ELPAC email update, December 1, 2023.

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

Urgent Reminders

Summative ELPAC and Summative Alternate ELPAC AST LEA Certification Deadline

Statewide training is mandated by California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 11518(l). The 2023–24 Summative ELPAC Administration and Scoring Training (AST) and Summative Alternate ELPAC ASTs meet this requirement and are available in the Moodle Training Site (Moodle) . LEAs that have not completed the trainings or training verifications must do so prior to administration. It is important that LEA coordinators have adequate time to train their test examiners to administer the summative assessments. Therefore, ETS has set the following recommended deadlines:

• The Summative ELPAC LEA certification or verification should be completed by December 8, 2023.
  • Which training course an LEA needs to take is based on whether the LEA ELPAC coordinator or designee has been previously certified or is new.
• The Summative Alternate ELPAC LEA certification should be completed by December 15, 2023.
  • This is required only for LEAs with eligible students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
  • Which training course an LEA needs to take is based on whether the LEA ELPAC coordinator or designee has been previously certified or is new.

New for this year, superintendents will be notified two weeks after the aforementioned requested deadlines to ensure that LEA certification is completed in a timely manner.

December 18: Summative ELPAC Primary Test Material Order Window Closes

LEAs ordering Writing domain testing materials for kindergarten through grade two have until December 18 to place primary test material orders in Test Operations Management System (TOMS) . For instructions on how to place a Writing domain test materials order, view the Place Supplemental Orders: Overview section of the TOMS User Guide .

Primary test material orders are packaged by school site, whereas supplemental orders are packaged by quantity ordered.

DEI Test Display Change

With the launch of the ELPAC Interim Assessments, the test display in the Data Entry Interface (DEI) now presents the ELPAC Interim tests first and the Initial ELPAC tests (K-2 Writing and K-12 Speaking) at the end. Users entering scores for the either test into the DEI should verify they are selecting the appropriate test to enter scores. Not verifying may lead to inaccurate scores for the interims and no scores produced for the Initial ELPAC.

Reminders

ELPAC Interim Assessments Available to Administer

The ELPAC Interim Assessments are available to administer, score, and generate results. More information on these new interim assessments is available on the ELPAC Interim Assessment Administration Resources web page.

The ELPAC Interim Assessments Directions for Administration (DFAs), Training Guides and Exemplars, and Test Content and Answer Keys documents can be accessed electronically under the [Resources] tab in TOMS or can be printed and securely stored just prior to testing.

Initial Alternate ELPAC and Summative Alternate ELPAC Test Assignments in TOMS

Every eligible student who is identified to take alternate assessments by an individualized education program (IEP) team and has a primary language other than English must be assigned to take the Initial Alternate ELPAC in TOMS. Otherwise, students who have a primary language other than English will be automatically assigned to the Initial ELPAC.

Newly enrolled students eligible to be assessed with an initial assessment must be assessed within the first 30 calendar days; however, students may not have an IEP designating the student to take an alternate assessment prepared in time. In these instances, the student should be assessed with the Initial ELPAC using universal tools and designated supports as appropriate.

The assignment of the Initial Alternate ELPAC does not require students to be assigned to the Summative Alternate ELPAC. If the IEP team determines later that the student is eligible to take alternate assessments and the student has been identified as an English learner (EL), the student can be assigned the Summative Alternate ELPAC.

Summative ELPAC Form Assignments

In addition to Form 1 (operational items only), Form 2 (Listening), Form 3 (Speaking), Forms 4 and 5 (Reading), Form 6 (Writing), and Form 7 (visual impairments and braille), the following new test forms will be administered for the 2023–24 Summative ELPAC administration:

• Form 8 (Speaking)
• Form 9 (Speaking)
• Form 10 (Writing)

Refer to the ELPAC Form Assignments for the 2023–24 Summative ELPAC Administration web page to confirm the LEA's form assignment for the 2023–24 Summative ELPAC administration.

Estimated testing times for each form can be found on the Summative ELPAC: Estimated Testing Times web page.

Summative Alternate ELPAC Form and Second Scoring Assignments

Form assignments and second scoring assignments for the 2023–24 Summative Alternate ELPAC administration are available on the Form Assignments for the 2023–24 Summative Alternate ELPAC Test Administration web page and the Second Scoring Assignments for the 2023–24 Summative Alternate ELPAC Test Administration web page. A subsection of schools assigned Form 2 will be required to second-score. Second scorers can be an employee or contractor of an LEA or nonpublic, nonsectarian school. The secondary test examiner (second scorer) must also sign the security affidavit in TOMS and have completed the Summative Alternate ELPAC—Test Examiner Certification course in Moodle.

Upcoming Trainings

To register or locate additional details about upcoming trainings, including dates, times, or content, visit the ELPAC Upcoming Training Opportunities web page.

December 7: 2023–24 Pretest Virtual Training Series

This training series will provide LEA CAASPP coordinators and LEA ELPAC coordinators with information about changes and updates about CAASPP and ELPAC testing for the 2023–24 test administration year.

This year, the Pretest Virtual Training Series will be streamlined into two sessions—What's New for ELPAC and What's New for CAASPP—to focus on providing updates and reviewing new features. As outlined in a previous communication about training consolidation, content that was present in previous Pretest trainings will be available in the 2023–24 New Coordinator Training Webinar Series .

December 12: Coffee Sessions

These virtual Coffee Sessions, hosted by the California Department of Education (CDE) and ETS, offer opportunities for LEA staff to ask questions and get answers about assessments, trainings, resources, and more. Coffee Sessions are entirely dedicated to answering questions about assessments and topics of interest from testing coordinators and providing timely updates. Register now for the December 2023 Coffee Session .

January 9: Coffee Sessions

These virtual Coffee Sessions, hosted by the CDE and ETS, offer opportunities for LEA staff to ask questions and get answers about assessments, trainings, resources, and more. Coffee Sessions are entirely dedicated to answering questions about assessments and topics of interest from testing coordinators and providing timely updates. Register now for the January 2024 Coffee Session .

Apply Now for Spring Educator Opportunities Meetings

These meetings are for educators who want to be involved in the development and review of test questions for California assessment programs. Among the upcoming opportunities are the Alternate ELPAC Item Review Meetings. The application window for these meetings closes on January 5, 2024. These meetings will be held in the afternoons of April 23 through 25, 2024. During these meetings, educators review items for issues related to content, bias, and sensitivity that may affect the performance of particular groups of students.

During the Summative ELPAC Data Review Meeting, to be held in May 2024, participants will review data on the performance of field test items. The application window for this meeting closes on January 19, 2024.

California educators who are bilingual and biliterate in Spanish have opportunities to participate in the development of the California Spanish Assessment (CSA). Participation in development offers many opportunities to have powerful input into the development and administration of the CSA. Upcoming virtual meetings include the Writing Range Finding. The application window for these meetings closes in January 2024.

To apply for meetings, go to the Educator Opportunities Portal . If you do not have an Educator Opportunities Portal account, create an account via the Educator Opportunities Portal Account Creation Form in the Educator Opportunities Database. If you have any questions, please contact the Educator Opportunities Team by phone at 916-228-2682 or by email at edopportunities@scoe.net.

Available Now!

Asynchronous Trainings

The following live trainings were recently posted and are now available on the ELPAC Asynchronous Training Opportunities web page:

• November 2023 Coffee Session
• Interim and Formative Assessment Training Module 3D: Interim Assessment Hand Scoring—ELPAC
• Summative ELPAC AST Q&A
• Summative Alternate ELPAC AST Q&A
• Accessibility Resources Live Training Session: Module A

Web Page Updates

The ELPAC Interim Assessment Administration Resources web page is now available and will be updated with more information and resources as they become available.

Ongoing Reminders

ELPAC Administration for Transitional Kindergarten Students

For 2023–24, LEAs are required to administer the Summative ELPAC or Summative Alternate ELPAC to all eligible students enrolled in kindergarten—including students in transitional kindergarten (TK), which is defined as year one of a two-year kindergarten program. Refer to the 2023–24 Initial and Initial Alternate ELPAC Student Data File Layout located on the ELPAC Score Reporting web page for more information. LEAs will continue to follow the same process for identifying potential EL students and annually assessing EL students.

TK students' grade level will be converted to kindergarten during the nightly CALPADS feed to TOMS. These students will appear in TOMS as kindergarten and will have the TK indicator flag set to "Y" (Yes). This flag will be available within several of the TOMS reports to assist with monitoring testing progress at the local level.

SSR Electronic Distribution

Ensure Student Score Reports (SSRs) are populated in the student information system for the correct students in a timely manner, as outlined in the Options for Distributing SSRs topic of the ELPAC Scoring and Reporting Guide . Ensure that the SSRs are properly displayed, that parents/guardians can access the SSRs, and that parents/‌guardians can access only the scores for their own children.

Scoring Job Opportunities

ETS is accepting applications for scorers. This is an excellent opportunity for educators to become more familiar with the new generation of California assessments. Scoring schedules are flexible and can include four-, six-, and eight-hour weekday or weekend shifts. California educators interested in applying can view more information on the Online Scoring web page. Questions about the application or hiring process should be directed to etsrater@ets.org . Current scorers can reach out to ratercertify@ets.org for any scoring-related questions.

Previous ELPAC Monthly Communications

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

Additional Help

• Direct questions about policies, regulations, and requirements to elpac@cde.ca.gov.
• Contact your region's Success Agent for answers to questions about assessment coordination, development, and administration, as well as for technical support.
• Direct questions about Moodle , certification, and calibration to moodlesupport@scoe.net.
• Get Answers from a user-friendly lookup tool available to help LEA coordinators quickly find answers to the most common testing questions. Users can also suggest Additional Questions for the FAQ , which will be reviewed on a regular basis.
• Chat with Anita, your virtual assistant for LEA help, which is available on the CAASPP and ELPAC home pages. Unanswered questions will be routed to your LEA Success Agent.

Sincerely,

California Outreach Team

ELPAC website

Contact Us: California Outreach web page