Office of English Language Learners

MEMORANDUM

TO:BPS Early Learning Center, Elementary School and K-8 School Principals

FR:Office of English Language Learners and Department of Early Childhood

DA:November 20, 2015

SU:Guidelines for administering the English language proficiency assessment to K0 and K1 students

The Boston Public Schools is required by federal[1] and state[2] law to properly identify all limited-English proficient (LEP) students in K0 through grade 12 and provide them with appropriate ELL services. The identification and assessment of ELLs in grades K2- 12 is based on Paragraph 28 on the Settlement Agreement:

  • A student may be referred for an English language proficiency assessment when the results to the Home Language Survey (HLS) indicate that a language other than English is:
  1. The primary language used in the home, regardless of the language spoken by the student.
  1. The language most often spoken by the student.
  1. The language that the student first acquired.

Please refer to the link in footnote #2 for new guidelines regarding the identification and assessment of K0 and K1 students. In order to meet our obligations to our ELLs and their families, we must ensure that all BPS students who will enroll in a K1 or a K2 program during the 2016-2017 academic year are properly placed and receive appropriate services. To do this, all K0 and K1 students whose Home Language Survey indicated that another language other than English was spoken at home, must be assessed for English proficiency. Therefore, early childhood programs will administer the Kindergarten WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) to currently enrolled K1 students, and the Pre-IDEA Proficiency Test (PreIPT)to K0 students.

Please carefully REVIEW the following page, which outlines the assessment timeline in detail.

This year, new procedures will be implemented, including a separate testing calendar for schools that have a large assessment caseload. English language proficiency assessments for K0 and K1 students must be completed by the dates below in order to ensure that all early childhood students identified as limited-English proficient (LEP) receive the corresponding services and programs in the 2016-2017 school year.

In order to make this possible, we ask that your school follow the timeline below:

Kindergarten Assessment Calendar SY 2015 - 2016

Action to be taken: / Date(s):
STEP 1 - Principal identifies the staff member who will administer the English language proficiency assessment. The designated tester should be a licensed teacher or licensed staff member, who has completed the online ACCESS for ELLs® test administration training and certification. It is recommended that schools select their Language Acquisition Team (LAT) Facilitators. Schools that have both a K0 and a K1 program should send two testers to the training session. CLICK HERE
to forward the name, BPS email address, and phone number of the designated tester no later than Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The form can also be accessed at / 11/24/15
STEP 2 - Schools must send a designated school-site testerto their assigned training session at the Newcomers Assessment and Counseling Center (NACC) on Monday, December 14, 2015from 3:30-5:30 p.m. or Wednesday, January 6, 2016 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. The assigned tester must bring a recent copy of their ACCESS training certificate to the training session. Testers will receive testing materials along with the list of students to be assessed at their schools at the end of the training session. / 12/14/15
or
01/06/16
STEP 3 - Designated school-site testersassess all identified students with the corresponding English language proficiency assessment. The English language proficiency assessments must be completed no later than January 15, 2016. / 12/15/15
to
01/15/16
Step 4 – LATFs submit results of English language proficiency assessments electronically to the Office of English Language Learners. Instructions for using SIS to report scores will be given at the training sessions on December 14, 2015 and January 6, 2016. In addition, schools must return all original test answer sheets to NACC by this date so that OELL can review the data before submitting final test scores to OIIT. A copy of the final assessment scoring sheetsshould be placed in the student’s ELD folder. / 01/15/16
Step 5 –OELL will review assessment samples from each school and propose ELD levels. After this process, OELL will forward the final test scoresdatabase to OIIT. Schools will receive a copy of the revised data, proposed ELD Levels, and school choice forms for students identified as ELLs. / 01/25/16 to
01/29/16

Please see below for additional instructions:

  • All English language proficiency assessments for K0 and K1 students will be administered at the schools in which the students identified for assessment are currently enrolled.
  • Only testers who attend one of the training sessions on Monday, December 14, 2015 or Wednesday, January 6, 2016 may administer the English language proficiency assessment.
  • To provide an optimal testing environment for students, schools should schedule testing in the morning over the course of several days instead of administering the test on one day.
  • Schools must adhere to their assigned training and assessment schedule.
  • Students with disabilities should be tested according to their IEP accommodations. Copies of the IEPs should be attached to the students’ test answer sheets and forwarded to NACC by Friday,January 15, 2016.
  • Schools must keep copies of the test answer sheets in the ELL folders and an electronic copy on the school’s shared drive.
  • All requested documents must be returned to NACC by January 15, 2016. Test materials should not be placed in the Cluster or U.S. mail.
  • Please share this memo with the designated person who will come to training session and administer the English language proficiency test.
  • Schools that have both a K0 and a K1 program should send two testers to the training session.
  • Please be aware that there will be no funds to pay for substitute coverage to administer the English language proficiency assessments.

LEP Status and First Language

Kindergarten students that are identified as ELLs as a result of the testing process cannot have a first language listed as “English.”Towards that end, please enter an accurate other first language in the column “First Language Change” by using all evidence available, including but not limited to the student’s Home Language Survey, observations of the child speaking another language, parent/guardian’s language preference, and information available on the student in the Aspen Student Information System. This process is imperative to ensure that the district is able to accurately code students identified as ELLs and serve them appropriately.

Example:

Student Name / LEP Status / Home Language / First Language / First Language Change / Language Preference (parent’s)
John Doe / L / Spanish / “English” / Spanish / Spanish

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you have any questions about the process outlined above, please do not hesitate to contact Vera Johnson or Ofelia Pedraza at the Newcomers Assessment and Counseling Center at (617) 635-1565.

Cc:Assistant Superintendent, English Language Learners

Deputy Superintendent of Student Support Services
Special Education, English Language Learning, and Socioemotional Learning

Principal Leaders

OELL Executive Director of Equity and Accountability

OELL Director of Data and Fiscal Accountability

LAT Facilitators

Early Childhood Education

Enrollment Planning and Support Services

OIIT

First Kindergarten WIDA-ACCESS Placement (W-APT) Training Date: December 14, 2015
Adams ES
Baldwin Early Learning Pilot Academy
Blackstone Innovation
Bradley ES
Curley K-8
Dever ES
Ellis ES
S. Greenwood K-8
Hernandez K-8
Jackson/Mann K-8
PJ Kennedy ES
Mather ES / Mattahunt ES
Orchard Gardens K-8
Otis ES
Russell ES
Sumner ES
UP Academy Dorchester
UP Academy Holland
Second Kindergarten WIDA-ACCESS Placement (W-APT) Training Date: January 6, 2016
Alighieri Montessori
Bates ES
Beethoven ES
Boston Teachers Union K-8
Channing ES
Chittick ES
Clap Innovation
Condon ES
Conley ES
Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter
East Boston EEC
Edison K-8
Eliot K-8 Innovation
Ellison/Parks EES
Everett ES
Gardner Pilot Academy
Grew ES
Guild ES
Hale ES
Haley ES
Harvard/Kent ES
Haynes EEC
Henderson K-12 Inclusion
Higginson Inclusion K0-2
Holmes ES
Horace Mann
Hurley K-8
JF Kennedy ES / Kenny ES
Kilmer K-8
King K-8
Lee Academy
Lee K-8
Lyndon K-8
Manning ES
Mason ES
Mendell ES
Mildred Avenue K-8
Mission Hill K-8
Mozart ES
Murphy K-8
O’Donnell ES
Philbrick ES
Quincy ES
Roosevelt K-8
P. Shaw ES
Taylor ES
Tobin ES
Trotter ES
Tynan ES
Warren/Prescott K-8
West Zone ELC
Winship ES
Winthrop ES
Young Achievers K-8

1

Bruce C. Bolling Building, 2300 Washington Street, Roxbury, MA 02119 PHONE: (617) 635-9435 FAX: (617) 635-8332

[1]Successor Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and the Boston Public Schools, p. 9.

[2]Guidance on Identification, Assessment, Placement, and Reclassification of English Language Learners, p. 7.