ELPAC email update, August 2, 2021.

ELPAC Monthly Communication

This communication includes information about the Initial, Summative, and Alternate ELPAC.

Urgent Reminders

Generate SSIDs for Newly Arrived Students

The Initial ELPAC must be administered within 30 calendar days of a student's first enrollment in a California public school, per state and federal laws. All incoming kindergarten and newly arrived students must be issued a Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) prior to testing.

Upon enrollment in a California public school, parents are required to complete a home language survey (HLS). If the HLS identifies a student's primary language as a language other than English, then the local educational agency (LEA) must enter an English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) of To Be Determined (TBD) into the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). To generate an SSID in CALPADS, LEAs must enter the student's demographic data, ELAS, and enrollment information into their student information system and upload the records into CALPADS immediately after enrollment. Please work with the CALPADS administrator to ensure eligible students are able to begin testing. It is critical that LEAs do a thorough search of student data prior to requesting a new SSID to avoid creating a duplicate.

These records will feed into TOMS within 48 hours of submission. Note: If students eligible to take the Initial ELPAC are not showing up in TOMS, please check with the CALPADS administrator to ensure students are marked as pre-enrolled or enrolled and that the file has been uploaded to CALPADS.

Upcoming Dates and Deadlines

Please mark your calendars!

August 2, 2021

TOMS User Rollover

Ensure that the superintendent has designated a LEA ELPAC coordinator for 2021–22. If not already completed, LEA ELPAC coordinators should download the list of 2020–21 users in TOMS then update the report to modify roles or add new users for the 2021–22 administration. Coordinators can then upload the updated file to TOMS. LEA ELPAC coordinators should remind users that they will need to log into TOMS to complete the security affidavit and security agreements for 2021–22. TOMS user roles and security agreements from 2020–21 will not be automatically rolled over to the new year.

August 5–September 2, 2021

Assessment and Accountability Information Meeting

Registration is now open to all local educational agency (LEA) ELPAC coordinators for the 2021 Assessment and Accountability Information Meeting hosted by the California Department of Education (CDE). These weekly 90-minute meeting sessions will provide coordinators with the latest information and updates on California's assessment and accountability systems. The sessions will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m., with dates and topics as follows:

• July 29—Director's Message, Accessibility, and Test Operations Management Systems (TOMS)
• August 5—English Language Proficiency Assessments for California and the California Spanish Assessment
• August 12—English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics
• August 19—Science
• August 26—Interim Assessments and Tools for Teachers
• September 2—Accountability

To register for one or more sessions, visit the 2021 Assessment and Accountability Information Meeting Webinar Registration web page.

August 6, 2021

2021–22 Initial ELPAC LEA Certification

Statewide training is mandatory. All LEA ELPAC coordinators, new and experienced, must log on to the ELPAC Administration and Scoring Training registration site to verify that current staff within the LEA have completed the LEA training requirement. If the LEA has current staff on the verified list, the LEA coordinator will certify the LEA's completion status. Experienced LEA coordinators do not need to repeat the LEA certification course; they only need to verify LEA certification. If the LEA has a new ELPAC coordinator or lead trainer who has not been trained, a representative will be required to complete the LEA certification. This must be completed by August 6, 2021.

August 16, 2021

Return Summative ELPAC Kindergarten Through Grade Two Writing Answer Books

LEAs must return completed kindergarten through grade two Writing Answer Books for scoring by August 16, 2021. If additional white cartons are needed to return Answer Books, please contact the CalTAC to order them. Answer Books received after August 16, 2021, will not be scored. Please ship your materials early to allow plenty of time for transit.

August 17, 2021

ELPAC TOMS Rollover

TOMS will be updated to as follows:

• LEA ELPAC coordinators will be able to use the upload process to add test assignments and test settings.
• LEA ELPAC coordinators will be able to place supplemental orders using 2021–22 roles.
• The View & Track Orders screen will be available using 2021–22 roles.
• Summative ELPAC registrations in TOMS will be created on the basis of 2021–22 Initial ELPAC testing and will be visible in the student profile within 48 hours of the Initial ELPAC SSR being generated.
• Summative ELPAC eligibility reports will be available.

August 31, 2021

Secure Destruction of the 2020–21 Summative ELPAC Materials

LEAs have the option to either securely destroy test materials locally or return materials to ETS for destruction. LEAs must inform ETS of the method of destruction or of the return of the 2020–21 Summative ELPAC test materials by completing the 2020–21 Summative ELPAC Test Materials Return or Destruction Certification form no later than Tuesday, August 31, 2021.

Ongoing Reminders!

Complete Initial ELPAC Administration

To complete Initial ELPAC administration, LEAs should ensure the following:

• Speaking domain scores have been entered into the Data Entry Interface (DEI) .
• Kindergarten through grade two Writing domain scores have been entered into the DEI .
• The Writing domain for grades three through twelve has been scored in the Teacher Hand Scoring System (THSS) .
• SSRs have been downloaded and provided to parents and guardians, along with the Parent/Guardian Notification Letter that is available on the CDE's Parent Notification web page.

The Initial ELPAC Student Eligibility Report in TOMS will provide information about which students still have an ELAS of TBD. Additionally, the Completion Status Report in TOMS will provide information about which students are missing domains. Note that a student will not receive an SSR unless the student has attempted all four domains and the aforementioned steps have been completed.

2021–22 Initial ELPAC Administration and Scoring Training

Test examiners must calibrate annually. The Examiner's Resource course in the Moodle Training Site (Moodle) has been newly updated and is divided into sections specific to grade levels and grade spans. Test examiners need only to calibrate for Speaking and Writing domain items in the grade levels or grade spans they are administering and scoring. All LEA ELPAC coordinators will need to monitor that this requirement has been met.

The training binder remains unchanged for the 2021–22 test administration. Only LEAs with a new coordinator or trainer will need to order a training binder. One or more printed copies of the Initial ELPAC Administration and Scoring Training Binder may be requested to be shipped by completing the online request process . Training binders are also available for download—in PDF format—from Moodle .

Stopping Marker Reminders and Writing Rubrics

Stopping markers are presented at every grade level and in every domain to reduce frustration for students who may score at the novice English learner level. Please remind test examiners that the stopping marker is followed by an [End Test] button. As described in the Directions for Administration (DFAs), the [End Test] button should be used only when there have been no responses or no correct responses prior to the stopping marker.

Please ensure that all test examiners have been trained and certified in Moodle , are familiar with the DFAs before administering the test and understand the directions on how and when to use the stopping markers.

For kindergarten through grade two Writing, it is only appropriate to end the test if a student has not responded at all or there are no correct written responses. To further assist LEAs in determining what is a correct response, the Writing Rubrics for the ELPAC web document has been added to the ELPAC website.

ELPAC The Results Are In—Now What? Modules 1–7

Modules 1 through 7 are available in Moodle . These modules demonstrate how to use data to advance English language proficiency (ELP) through high-leverage instructional sequences. Participants will use a protocol linking two of the more difficult ELPAC task types to robust classroom instruction that can be used to create ELPAC-like assessments in context. Video clips, student work, and reflections from the implementation of these practices with students who are English learners will be shared.

2021–22 Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test

Administration and Scoring Training

The Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test for the 2021–22 administration year will open on November 1, 2021. In preparation for the assessment, the Alternate ELPAC Administration and Scoring Trainings are still available for test examiners to access. LEA ELPAC coordinators should certify in Moodle by October 15, 2021.

Form and Second Scoring Assignments

In addition, the form and second scoring assignments that were provided via email prior to the postponement of the Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test will be reused. LEAs can use the lookup tool on the Alternate ELPAC web page of the ELPAC website to find their form assignments or to confirm whether the LEA is required to participate in second scoring for the 2021–22 administration. Note, only a subset of LEAs that have students taking the Alternate ELPAC will be required to participate in second scoring. This means that a secondary test examiner will need to be present at the time of testing to score each student's responses to rubric-scored items. LEAs will be chosen to participate annually, on a rotating basis. For more information, refer to the Preparing for Second Scoring section in the Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test Manual .

English Only Special Study Comparison Group

To ensure that the operational field test items are measuring students' English language proficiency, a sample of English only (EO) students with the most significant cognitive disabilities will take the Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test. Each LEA will be asked to test a small number of EO students based on the number of eligible ELs the LEA will be testing. LEAs will receive a stipend based on the number of EO students tested. More information will be emailed to LEA ELPAC coordinators on September 8, 2021.

Educator Opportunities for the ELPAC and Alternate ELPAC

New opportunities for educators to participate in the development of the ELPAC and the Alternate ELPAC are available on the ELPAC and Alternate ELPAC Opportunities to Get Involved web page. New users can simply create an account in the Educator Opportunities Portal . Existing users are encouraged to go directly to the Educator Opportunities Portal and update the answers to both the old and the new application questions. For questions about how to get involved in these educator opportunities, please contact the CAASPP and ELPAC Project Team by phone at 916-228-2682 or by email at edopportunities@scoe.net.

Available Now!

Manuals, Instructions, and Quick Reference Guides

• Remote Testing Chapter in the Initial ELPAC Online Test Administration Manual
• CAASPP and ELPAC Test Security Auditor Questionnaire web document

Website Updates

• ELPAC and Alternate ELPAC Opportunities to Get Involved web page
• Initial ELPAC: Estimated Testing Times web page
• Initial ELPAC: Remote Administration Estimated Testing Times web page
• New Coordinator Webinar materials available on the Asynchronous Training Opportunities and Materials web page
• ELPAC Score Reporting web page

Access to Previous ELPAC Monthly Communications

Previous ELPAC monthly communications, as well as other email communications, can be found on the ELPAC Coordinator Emails web page.

Sincerely,

California Technical Assistance Center, ETS
Phone: 800-955-2954
Website: https://www.elpac.org/