TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate Updates 2021 Title III

TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate Updates 2021 Title III Symposium José Ríos, Director of Test Administration Lois Neumeyer, Education Specialist Vanessa Gallardo, Education Specialist Student Assessment Division

2022 TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate Updates This session will include information on the following: § General Updates § TELPAS Alternate 2

General Updates 3

New Vendor Team § Cambium Assessment, Inc and NCS Pearson, Inc will be the vendors starting September 1, 2021 § Cambium (CAI) § • will host and manage the testing platform for all assessments and manage the registration, administration, scoring, and reporting for the entire assessment portfolio. • delivered more than 60 million online tests in 2018– 2019 and currently serves 28 states and territories, as well as the College Board. Pearson • § responsible for item development and test form construction. Cambium, Pearson, and TEA will work closely with educators across Texas to ensure a seamless transition of vendor services and support. 4

Pearson Assessment Management System § As part of contract transition, ETS will be providing all necessary TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate score data to CAI. § Any districts that would like to retain copies of their individual district results for TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate should download those results from the Reports > Published Reports in the Pearson Assessment Management System prior to September 30, 2021. § Districts will be able to access score reports in the Pearson Assessment Management System until September 30, 2021. 5

Online Training Center § TELPAS online training will transition to the Texas Assessment Learning Management System (LMS) for the 2021– 2022 school year. § To prepare for this transition, all users should retrieve, print, or email certificates, scoring summaries, and training history from the TELPAS Online Training Center by July 31, 2021, at 5: 00 p. m. (CT). 6

Online Training Center § Certificates for 2021 can be accessed on the Scoring Summary tab for the grade-specific training completed. 7

Online Training Center § To retrieve certificates from 2020, users should access the Training History tab for the grade-specific training completed. 8

New Home of Texas. Assessment. gov - Parents § From now until August 31, 2021, parents may find more information about this transition on the New Texas Assessment Vendor Program Information webpage. § On September 1, 2021, parents may go to the newly designed www. Texas. Assessment. gov for more information about the Texas assessment program including: • • Access to practice tests Frequently asked questions Descriptions of the testing programs Explanation of test results § Additional resources will be added throughout the year. 9

New Home of Texas. Assessment. gov Educators § From now until August 31, 2021, educators may visit tx. portal. cambiumast. com to find resources including: • • Access to components of the testing system Assessment resources by assessment program Technology resources Systems Guides § On September 1, 2021, all resources will be relocated on the newly redesigned www. Texas. Assessment. gov. 10

TELPAS 11

Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) The TELPAS assessment components include the following: § Grades K-1 • holistically rated observational assessments of listening, speaking, reading, and writing § Grades 2 -12 • multiple-choice online reading tests in six grade clusters (2, 3, 4 -5, 6 -7, 8 -9, 10 -12) • online listening and speaking tests in four grade clusters (2 -3, 4 -5, 6 -8, 9 -12) • holistically rated student writing collections 12

TELPAS Manuals: Rater and Test Administrator § TELPAS Rater Manual • Online only § TELPAS Test Administrator Manual • Online as well as printed and shipped • New process • • • Based on registration numbers 10% overage Formula similar to STAAR, 1: 15 • Districts able to order additional manuals 13

K-1 Rater Credentials § A teacher (including a substitute teacher) selected to rate an EL must • have the student in class at the time of the spring assessment window • be knowledgeable about the student’s ability to use English in instructional and informal settings • hold valid Texas education credentials, such as a teacher certificate or permit • be appropriately trained in the holistic rating process • rate the student in all eligible domains § Paraprofessionals may not serve as raters. § Raters may include bilingual teachers, ESL teachers, general education teachers, gifted and talented teachers, and teachers of enrichment subjects. 14

2 -12 Rater Credentials (writing only) § A rater (centralized rater) does not need to have the student in class at the time of the spring assessment. § The rater (including a substitute teacher) selected to rate an EL must • hold valid Texas education credentials, such as a teacher certificate or permit • be appropriately trained in the holistic rating process* § A teacher of record is required to assemble an EL's writing collection. § Districts that designate centralized raters (districtwide, campuswide, or by grade levels) will need to develop their own process to gather and verify the writing collections. § Paraprofessionals may not serve as raters. *Please note that districts, at their discretion, can implement additional requirements for grades 2 -12 raters of writing collections. 15

2 -12 Rater Credentials (listening, speaking and writing) § Applies to raters of students that have received TEA approval for a special administration of the TELPAS listening and speaking assessment and will be rating writing as well. § A teacher (including a substitute teacher) selected to rate an EL must • have the student in class at the time of the spring assessment window • be knowledgeable about the student’s ability to use English in instructional • • • and informal settings hold valid Texas education credentials, such as a teacher certificate or permit be appropriately trained in the holistic rating process rate the student in all eligible domains § Paraprofessionals may not serve as raters. § Raters may include bilingual teachers, ESL teachers, general education teachers, gifted and talented teachers, and teachers of enrichment subjects. 16

Centralized Raters § Districts have the option to designate one or more centralized raters to rate TELPAS grades 2 -12 writing collections districtwide, campuswide, or by grade level. • • • Implementation of centralized raters not a requirement Solely an option to provide districts some flexibility in the TELPAS assessment of grades 2 -12 student writing collections Centralized raters are required to meet the TELPAS rater requirements (training and calibration) Exception: This does not apply to raters of students that have been approved for a special administration of the TELPAS listening and speaking assessment. 17

Composite Rating § The TELPAS composite results indicate a student’s overall level of English language proficiency and are determined from the student’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiency ratings. § Each language domain rating is equally weighted at 25%. § Specific information about composite scores, ratings, criteria, and examples can be found in the TELPAS Interpretive Guide. 18

TELPAS Reading Braille (NEW) § Available starting in spring 2022 § ARD committee, in conjunction with LPAC, decision § Same grade bands as TELPAS online reading (Grade/s 2, 3, 4 -5, 6 -7, 8 -9, 10 -12) § An EL may use this designated support if he or she routinely uses braille materials during classroom instruction and classroom testing. 19

TELPAS Reading: New TEI Items § Hot text 20

TELPAS Reading: New TEI Items, continued § Drag and drop 21

TELPAS Reading: New TEI Items, continued § Drag and drop 22

Listening & Speaking Rubrics Speaking prompts are scored according to a 2 - or 4 - point rubric depending on the item type. § Two-point item types are fairly simple, such as making a prediction based on a picture stimulus or using a simple map to provide directions. § Four-point item types are more open ended, such as using a series of pictures to explain a multi-step process, comparing and contrasting, or taking a position on an issue and defending that position. 23

2 -Point Speaking Rubric 24

4 -Point Speaking Rubric Two printing formats • Regular format prints on two pages • Large format prints on one page (printers must have tabloidsize print available) 25

TELPAS Speaking: Best Practices § Speak clearly. • • § Make sure your microphone is close to your mouth but not touching your lips. Avoid whispering. Give as much detail as possible, speak in complete sentences, and use vocabulary you have learned in class. • If you do not know a word in English to express yourself, use a description of that word to relay your message. § Avoid playing with the headset, microphone, or headset cord § Listen to your answer to make sure you can hear yourself clearly. • Ask yourself if your teacher would ask you to repeat your answer or speak louder. 26

Updated Listening and Speaking Practice Sets § Will be updated to reflect format changes due to new testing platform § Solely for practice (should not be used to predict success on TELPAS) § Created to help students become familiar with online listening and speaking items functionality § Include sample items comparable to what is on the actual test • • should not be treated like released tests not a true reflection of the various difficulty levels of items on the test § Allow students to practice listening to test items § Allow students to practice recording speaking responses • • should have multiple opportunities to interact with microphone encourage students to plan their speaking response before actually recording it (using online notepad or scratch paper) 27

Updated TELPAS Reading Practice Sets § Will be updated to reflect format changes due to new testing platform § Purpose is to familiarize students with the online interface, the available tools, and the types of test items § Include a sampling of reading passages and test questions § Sample items comparable to what is on the actual test § • • should not be used to evaluate a student’s level of language proficiency not a true reflection of the various difficulty levels of items on the test To generate a score report, the student must submit their final answers 28

TELPAS Released Tests § TELPAS listening & speaking and reading released tests in the online interface used for the spring administration. § Released tests can be administered to students for diagnostic purposes. § A test summary will not be generated. If you would like to score students’ released tests, you should direct students to record their answers on a separate sheet of paper. Then you can use the appropriate answer key to score the released test. § To determine a student's proficiency level rating, use the appropriate raw score conversion table located on the TELPAS Raw Score Conversion Tables webpage. 29

TELPAS Resources Resource Purpose Audience TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate Educator Guide Provides an overview of TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate and serves to support effective implementation of the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) and PLDs to guide instruction Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers TELPAS Training Power. Points Provide introductory training resources for educators, raters, and administrators/coordinators to use to build foundational knowledge of TELPAS Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers TELPAS Reading, Listening, and Speaking Blueprints Provides districts with the test blueprints (reading, listening, and speaking) Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers 30

TELPAS Resources (continued) Resource Purpose Audience TELPAS Speaking Rubrics Derived from the TELPAS proficiency level descriptors (PLDs) and demonstrates the number of score points that a student can achieve based on their performance on each speaking test item Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers TELPAS Released Tests Available for reading, listening, and speaking in the online interface and can be used to administer to students for diagnostic purposes Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers, Students TELPAS Speaking Scoring Guides Provides exemplar student speaking responses along with annotations to illustrate how the language of the rubric is applied to each response to determine a score. These guides are intended to be used alongside the spring 2020 TELPAS listening and speaking tests. Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers, Parents 31

TELPAS Resources (continued) Resource Purpose Audience TELPAS Listening and Speaking Practice Sets Created to help students become familiar with online listening and speaking test items and to practice recording speaking responses Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers, Students TELPAS Microphone and Headset Check Available to test connection, recording, and audio playback of headsets prior to utilizing the listening and speaking practice sets, released tests, and definitely before testing. Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers TELPAS Parent Resources Provides parent resources that include TELPAS FAQs and TELPAS Administrators, parent tips for all language domains Coordinators, Teachers, Parents 32

TELPAS Alternate 33

What is TELPAS Alternate? § A holistic inventory that assesses the language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing for students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 2 -12 § Aligned to the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) § Based on alternate Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) created to address the specific access needs of this population 34

Who Takes TELPAS Alternate? Students taking TELPAS Alternate are English learners in grades 2 -12 who have significant cognitive disabilities and who are in the process of acquiring English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These students have one or more disabilities that significantly limit their intellectual functioning, as shown by their ability to plan, comprehend, and reason, and their adaptive behavior, as shown by their ability to apply social and practical skills. 35

Who is assessed with TELPAS Alternate? § No TELPAS Alternate so all ELs, including students receiving special education services, will take TELPAS K-1 holistically rated assessment for all four language domains. § Participation requirements are available on TEA’s TELPAS Alternate Resources webpage. ARD committees, in conjunction with the LPAC, are required to review the participation requirements and determine and document student eligibility for TELPAS Alternate. Grades K – 1 Grade 2 § § Grades 3 - 12 § Participation requirements are available on TEA’s TELPAS Alternate Resources webpage. ARD committees, in conjunction with the LPAC, are required to determine and document student eligibility for TELPAS Alternate. If the student is LEP/EL and is eligible for STAAR Alternate 2, he or she will take TELPAS Alternate. 36

TELPAS Alternate Participations Requirements § Participation requirements (in English and Spanish) for grades 2 -12 are available on TEA’s TELPAS Alternate Resources webpage. § Participation requirements are intended to guide the ARD committee, in conjunction with the LPAC, when determining the appropriate English language proficiency assessment to administer to ELs. § Documentation of eligibility is different for students in grade 2 compared to students in grades 3 -12. 37

Language Domain Definitions Domain TELPAS Definition TELPAS Alternate Definition Listening The ability to understand spoken language, comprehend and extract information, and follow social and instructional discourse through which information is provided. The ability to understand spoken or signed language, comprehend and extract information, and follow social and instructional discourse through which information is provided. Speaking The ability to use spoken language appropriately and effectively in learning activities and social interactions. The ability to use spoken language or alternative communication appropriately and effectively in learning activities and social interactions. Reading The ability to comprehend and interpret written text at the grade-appropriate level. The ability to comprehend and interpret written text, including braille, at a modified level. Writing The ability to produce written text with content and format to fulfill grade appropriate classroom assignments. The ability to produce written text or alternative communication with content and format to fulfill classroom and community-based assignments. 38

Alternate Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) § The PLDs are domain-specific and define how well ELs at the five proficiency levels can understand use English in social and academic settings. § The descriptors show the progression of second language acquisition from one proficiency level to the next and serve as a road map to help teachers tailor instruction to the linguistic needs of ELs. § Located on the TELPAS Alternate Resources webpage. 39

TELPAS Alternate Test Administrator Manual (NEW) § Manuals • • § available online only not shipped to districts Observable Behaviors shipped to districts • • Based on registration counts + 10% overage Observable Behaviors will be packed in 3’s Districts are not able to place additional order Observable Behaviors PDF available online for printing 40

Observable Behaviors Inventory: Paper § Descriptions of behaviors test administrators consider regarding each student’s use of the English language in each of the four domains § Test administrators, make holistic judgments across all four domains of English language proficiency (listening, speaking, reading, writing) using alternate ELPS-aligned observable behaviors. 41

Observable Behaviors Inventory: Electronic Located on TELPAS Alternate Resources webpage. 42

Observable Behaviors Inventory Notes Version Used by test administrators during the school year to take notes that can be used when marking the official Observable Behaviors Inventory during the assessment window 43

Observable Behaviors Inventory Classroom Examples Used by test administrators during the school year to view classroom examples which illustrate how a student could demonstrate a particular skill at each proficiency level. 44

TELPAS Alternate Resources Resource Purpose Audience Educator Guide to TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate Provides an overview of TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate and serves to support effective implementation of the ELPS Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers Participation Requirements Used by ARD committees in conjunction with the LPAC to make decisions about TELPAS Alternate Members of ARD committees and LPACs Observable Behaviors Measures the student’s use of English and contain a notes section that can be used to become accustomed to TELPAS Alternate prior to the assessment window Teachers Parent Brochure Communicates (English and Spanish) basic information about TELPAS Alternate Parents 45

TELPAS Alternate Resources (continued) Resource Test Administration Manual Purpose Contains instructions covering the responsibilities of test administrators and the observable behaviors used to assess students Required to be read carefully and followed as written Training Power. Points Provides training on a variety of topics, including authentic classroom activities for each domain that explain how to rate students with the observable behaviors Designed as short Power. Points that can be viewed in 30 minutes or less Audience Administrators, Coordinators, Teachers serving as test administrators Are optional though highly recommended 46

Contact Information For inquiries regarding: § English learner policies for all state assessments, including assessing ELs receiving special education services § General questions about TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate assessments Student Assessment Division For inquiries related to: § Bilingual and ESL program support § Identification, Placement, and Reclassification Division of English Learner Support (512) 463 -9536 (512) 463 -9414 Student Assessment Help Desk English. Learner. Support@tea. texas. gov 47

Disclaimer These slides have been prepared by the Student Assessment Division of the Texas Education Agency. You are welcome to use them for local training. If any of the slides are changed for local use, please remove any TEA logos, headers, or footers. (You may need to edit the Master slide. ) This training is not intended to replace any materials or additional information on the TEA website. 48