ELL Assessment and Accommodations

September 13, 2013

What’s New

What’s New at TEA? Assessments for students served by special

education and assessments for ELLs are now the responsibility of the Assessments for Special Populations Unit in the Student Assessment Division.

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STAAR L Practice Sets Practice sets consist of approximately 25 items

for each STAAR L assessment To be posted in early 2014 Will be available in online format similar to

TELPAS so that students may experience the items as they will be presented in the operational administration.

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STAAR L and SSI Beginning 2013–2014, 5th and 8th grade

students assessed with STAAR L in mathematics will be held to same SSI requirements for both mathematics and reading, including retesting, as students taking the general STAAR assessments

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Data Collection Changes Beginning in the 2013–2014 school year, students

must be enrolled for 60 consecutive school days for that year to count in years in U.S. schools calculations. Please note that this is not to be calculated retroactively.

Unschooled Asylee Refugee Continue as it has in the past

Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) SIFE and Limited Prior Schooling groups from 2012–2013

have been collapsed This data will be collected through the student data

upload Specific information will be included in the 2014

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Spanish STAAR Highlights

STAAR Spanish Available for students in grades 3–5

Grades 3–5 reading and math Grade 4 writing

Grade 5 science Same grades and subjects are tested as

English

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Who Takes STAAR Spanish? Students for whom Spanish version of STAAR

test is the most appropriate measure of academic progress

LPAC determines if STAAR Spanish is an appropriate assessment for ELLs and non-ELLs

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How is STAAR Spanish Developed?

Follow the same guidelines as English item development

Reading and Writing The items and/or passages are developed

separately to account for cultural and linguistics differences.

Mathematics and Science Items from English development are

translated or transadapted into Spanish.

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Transadaptation Process for STAAR Spanish Math and Science

Test items for STAAR Spanish are selected from the English development

Goal is to build tests for regular STAAR and STAAR Spanish using the same items if appropriate

Item writing and review process for transadapted items ensure that items in Spanish are linguistically and culturally appropriate and that they meet grade-level expectations

Every year bilingual educators review selected items for STAAR Spanish tests

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Spanish/English Alignment on STAAR Tests

STAAR Spanish and regular STAAR both – follow the same item development

guidelines use the same blueprints adhere to same guidelines to build tests in

terms of range of content tested and cognitive complexity

expect same student performance

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Key Elements for Success in STAAR

Understand the level of performance the TEKS require

Teach students the academic vocabulary Teach both readiness and supporting content

and skills Emphasize critical/inferential thinking, problem

solving, and application rather than isolated or memorized content and skills

Reinforce connections between different content areas (e.g., math and science, math and reading)

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Examples of Transadapted Items

Grade 3 Math

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Grade 3 Math – Spanish

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Grade 5 Science

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Grade 5 Science – Spanish

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Grade 5 Math

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Grade 5 Math – Spanish

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STAAR L

2013 STAAR L Administrations Online interface provided certain linguistic

accommodations for qualifying students: Clarification in English at the word or phrase

level for pre-determined words Words read aloud at the word-by-word level

35,000 students across the state were administered STAAR L across all administration in 2013

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STAAR L Online Student Tutorial

Available early spring 2014 Minor updates to grades 3–8; Updates to EOC

version to address assessment changes from HB 5

Should be used to familiarize students with clarification and read aloud accommodations and standard TestNav tools

Test administration directions for operational STAAR L assessments will assume some familiarity with online interface

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ELLs with Parental Denials TAC §101.1005 (f)

Reminder: These students are not eligible for special ELL assessment, accommodation, or accountability provisions No testing in Spanish No linguistic accommodations during testing No English I EOC special provisions No unschooled asylee/refugee provisions

ELLs with parental denials may, however, use bilingual, ESL, or other allowable dictionaries as part of dictionary policy for STAAR reading and writing tests in grade 6 and up; under this policy, use of dictionaries not considered linguistic accommodation

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Global Definition of Advanced High• Advanced High students have attained

the command of English that enables them, with minimal second language acquisition support, to engage in regular, all-English academic instruction at their grade level.

• Key features – Ability to engage in grade-appropriate academic instruction with minimal second language acquisition support

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Global Definition of Advanced• Advanced students are able to engage

in grade-appropriate academic instruction in English, although ongoing second language acquisition support is needed to help them understand and use grade-appropriate language. These students function beyond the level of simple, routinely used English.

• Key features – Ability to engage in grade-appropriate academic instruction with second language acquisition support

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Global Definition of Intermediate• Intermediate students do have some

ability to understand and use English. They can function in social and academic settings as long as the tasks require them to understand and use simple language structures and high-frequency vocabulary in routine contexts.

• Key features – Limited ability, simple language structures, high-frequency vocabulary, routine contexts

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Global Definition of Beginning• Beginning students have little or no ability to

understand and use English. They may know a little English but not enough to function meaningfully in social or academic settings.

• Key features – Little or no English ability

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Participation in General STAAR Assessment

Taken by ELLs and other students not administered STAAR Spanish, STAAR L, STAAR Modified, or STAAR Alternate

Remember: STAAR L is for mathematics, science, and social studies,

not reading and writing

STAAR Spanish is for grades 3–5 only

Linguistic accommodations beyond testing in native language not permitted for STAAR Spanish

ELLs taking general STAAR assessments permitted some linguistic accommodations

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Eligibility for STAAR Spanish and STAAR L

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Alignment of STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and STAAR L

Same: • Assessed curriculum and item types • STAAR blueprints for building tests • Achievement standard alignment • Focus on readiness for next grade level or course with

goal of postsecondary readiness

Differences have to do with language accessibility:

• STAAR Spanish uses native language to help students understand test

• STAAR L provides English-language accommodations to help students understand test

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Linguistic Accommodations

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About Linguistic Accommodations•Linguistic accommodations are language

supports that decrease the language barrier ELLs experience when learning and demonstrating knowledge and skills in English

•Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) require that all teachers linguistically accommodate the instruction of ELLs according to students’ English language proficiency levels

•STAAR linguistic accommodation policies support these ELPS requirements

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Linguistic Accommodations in Instruction

• Support learning of both subject matter and English

• Are expected to change and be needed less often as students learn more English

• Are monitored and adjusted by teachers as students learn more English

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Linguistic Accommodations During State Assessment•Not all accommodations suitable for instruction

are allowable during state assessments•Accommodations in instruction are designed to

foster and support learning•STAAR measures degree to which students have

met curriculum and performance standards•Accommodations during assessment must not

alter what is fundamentally assessed• Issues of test standardization and test

administration logistics must be considered during state assessments

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Affective Needs of ELLsRecently Arrived ELLsMeeting affective needs of ELLs who are new to the

U.S. is important in instruction and testingSending encouraging, calm vibrations goes a long wayHelp new ELLs look at first year of test results as good

information to use in setting and meeting goals for following year

All ELLsEncourage practices that involve all ELLs in setting

and reaching goals for English acquisition and academic achievement

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Linguistic Accommodations for Students Taking STAAR and

STAAR L

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Linguistic Accommodations STAAR

*Dictionary access to be provided for all students in grade 6 and up as part of STAAR dictionary policy

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Linguistic Accommodations STAAR L

STAAR and STAAR L Linguistic Accommodations―

Dictionaries

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Dictionaries as a Linguistic Accommodation

• Four categories:Bilingual dictionaryEnglish/ESL dictionaryNon-English monolingual dictionary

Picture dictionary

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Bilingual DictionaryAllowable for STAAR and STAAR L (any subject)

•Considered a linguistic accommodation for math, science, social studies (all grades) grades 3–5 reading and grade 4 writing

•Reminder: Allowed for grade 6 and up reading and writing as part of STAAR dictionary policy (and not considered a linguistic accommodation)

•Used to translate words (and sometimes common phrases) from one language to another

•Bilingual dictionaries that include pictures are fine as long as they do not illustrate content terminology or concepts 42

Bilingual Dictionary

Examples of translated words — English to Spanish (useful when reading in English)

evenly uniformemente; imparcialmente, equitativamente

live broadcast emisión en directo photosynthesis fotosíntesis

Examples of translated words — Spanish to English (useful when writing in English)

cita appointment, meeting; date; quotation decepcionar disappoint débil weak

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Bilingual Dictionary

Example entry — English to Spanishage [eIdƷ] noun (general) edad; old age vejez; (period) época; (fam: long time) we waited for ages esperamos una eternidad; verb envejecer

The Spanish translation for the word “age,” which seems like a simple word in English, has multiple meanings and is a different word in each case. 44

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English/ESL Dictionary•Allowable for STAAR reading and writing only;

not other STAAR subjects; not STAAR L•Considered a linguistic accommodation below grade

6•Reminder: Allowed for grade 6 and up reading and

writing as part of STAAR dictionary policy (and not considered a linguistic accommodation)

•Unlike bilingual dictionaries, English dictionaries contain definitions of English words

•ESL dictionaries define words using simpler English•Some dictionaries (e.g., children’s dictionaries, ESL

dictionaries) include some pictures

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Non-English Monolingual Dictionary•Allowable for STAAR reading and writing only

•Considered a linguistic accommodation in grade 3 and up

•Single-language standard (definition) dictionary in a language other than English (e.g., dictionary of Spanish language; dictionary of Vietnamese language)

•Would likely need to be used in combination with other dictionaries; this requires skill and experience

TEA Student Assessment Division 46

Picture Dictionary •Allowable for STAAR reading and writing

only•Linguistic accommodation in grade 3 and up•Conveys word meaning through drawings or

photos; includes only words that can be pictured •May be monolingual, bilingual, or multilingual

(may show picture plus word in one language or more than one language)

•Contains small body of words; has limited usefulness as stand-alone linguistic accommodation

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Allowable and Nonallowable Formats

Within four categories of allowable dictionaries, keep in mind the following guidelines: Paper and electronic dictionary formats (including

hand-held electronic devices) are permittedElectronic devices:

must not be Internet-based (it is not sufficient to disable Internet)

any features that allow entering and saving text or uploading files must be cleared before and after test administration

if device has additional capabilities (e.g. calculator) that cannot be disabled, the test administrator must actively monitor to ensure that these features are not accessed

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Allowable and Nonallowable Formats•Subject-specific/topic-specific dictionaries (e.g.,

science dictionaries, academic language dictionaries, etc.) are not permitted

•Bilingual dictionaries must be word/phrase translation dictionaries only; must not define words or illustrate or explain content terminology or concepts

•Bilingual, ESL, and standard monolingual dictionaries that contain occasional pictures are acceptable as long as the pictures do not illustrate content terminology or concepts

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Allowable and Nonallowable Formats• Electronic devices that translate beyond the level of

words and set phrases are not considered bilingual dictionaries and are not permitted

• Only dictionaries by reputable dictionary publishing companies should be used (no dictionaries produced by school districts, service centers, etc.)

• A state list of approved dictionaries will not be issued

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STAAR Reading and Writing Dictionary Policy Grade 6 and Up

• For reading and writing only• For all Texas students in grade 6 and

up, including ELLs (new immigrants too) and students with disabilities

• Standard English dictionaries allowed, as well as bilingual and ESL dictionaries

• Policy specifies minimums and recommended numbers of dictionaries per number of students

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STAAR Reading and Writing Dictionary Policy Grades 6 and Up

Policy document notes regarding ELLs: Provide in accordance with ELL’s needs and how much used in

instruction and classroom testing

For ELLs who depend heavily on them, recommendation is one dictionary per student

More than one type of allowable dictionary may be provided to an ELL (or to any student)

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