SWO ESL Consortium UPDATES
4/4/2016
Spring 2016 State Test Participation and Accountability Changes for English Language Learners
Beginning with the 2016 spring administration, all English language learners regardless of time in U.S. schools must take Ohio’s State Tests and the OGT in all subjects appropriate to grade levels including the English language arts tests (the reading and writing tests for OGT). There are no exceptions. The department understands that the English language arts test for most recent arrivals may not be meaningful. However, test results will provide baseline data for intervention supports and will be used in growth determinations. Districts are required to meet the 95 percent participation rate of English language arts and mathematics for the English language learner subgroup.
English language learners who are in U.S. schools for less than two school years (noted in EMIS using code S) will not be included in the proficiency calculation of the English language arts and mathematics tests for Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) purposes but will be included in the participation and graduation requirements. A high school English language learner who is a recent arrival and who participates in Ohio’s State Tests will earn at least one-point credit toward graduation.
** PLEASE NOTE THIS UPDATE: EMIS IS NOW USING "S" CODES FOR STUDENTS UNDER TWO YEARS IN THE US. WORK WITH YOUR EMIS COORDINATOR TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS WHO NEED TO BE CODED "S" IN EMIS.
** We will discuss "S" and "L" status at our May Consortium meeting.
OELPA Data Entry Interface
The Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA) administered using paper test booklets (K-12) for all four tests requires students’ responses to be manually entered for the listening, reading, writing (not the writing prompt responses) and speaking tests into the Data Entry Interface (DEI), which is located in the TIDE system.
Please note the DEI is not required for the K-1 online writing test as the K-1 online items are entered automatically through the computer.
The Data Entry Interface allows authorized users to electronically record and submit scores for students who participate in the paper OELPA. The test administrator will enter the data and is required to have another adult in the room to ensure student responses are entered correctly. It is suggested that the second person in the room be familiar with the OELPA administration.
The DEI User Guide and a tutorial provide step-by-step instructions for the data entry process and are located at this link. Test administrators are encouraged to become very familiar with the instructions. Test administrators should log into the Data Entry Interface to make sure they have access to the system, and to familiarize themselves with the data entry process. A supported browser is not required to access the Data Entry Interface.
District test coordinators should assign the role TA-Alt in TIDE for all test administrators who will use the DEI. Without the role assignment, the test administrators will not be able to access the DEI. Test administrators must submit all student scores into the Data Entry Interface by 11:59pm, April 22. The DEI will shut down on April 22. Failure to submit scores in the Data Entry Interface will result in no scores being reported. As a reminder, test administrators entering student scores into the Data Entry Interface must be assigned the appropriate user account (TA – test administrator). Please direct questions on the DEI system to the Ohio Help Desk 877.231.7809 or ohhelpdesk@air.org.
Please note that there is a typo in the Test Coordinator’s Manual posted on the portal. On page 33 of the manual, there is a date that is incorrect. The current manual states that all responses must be entered into the DEI by April 29th. This date should read April 22. Please adjust your testing schedules to fit this timeframe.
OELPA - Scoring of Paper Tests
The paper forms are not scannable documents because the OELPA was developed as an online test. A scannable test booklet allows the machine-scored questions to be scored immediately when scanned. Machine-scored questions are multiple-choice and other non-constructed questions. Constructed-response questions, or those that the students construct or write, will be hand scored by the vendor.
If your district administers paper versions of the test in any grade band (K-12), the test administrator is required to enter the student responses to all machine-scored questions on the four tests into the AIR Data Entry Interface (DEI) for scoring. Entering machine-scored student responses into the Data Entry Interface is a manual process that will need to be completed by the test administrator either at the time of testing or soon after testing is completed but before the testing window closes. Please note that the paper test booklets (including the online writing supplement for kindergarten and grade 1 and paper test booklets for grade bands K-12) must be returned to the vendor for hand scoring of constructed-response questions once testing is complete.
OELPA - Returning Paper Materials
After testing, it is the building test coordinator’s responsibility to collect, inventory and pack all test materials for the school and return them to the district test coordinator. The district test coordinator is responsible for returning all paper materials to Measurement Incorporated (MI) for scoring. Paper materials include the K-1 online writing paper test booklets and the K-12 paper test booklets.
Districts and schools are encouraged to return materials as early as possible when testing is complete to expedite the scoring process although this will not return results earlier than scheduled. All test materials must be returned to Measurement Incorporated immediately and no later than April 22 when the test window closes.
There are no automatic pickups of OELPA materials. Districts must follow the instructions in the “after testing” section in the chapter on paper testing, starting on page 33 of the Test Coordinator’s Manual (TCM) to arrange for the return of their materials.
Districts are required to return their schools’ nonscorables within one week of returning scorable documents no later than April 29.
Measurement Incorporated maintains a record of the security numbers of all secure test materials shipped to each district and school. Districts and schools must return all secure test materials, including unused scorable documents, to Measurement Incorporated immediately after testing. Measurement Incorporated will use a bar code scanner to account for all secure test materials and will provide a record of missing secure test materials to district test coordinators and to the department. If any secure test material shipped to the district is determined to be missing, the district test coordinator will be required to account for it.
OELPA Results
Ohio TESOL Testing Concerns Master Document
OELPA UPDATES
Your comments, questions, and concerns have been heard! We have created a Google document that includes the information that you all have been sharing about OELPA. Thank you for your communication and participation! Please continue to contribute to this shared document as the testing window continues. This document and the Facebook group, rather than the listserv, will be the primary means for discussing OELPA.
Link to Google Doc here
From OH TESOL K-12 Interest Section:
OHIO TESOL 2016 CONFERENCE
Mark your calendar! Ohio TESOL 2016 will be held at the Columbus Convention Center Oct 7-8th. This year’s theme is Success for All Students. Proposals are currently being accepted and must be submitted by May 20th, 2016. You can find more specifics in the Ohio TESOL Journal (link below)
OHIO TESOL JOURNAL
· The current issue (Winter 2016) is now available for all members on the OTESOL site: http://ohiotesolmoodle.org/site/ohio-tesol-journal/current-issue/. Of interest to our K12 members would be updates on the 2016 Ohio TESOL Conference, Ohio’s Seal of Biliteracy, grant applications, award nominations, and the article Keep Second Language Learners in the Social Studies Classroom.
· If you are interested in writing an article for the Ohio TESOL Journal, you can find more information here:http://ohiotesolmoodle.org/site/ohio-tesol-journal/submitting-to-the-journal/
LISTSERV ETIQUETTE
The OTESOL Board is thrilled about all of the activity on the K12 listserv. We’d like to share a few posting pointers to make the experience enjoyable for everyone:
· Maintain a formal, respectful, professional tone
· Include a simple email signature at the end of all emails, including your name, school/district, and email address. This also makes it easier for people to respond to you.
· Remember that 600+ people are receiving your email, so make it count! Only include significant information that is meaningful to everyone!
OTESOL K12 FACEBOOK GROUP
Our Facebook group has proved to be a great way to communicate and share resources in our OTESOL community. It is also a great way to cut down on the amount of emails sent out on the K12 listserv. Please continue to grow our community by joining at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1669300449998718/ or searching Facebook for Ohio TESOL K12. A link to our K-12 OELPA google document is also on the facebook page as well. We look forward to your posts!
OTESOL GOOGLE HANGOUTS
We have a great new opportunity for our members to collaborate and network about anything and everything ESL. We are now offering K-12 OTESOL google hangouts! Cori and/or Erin will be the facilitator and cannot wait to meet with those interested. Visit our Facebook page to vote on topics for our first hangout! Stay tuned for our first topic and date.
MULTI-CULTURAL READING RESOURCES
One of our K12 members, Chris Spackman, has started a Google spreadsheet to compile multi-cultural reading resources for teachers. You can view this and add your own favorite resources at this link:
TESOL PRESS: CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
TESOL Press is seeking contributors with exciting and effective lesson plan ideas for using creative writing in the English language classroom. The book, New Ways in Teaching Creative Writing for the ELL Community, is primarily directed at teachers who work in Intensive English Programs or for instructors who work at English Language Institutes. However, contributors should feel free to explore options for various populations and settings such as EFL learners, adult education, and young writers (K-12).
More information and submission guidelines can be found on the TESOL Press website. Submissions are due 15 June 2016.
Sincerely,
Cori Stevens
Erin Young
OTESOL K12 IS Representatives
NEXT SWO ESL CONSORTIUM MEETING:
questions or agenda topics, please email: