1. 2018-2019 Screener Administration
ELPA21 Screener Updates
Welcome to the Nebraska Department of Education’s webinar on ELPA21 Screener Updates. The purpose of this webinar is to inform districts about the changes in the ELPA21 Screener for the school year. For anyone administering the ELPA21 screener it is important to review all the screener training modules and screener manuals on the Nebraska AIR portal before administering the screener.
Screener Administration

2. ELPA21 Screener Online testing tool for determining EL-eligibility
Same technology requirements at the ELPA21 Summative
Same vendor as ELPA21 Summative – AIR
Resources can be found on the Nebraska AIR portal:
Nebraska ELPA21 Online Screener Test Administration Manual
Screener Training Modules
Step Two Speaking Scoring Document
The ELPA21 screener is a K-12 online testing tool that districts can use to determine if a student is eligible for English Learner services. The ELPA21 screener uses the same vendor and testing systems as the ELPA21 summative. All of the resources to supporting administering the screener can be found on the Nebraska AIR portal at the link on the screen. Before administering the screener, test administrators should read through the online screener test administration manual, view the screener training modules, and become familiar with the changes to the screener for this administration including the step 2 speaking scoring document.

3. Entering Students in TIDE
Temporary ID option
Student demographics –
Limited English Proficiency Status
TIDE is the student and user management system for the ELPA21 assessment system. There are no significant changes to entering students into TIDE for the screener, however, there are a few things to note that differ from the ELPA21 Summative.
First, There is an option to assign students a temporary ID when administering the screener. This option is for students who have not been assigned an SSID. You may go back and change it when the SSID is assigned.
Second, Under student demographics, the “Limited English Proficiency Status” should be marked “NO.” You may go back and change this to “YES” once a student is determined to be EL-eligible. Either way, the system will override this field during the pre-ID upload before summative testing.

4. Screener Administration: Step 1
Step 1 (Practice)
For practice only
Administered one-on-one
Purpose: to familiarize the student with the format and technology
Not scored
TA may help students navigate the technology
NEW:
Final practice speaking item
Here are the updates to step one of the screener.
As before, step one is the practice section of the test. The TA will sit with the student one-on-one to determine the student’s comfort with the technology and format of the test. These items are not scored. During this time, the TA may help the student navigate the test platform.
This year, there will be a new practice item at the end of step one. IT will be a speaking item that will be exactly like the very first operational scored item. The idea is for the student to be able to practice this item with the TA before moving on to the operational items. After this practice item is complete, the student will move on to step 2. They will see a speaking item just like the one they practiced with the TA but during step 2 the TA will score the item on the student’s computer.

5. Screener Administration: Step 2
Step 2 (Operational Items):
Test administrator will determine if student will progress through remainder of the test one-on-one with TA or independently
TA can provide assistance with technology throughout the test
Test items from four domains in mixed order
All items are operational and scored
NEW:
Speaking item to be scored “on the fly” by the test administrator
Stopping point for students who qualify for EL services
Scores available same day for students who do not go on to step 3
Like last year, step 2 of the ELPA21 screener is operational and all items will be scored. It is at this point that the test administrator will determine if the student can move forward with testing individually or needs one-on-one administration. At any point, the TA may provide assistance with technology but at this point may not help with any test items. As before, test items come from all four domains in random order.
The biggest difference this year to step two is the new speaking item that the test administrator will score immediately. How this works, is that the first operational item will be the new speaking item similar to the one the student has just practiced in step 1. For this item, the test administrator will sit with the student as they respond to all questions in the speaking item. A rubric and training document are provided by ELPA21 that the TA should become familiar with before administering the test. The TA will immediately score the item in the student’s computer before the student can move on to complete step 2.
Once the TA has administered and scored the first speaking item, the student goes on to complete step 2 either independently or with the help of the TA. When the student comes to the end of step two, if the test has determined that the student is EL-eligible the test will end at step 2. At this time, the student will be finished with testing and a score will be available in the online reporting system that day. The score reports will contain the same information from last year’s administration.

6. Screener Administration: Step 3
Step 3 (operational):
Test items from four domains in mixed order
Contains constructed response items in speaking and writing
Responses sent to central scoring
Scores available within 7 days within the Online Reporting System (ORS)
NEW:
Students will be guided to step 3 when more items are needed to determine eligibility
Scores available in online reporting system (ORS) within 7 days
No notification when scores are ready
Some students will move on to step 3 in order to determine whether or not they qualify for English learner services. Students who have more English language proficiency will be given more items to determine whether or not they quality for EL services. For these students, step three will be similar to step 2 in that they will have items from all four domains in random order. However, step 3 contains some constructed response items in speaking and writing which requires central scoring through the vendor. As a result, scores from students who make it into step 3 will not be available that day but can be accessed in the online reporting system within 7 day. Please note that there are no notifications when the scores are available. The test administrator will need to check the online reporting system for scores.

7. Online Reporting System (ORS)
View student results
Students advancing to step 3 can expect scores within 7 days*
Students who do not advance to step 3 will have results that day
TA must check for scores (no vendor notification)
Score reports similar to ELPA21 Summative (no scale scores)
Score of “Proficient” means a student has not qualified for EL services
*Secondary students may have result within 48 hours
Again, the online reporting system is where to find student reports for the ElPA21 screener. Students who stop at step 2 will have results that day. Scores for step 3 will be back within 7 days. Please remember that AIR does not send out a notification when a score is available. Test administrators must check the ORS system for the scores.
Please note: AIR has agreed to put a priority on scoring secondary student’s assessments in order to make those reports available within 48 hours.
The Individual student reports look similar to the ELPA21 summative reports without scale scores. Student receives a level of 1-5 for each domain: speaking, listening, reading, and writing as well as an overall proficiency status of emerging, progressing, or proficient. IF a student receives a proficiency status of “proficient” they are not eligible for EL services. All other students are eligible for services and should be identified as English learners.