ELPAC email update, October 1, 2021.

ELPAC Monthly Communication

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

Upcoming Dates and Deadlines

Please mark your calendars!

October 5, 2021

Using Interim Assessment Data and Tools for Teachers to Support Instruction

Join us and learn about how data from the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments and the Tools for Teachers website can support and inform teaching and learning. Hear from California educators and testing coordinators about how they are using data in their own schools and local educational agencies (LEAs). This training series is intended for LEA CAASPP and ELPAC coordinators or other LEA staff who work with instructional data.

October 6, 2021

California Basic Educational Data System Reminders

All students' English language acquisition status (ELAS) records will need to be updated in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) for Fall 1 reporting by the California Basic Educational Data System date of October 6, 2021, to account for supplemental Local Control Funding Formula funding. LEAs must complete Initial ELPAC testing by October 4, 2021 for an ELAS to be generated in the Test Operations Management System (TOMS), which should be reflected in CALPADS within 48 hours.

October 8, 2021

Coffee Sessions

The next virtual Coffee Session, hosted by the California Department of Education (CDE) and ETS, will be on October 8, 2021, from 2 to 3 p.m. LEAs can use the 2021–22 Coffee Session Content Request Form to submit questions in advance, request demonstrations, or tell us about a best practice that can be shared with your fellow LEA coordinators. Register now for the October 2021 Coffee Session .

October 12–14, 2021

2021 California Assessment Conference

Together is Better: Capitalizing on the Collective Knowledge and Experience of the California Assessment Community

The California Assessment Conference will provide classroom educators with information about using statewide assessment data to improve teaching and learning. Register now for the October 2021 Virtual California Assessment Conference .

October 15, 2021

Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test LEA Certification Deadline

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 (ASTs) are still available for test examiners to access. LEAs should complete the LEA Certification in the Moodle Training Site (Moodle) by October 15, 2021. All test examiners who will administer the Alternate ELPAC must complete the Test Examiner Certification prior to test administration.

October 15, 2021

Summative ELPAC Form Assignments

Form assignments for the 2021–22 Summative ELPAC administration are now available on the ELPAC Forms Assignment web page. Use the lookup tool to identify which form number the LEA has been assigned. In some cases, large LEAs will be assigned to multiple forms; these will be displayed accordingly. LEAs assigned to Forms 2–6 are invited to join the ELPAC Forms Assignment Q&A Session on November 9 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

October 18, 2021

Summative ELPAC Administration and Scoring Training

The CDE-sponsored statewide Summative ELPAC ASTs will be available online in Moodle beginning October 18, 2021. Moodle keys will be available on the Administration and Scoring Training website starting on the same day. Coordinators were sent an email that contains an access code to the Administration and Scoring Training website where LEAs may also order printed copies of the 2022 Summative ELPAC AST binder.

October 21, 2021

New Coordinator Webinar #3

The New Coordinator Webinar will be held on October 21, 2021, from 3 to 4 p.m. and hosted by the Sacramento County of Education (SCOE). It will provide information about upcoming coordinator checklist tasks; a deep dive into resources for student practice, such as practice tests and interim assessments; and include a question and answer session with experienced coordinators. LEA CAASPP and ELPAC coordinators who have been in their role for less than 12 months or want a refresher on the coordinator responsibilities should attend. Register now for the October 2021 New Coordinator Webinar #3 .

October 29, 2021

Alternate ELPAC Standard Setting Workshop

The CDE and the ELPAC project team are urgently seeking California educators who teach students who are both English learners and have the most significant cognitive disabilities to participate in the Alternate ELPAC Standard Setting Workshop. This is an exciting and collaborative process that culminates in your team recommending threshold scores to the CDE. These threshold scores will delineate between the various performance levels that will be reported to students. To apply refer to the Have a Voice in Alternate Test Development flyer for information. If you need assistance with the application process please contact Sue Vue, Staff Secretary, by phone at 916-228-2682 or by email at edopportunities@scoe.net. The SCOE ELPAC project team will begin reviewing applications after October 29, 2021.

November 1, 2021

Summative ELPAC Ordering Windows

The Summative ELPAC is a computer-based assessment with students in kindergarten through grade two taking the Writing domain using paper–pencil testing forms. The primary materials ordering window opens in TOMS on November 1 and closes on December 20, 2021.

Ongoing Reminders!

Final Release of Summative ELPAC Student Results

LEAs will receive notification of the availability of the final results for the 2020–21 Summative ELPAC administration this month. Student Score Reports and Student Score Data files will be available in TOMS and CERS.

Superintendents and LEA ELPAC coordinators will be notified about the public release of student scores in late fall.

Generate Statewide Student Identifiers 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. All incoming kindergarten and newly arrived students must be issued a Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) through CALPADS prior to testing.

If the home language survey that a parent completes identifies a student's primary language as a language other than English, then the LEA must enter an ELAS of To Be Determined (TBD) into 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 LEA CALPADS coordinator 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 to CALPADS.

2021–22 Initial ELPAC Administration

To complete the ELAS classification process, 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 .
• Student Score Reports (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. Note that a student will not receive an SSR for the Initial ELPAC unless the student has attempted all four domains and the aforementioned steps have been completed.

Initial ELPAC Stopping Marker Reminders

During the Initial ELPAC, stopping markers are presented at every grade level and in every domain to accommodate students who may score at the novice English learner level. Please remind test examiners that the stopping marker is accompanied 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.

2021–22 Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test

Directions for Administration

The Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test DFAs are now available in TOMS . The DFA contains grade-specific and form-specific directions as well as scripts needed to administer the test. The operational field test DFAs must be accessed through the [Resources] tab in TOMS .

Updated practice and training test DFAs are now available on the ELPAC website. Changes include updates to the alternative text and the look and feel to match the operational field test DFAs.

Picture Cards

Your LEA received an email that included information regarding picture cards. Picture cards are available, for download as a PDF within Moodle and in TOMS for LEAs to print; or mailed by request on the ELPAC Administration and Scoring Training website. Upon request, picture cards will be shipped at no cost to LEAs until the close of the testing window. The ordering window will be open until February 15, 2022. Please allow up to 10 business days for shipping.

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 that 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 .

Available Now!

Manuals, Instructions, and Quick Reference Guides

• Alternate ELPAC Operational Field Test Manual Test Administration section
  • Test Administration section will be updated by mid-October.
  • English Only (EO) section is available.

Videos

• Summative ELPAC Score Report Overview Video now available on the ELPAC website

Website Updates

• Web pages
  • Alternate ELPAC FAQs 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.

General questions about the ELPAC should be directed to CalTAC by phone at 800-955-2954 or by email at caltac@ets.org.

Sincerely,

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