assessed on TELPAS and academic language demands of STAAR
Implementation of STAAR-aligned TELPAS scheduled for spring 2014

6. Impetus for ELL-Specific Progress Measures in Texas
Three main sources ―
1. Texas ELL Assessment Focus Group indicated:
Too often ELLs exempted and given LAT versions of TAKS were not part of campus and district focused efforts to help struggling students because LAT students were exempt from state reporting and accountability
For STAAR program, it would be better to eliminate exemptions and find fair and appropriate ways to assess ELLs and be accountable for meeting their unique needs

7. Impetus for ELL-Specific Progress Measures in Texas
Three main sources, continued ―
2. National ELL education policy experts now officially recommend that states create ELL-specific measures of annual progress for use in federal accountability systems
3. Policymakers and stakeholders would like fewer state vs. federal policy differences in new accountability system

8. What kind of ELL progress measure is TEA exploring?
TEA reviewed published recommendations of national Working Group on ELL Policy related to ELLs in federal accountability
TEA is exploring following the recommendations, which advise using ELL progress measures that incorporate time needed for acquiring a second language into measures of ELLs’ academic achievement
ELL progress measures we are exploring―
take into account that time needed to acquire English affects time needed to fully learn and demonstrate grade-level academic skills in English
apply to all content areas

9. Recommendations of National Working Group on ELL Policy
Establish state-expected timeframe for second language acquisition
Make timeframe challenging but achievable
4 to 5 years is policy group’s recommendation for a defensible timeframe based on best currently available second language acquisition research
ELLs are diverse; time required for second language acquisition is affected by many factors and individual student characteristics
This group recommends, however, that state’s timeline not exceed 5 years for an individual ELL
Pages 25 and 26

10. Recommendations of National Working Group on ELL Policy
For ELLs tested in English, incorporate English language proficiency (ELP) into accountability provisions for content area achievement using expected timeframe from Recommendation 1
Language plays significant role in knowledge acquisition and content mastery
Students should meet grade-level achievement standards no later than when they are expected to be proficient in English based on their initial ELP level and time in U.S. schools
Differentiate content-area performance expectations by expected ELP level for each grade
Pages 25 and 26

11. Recommendations of National Working Group on ELL Policy
Continued…
Increase content-area performance expectations commensurate with expectations for increased ELP within state-established timeframe
In operationalizing progress measure, content-area performance expectations for a given ELL should be a function of ELL’s grade level and either expected level of ELP or current level if higher
Pages 25 and 26

12. Recommendations of National Working Group on ELL Policy
Hold schools and districts accountable for meeting ELLs’ content-area performance expectations taking into account students’ level of ELP
All ELLs should achieve proficiency in English and meet grade-level performance standards in English within state’s timeframe for second language acquisition
A traditional one-size-fits-all performance standard ignores developmental role that language proficiency plays in learning of subject matter and “is enormously demoralizing and demotivating to both students and teachers”
Pages 25 and 26

13. Recommendations of National Working Group on ELL Policy
Continued…
States should be held accountable for consistently improving the academic achievement of ELLs at each level of English language proficiency, as reflected by increasing the percentage of students at that level of ELP who also meet the performance benchmark for that level
When setting benchmarks tied to ELP levels, take into account state’s highest performing districts in examining what is ambitious yet realistic
Pages 25 and 26

14. Ultimate Benefit Stated in National Working Group Recommendations
Setting challenging but achievable goals for ELLs based on expected levels of ELP and a clearly delineated timeline for achieving both ELP and grade-level academic content standards will ―
motivate teachers to
provide content-area instruction at grade level for students regardless of their level of ELP and
develop students’ academic language in support of content area achievement
motivate students to engage in both language and content area learning

15. What might an ELL progress measure look like in Texas?
Current plan: Establish a state timeframe for becoming English proficient; then establish academic performance (progress) expectations for ELLs that increase progressively based on relationship between state’s expectations for learning English (measured by TELPAS) and subject matter (measured by STAAR)
Progress expectations to be annually increasing STAAR scale score expectations that culminate in STAAR Level II: Satisfactory standard at the timeframe’s “finish line”
STAAR progress expectations to align with challenging but reasonable expectations for learning academic English
Where the scale score expectations are set should support ability of ELLs to reach STAAR Level II standard within state-established timeframe

16. ELL Progress Measure Conceptual Model
Satisfactory

17. Notes on Intended Use
Meeting annually increasing progress expectations on STAAR is not intended to “equate” to a passing score, and it is not intended to change EOC minimum score requirements
The ELL progress measure is intended to provide information to use in helping ELLs get and stay on track to becoming academically proficient and English-language proficient in a reasonable and appropriate timeframe based on their starting level of English language proficiency
Why is this so important? In English instructional settings, the longer a student goes without being able to adequately understand and use the language of instruction, the more likely it is for the student to fall behind academically and have difficulty catching up

18. Upcoming Discussions and Decisions
Whether and how to differentiate for extenuating circumstances of ELLs in the progress measure:
Unschooled ELL asylees/refugees
Other immigrant ELLs who enter U.S. with little prior schooling
First-year immigrant ELLs who enter U.S. schools late in school year
ELLs who go back and forth between U.S. and another country (gaps in continuous schooling in U.S.) within and across school years
ELLs with a disability that significantly affects growth in second language acquisition
Whether progress on TELPAS should be used in lieu of progress on STAAR for reading and/or writing for any period of time

19. Upcoming Discussions and Decisions
What specific TELPAS expectations to use in setting progress measure expectations and whether to use TELPAS composite rating or individual domain scores
Whether to include ELL progress measure information just in accountability calculations or also to include
on STAAR Confidential Student Reports
in student/teacher portal and/or on look-up chart on web
Whether ELLs should be included just in an ELL progress measure or also in STAAR progress measure selected for overall student population
How should STAAR L factor into SSI? Should recent immigrant ELLs and unschooled asylees/refugees be subject to SSI grade advancement requirements? If so, should meeting/not meeting ELL progress expectation be what is used for SSI grade advancement decisions?

20. Timeline for Implementation of ELL Progress Measure
An ELL-specific progress measure is scheduled to be available starting with the spring 2014 test administrations
Decisions will need to be made about how to handle the test results of new and recent immigrant ELLs and unschooled ELL asylees and refugees for spring 2013 accountability

21. Topics for September 24 TETN (Fall ELL Assessment Update Event # 15580)
New Date
News about STAAR L for 2013 – online assessment program for grades 3-8 and high school
Student Assessment Division to provide ESC training of trainers on LPAC assessment decisions earlier this year
SSI policies related to recent immigrant ELLs and unschooled asylees/refugees
LPAC decision-making for fall EOC assessments
Review of ELL assessment policies; more guidance on English I and II special provisions for qualifying ELLs
News about any data collection changes through TELPAS or STAAR related to ELLs
Review of standard setting plans for grades 3-8
Plans for ELL progress measure and TELPAS-STAAR alignment

22. STAAR Performance See statewide results at
Average raw scores (items correct) for grades 3-8
Percent passing at current phase-in standard for EOC
Numbers of ELLs tested with STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and STAAR L