1. ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 2017 Score Changes
Presentation for Parents and Families
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Part I: My child is an English language learner. What does that mean?
Part II: My child is an English language learner. How is my child's language development supported at school?
Part III: My child is an English language learner. How do I know if my child is making progress?

2. Overview 1 2 3 4 5 What is ACCESS for ELLs 2.0?
What has changed about scores? 2
How are my child’s scores changing? 3
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of how the scores on the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 assessment will be changing. First, we will provide a little background about the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 assessment. Then, we will explain how the scoring of the assessment has changed this year. We will tell you how these changes may affect your child’s score on this year’s assessment when compared to last year. And finally, we will save time for your questions.
What should I do? 4
Your questions 5

3. What is ACCESS for ELLs 2.0?
An English language proficiency assessment for students in Kindergarten through Grade 12
Given every year to students who are English language learners
Monitors the English language development of students
Presenter note: add your test dates to the slide, if desired
ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is an English language proficiency assessment for Grades K–12. The test is administered every year to help school districts monitor the English language development of students identified as English language learners.
ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 measures students’ abilities to understand and produce English used within school settings. The four sections of the test are Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing.
Every state sets a time frame for schools to administer ACCESS for ELLs 2.0. Schools schedule when students will take the four sections of the test during the testing time frame. In this school, students take the test [tell when you take the test].
Scores from ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 can be used in many ways. As parents or guardians, you can use the scores to advocate for their child. Teachers use the scores to plan instruction and assessments. Districts use the scores to evaluate their language support programs, to monitor student progress in acquiring English, and to determine if a student is eligible to exit an English language support program. Scores are also used to meet federal and state accountability requirements.
Photo Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, flickr

4. Terms and Ideas English language learners are students who are eligible to receive support at school with their English language development. Language development is a process that takes time. Students move along this process at different rates.
This is an optional slide if you want to remind your audience of this definition. You may want to customize this slide if your state has a different definition.
Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Education, flickr

5. Photo Credit: breity, flickr
Terms and Ideas Language proficiency is a measurement of where students are in the process of language development. ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 measures students’ language proficiency every year.
This is an optional slide if you want to include a definition of language proficiency as part of your overview. You may want to mention that language proficiency is like a photograph, it captures an image of what students can do at one moment when they take the test, sometimes the picture looks different than how the student is performing in the classroom and the student also changes from day to day. This is just like when you take photos of your child and they look a little different each day.

6. ACCESS for ELLs 2.0
Last year, students took a new version of the assessment. Many of them used a computer to take the assessment for the first time.
This year, the assessment has not changed, but the scoring has changed. Students must show higher language skills than in the past to receive high proficiency level scores.
Talk with parents about the test, tell them why it has visuals to support students, and remind them that it focuses on the English language, not what your child knows.

7. Individual Student Report
Score reports provide information on a student’s progress in the development of English language proficiency.
Proficiency level scores are reported from 1.0 (beginner) to 6.0 (advanced).
Optional slide: You may want to draw from the notes below to fit your needs:
The Individual Student Report shows the eight scores your child could receive on the test. If your child took all four sections of the test, he/she will receive all eight scores. NA, or not available, indicates no score was reported. There are four Language Domain scores and four Composite Scores.
Scale Scores are reported as numbers that range from 100 – 600, for example 356 or 220. These scores reflect your child’s grade level and difficulty level of the test items that he/she successfully completed. Scale scores are helpful to see the progress your child makes in English language development from year to year. The graph on the report shows your child’s Scale Score for each of the eight scores, and it also shows the Confidence Band for each of his/her Scale Scores.
Confidence Bands are the shaded area around each of your child’s Scale Scores. This shows the possible range for your child’s score with a 95% probability of accuracy. In other words, if your child took the same test repeatedly, there is a 95% chance that his/her scores would be within the shaded range.
We encourage families to look at all of the scores reported for their child. Here are some suggestions for how to interpret, or make sense of, your child’s scores:
• Look at the Language Domain scores. Look at his/her Proficiency Level scores for Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Which scores are closer to 6.0? Which scores are closer to 1.0?
• Look at the Composite Scores. Look at his/her Proficiency Level scores for Oral Language, Literacy, Comprehension, and the Overall Score. Which scores are closer to 6.0? Which scores are closer to 1.0?

8. What do teachers do with test scores?
We look at what your child does best. We can use these strengths to help your child learn.
We think about how to support your child in learning English and make plans for our teaching.
This might be an opportunity for you to talk about some specific ways that teachers in your school use test scores for planning.
Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks, flickr

9. What has changed…? In the classroom?
New academic standards and assessments
Higher language expectations
On ACCESS for ELLs 2.0?
New academic standards and assessments for core subjects like mathematics, science, and language arts have increased the complexity of the language all students are expected to use at school, including English language learners. To meet the demands of these new academic standards, the expectations for language use on ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 have also increased. The difficulty of test questions on ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 has not changed, but students will need to demonstrate higher language skills to achieve the same proficiency level scores. This gives everyone confidence that the assessment provides the information needed to support decisions that impact the education of English language learners.
Photo Credit: US Department of Education, flickr

10. Optional slide if you find the visual helpful
Optional slide if you find the visual helpful. What do increased expectations on ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 mean? What will this mean for students?
It means they will face higher challenges (hurdles) to achieve the same level of success on the test, and they will need strong language instruction and support in the classroom to clear those hurdles. The hurdles have gone up because when demands for content success increase, the demands for language are also higher.

11. What does this mean for my child?
Your child’s scores may go down in 2017.
Your child may need more time in our English language learner program.
Please customize this slide with the name of your program type.
Photo Credit: US Department of Education, flickr

12. 3rd grade reported score 4th grade reported score
Example Student: Yelena
Test
3rd grade reported score
4th grade reported score
Listening
4.0
3.9
Speaking
3.5
4.1
Reading
2.8
2.3
Writing
4.2
Overall
3.7
You may select this sample student example if you work in an Elementary school context.
Yelena’s scores look like they went down in Listening and Reading.

13. 3rd grade adjusted score 4th grade reported score
Example Student: Yelena
Test
3rd grade adjusted score
4th grade reported score
Listening
3.8
3.9
Speaking
4.0
4.1
Reading
2.0
2.3
Writing
4.2
Overall
3.5
3.7
But really, she improved in all areas measured by the test.

14. 10th grade reported score 11th grade reported score
Example Student: Marwan
Test
10th grade reported score
11th grade reported score
Listening
5.3
5.2
Speaking
4.2
3.7
Reading
5.1
4.5
Writing
4.6
Overall
4.8
4.4
You may select this sample student example if you work in a secondary school context.
It looks like all of Marwan’s scores went down.

15. 10th grade adjusted score 11th grade reported score
Example Student: Marwan
Test
10th grade adjusted score
11th grade reported score
Listening
5.1
5.2
Speaking
3.7
Reading
4.5
Writing
Overall
4.2
4.4
But really, Marwan’s Listening and Reading skills improved, his Overall score went up, and his Speaking and Writing scores stayed about the same.

16. What should I do?
Try not to worry! Your child is continuing to learn English.
Ask your child’s teacher:
What language support do you provide my child?
What would you like to know about how my child uses language at home?
What score does my child need to exit the program?
Continue to support your child’s language development at home.
Read to your child in your home language or English.
Ask questions about your child’s school work.
Talk to your child about topics that are fun and interesting to your family.
Note that although the scores may look lower, this is because of the change in the test. Their children most likely made progress in English.
At conferences, teachers may be able to use the Individual Student Score Notes template (see to download) and the score calculator to show parents and families a comparison of the old and new scores.

17. Questions & Answers Thank you!
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Conclusion: When you go to your parent/teacher conference, you can discuss details of the impact on your child and what the scores mean for how you will plan their instruction, what they can do at home to support language development, and more.
Parent handouts are available. You may want to print copies in English and the languages that your families speak.
Thank you!
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