Assessing ELLs with STAAR TM Texas Assessment Conference December 6, 2011  Silvia Alvarado-Bolek, Manager, STAAR Spanish Megan Galicia, Manager, Language Accessibility Student Assessment Division Texas Education Agency

Disclaimer  These slides have been prepared by the Student Assessment Division of the Texas Education Agency  If any slide is changed for local use, please remove the TEA footer at the bottom of the slide 2 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR Assessment Program General STAAR STAAR Spanish STAAR L STAAR Modified STAAR Alternate TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 3

 Grades 3–8: reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies  EOC: English I–III, Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, biology, chemistry, physics, world geography, world history, and U.S. history  ELLs take STAAR if they are not eligible for one of the assessments on the slides that follow 4 STAAR TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

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  LPAC determines if STAAR Spanish test is the most appropriate measure of student’s academic progress 5 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR L  Linguistically accommodated versions of STAAR grades 3–8 and EOC STAAR L is for math, science, and social studies (EOC included) No STAAR L for reading and writing 6 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR L Eligibility:  Spanish-version test does not exist or is not most appropriate measure of academic progress for the student  Student is in first 3 years in U.S. schools (unless unschooled asylee/refugee, then first 5)  Student has not yet reached advanced high rating on TELPAS reading test 7 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

 ELLs receiving special education services who meet participation requirements for STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate may participate in these assessments  More information about STAAR Modified and STAAR Alternate is available at /special-ed/ /special-ed/ 8 STAAR Modified and STAAR Alternate TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and STAAR L Alignment Common features:  Same assessed curriculum  Same item types  Same STAAR blueprints for building tests  Same achievement standard alignment  Same focus on readiness for next grade level or course and ultimately postsecondary readiness 9 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR, STAAR Spanish, STAAR L Alignment 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 10 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

 Linguistic accommodations are not just for STAAR L (Linguistic accommodations beyond testing in primary language do not apply to STAAR Spanish) TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 11 Linguistic Accommodations in STAAR Program

TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 12 Linguistic Accommodations– STAAR

13 Linguistic Accommodations– STAAR L *Provided by test administrator in 2012; by computer in 2013 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

14 Linguistic Accommodations– STAAR Modified *Unique to STAAR Modified TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

Decision-Making Body  LPAC is responsible for obtaining teacher input and making assessment and linguistic accommodation decisions for ELLs  For ELLs served by special education, the ARD committee and LPAC work in conjunction to make these decisions  More information about procedures for LPACs and ARD committees to follow in making and documenting ELL assessment and accommodation decisions will be available from TEA ELL Assessments webpage Linguistic accommodation and assessment decisions are not “automatic;” they are made on an individual student basis in accordance with TEA administrative procedures TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 15

STAAR 16 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR Standard Setting Activities  Performance standards for EOC assessments will be set in spring of 2012  Performance standards for grades 3–8 will be set in fall TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR Retests  First EOC retests will be in summer 2012  First SSI retests will be in spring TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR Annual Item Development Activities  Testing contractor develops items from assessed TEKS curriculum  TEA curriculum and assessment staff review and revise proposed items  Committees of Texas educators review and revise items before field testing  Items are field-tested with large samples of Texas students  Field-test data are analyzed for reliability, validity, and possible bias  Tests are built from the item bank to meet STAAR blueprint specifications 19 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

Steps for Ensuring Transadaptability STAAR Spanish Math and science: Transadapted from English-version items New English items are reviewed by bilingual contractor and TEA staff for linguistic and cultural appropriateness to support Spanish transadaptability Bilingual educators review English and Spanish version items to ensure transadaptations assess content comparably and are worded appropriately Reading and writing: Not transadapted; separately developed Contractor and TEA staff collaborate during item development, item review, and test construction processes to ensure that test specifications are interpreted same way Bilingual educators follow same process and guidelines to review Spanish-version items as educator committees who review English- version items TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 20

Steps for Ensuring Language Accessibility of STAAR L  STAAR L items are STAAR English-version items  Contractor and TEA staff, including second language acquisition specialists, collaborate during item development and review processes to create test items that are — grade-appropriate succinct and worded in a straightforward way accessible to diverse student populations TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 21

TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 22 STAAR SAMPLE ITEMS  MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE

23 STAAR and STAAR L Grade 3 Math TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Classify Geometric Figures

STAAR Spanish Grade 3 Math 24 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Classify geometric figures STAAR Spanish Grade 3 Math

25 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Boiling Point STAAR and STAAR L Grade 5 Science

26 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Boiling Point STAAR Spanish Grade 5 Science

TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 27 STAAR SAMPLE ITEMS  READING & WRITING

28 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Topic Sentence STAAR Grade 4 Writing

29 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Topic Sentence STAAR Spanish Grade 4 Writing

30 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Theme/Drama STAAR Grade 5 Reading

31 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR Theme/Drama STAAR Spanish Grade 5 Reading

STAAR L — 2013 and Beyond 32 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR L for 2013 and Beyond  STAAR L will continue to be for — grades 3–8 and EOC math, science, and social studies  2013 and beyond – online testing program Clarification and read-aloud accommodations provided by teachers in 2012 will be built into the online system 33 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR L Linguistic Accommodations 34 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

35 Preview of STAAR L 2013 and Beyond TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

 Examples of language to be clarified in online system (as long as assessed content words not clarified): Vocabulary including idiomatic language and colloquialisms Long clauses and difficult conjunctions Difficult prepositions or series of prepositional phrases Complex verb tenses or difficult irregular verb forms Passive voice Complex question phrases Difficult word order Contexts that may be culturally unfamiliar or confusing 36 Preview of STAAR L 2013 and Beyond TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

Steps in development of STAAR L  Obtained input from grade-level and content area teachers and specialists in second language acquisition, large-scale assessment, and curriculum (February 2011)  Conducted cognitive lab/usability study to obtain student feedback on effectiveness of accommodations and usability of online system (October 2011) 37 Preview of STAAR L 2013 and Beyond TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

Next steps  May 2012 larger-scale STAAR L online study of two high school subjects to refine accommodation guidelines and online interface  Review of read-aloud technology  Summer/fall 2012 educator review committees to review STAAR L items online TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 38 Preview of STAAR L 2013 and Beyond

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 39 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR Resources Webpage See information such as —  Q & A  Sample questions  PowerPoint presentations  STAAR assessment comparison chart  STAAR brochures in English and Spanish  STAAR dictionary policy for language arts tests 40 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

STAAR Accommodation Information Accommodation Resources webpage  Information about accommodations for students with disabilities (periodically updated) linguistic accommodations for ELLs (coming soon) accommodations 41 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

Recommendations for Educator Review Committees  As part of test development process for the state assessments, TEA convenes committees of educators each year to review items for state assessment programs  Committees assembled from database of recommended educators  Need recommendations for educators who have experience working with ELLs Recommendation forms available at RecommendationEducatorCommittee.pdf 42 TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR

 Go to and click on English Language Learner Assessmentswww.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment  us at  Call the TEA Student Assessment Division at (512) TEA - Assessing ELLs with STAAR 43 Contact Information