September 25, 2015
(X) Action Required
(X) Informational
BULLETIN NO. #059-15 ASSESSMENT AND STUDENT INFORMATION
TO:
Educational Service District Superintendents
Educational Service District Assistant Superintendents
School District Superintendents
School District Assistant Superintendents
School District Bilingual Directors
District Assessment Coordinators
School Principals
FROM:
Randy I. Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
RE:
2015–16 English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century
(ELPA21)
CONTACT: Kim Hayes
English Language Proficiency Assessment Coordinator
[email protected], 360-725-6338
Agency TTY: 360-664-3631
Beginning in 2015–16, Washington will transition to the English Language Proficiency
Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21), a new online language acquisition
assessment for English language learners (ELLs). ELPA21 replaces the previous
assessment, the Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment or WELPA.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is providing this bulletin to
inform districts about .this transition for assessing ELLs.
ELPA21 is an enhanced online assessment system designed to measure the English
language proficiency (ELP) of English language learners (ELLs) as they progress
through their K–12 education and achieve college and career readiness. ELPA21 is
designed for states by states with assistance from assessment and content experts
knowledgeable of English language development. The ELPA21 program is designed to
provide students, parents, teachers, administrators, and communities effective
information needed to support all ELLs as each student works toward college and
career readiness.
BULLETIN NO. 059-15 ASI
Page 2
September 25, 2015
The ELPA21 assessment window is scheduled to open February 2, 2016, and end
March 11, 2016. The ELPA21 consortium, OSPI, and its contracted service provider will
strive to support this transition while minimizing impact on schools and districts. OSPI
will continue to share current and updated information with the field throughout the year
in a series of monthly webinars conducted September through May; the planned
webinar schedule is for the first Thursday of every month (the first webinar having been
conducted on September 3). On the ELPA21 page of the OSPI website
(http://www.k12.wa.us/ELPA21/default.aspx) educators will find the link to register for
the next webinar.
Through the combined efforts of the ELPA21 consortium, Washington educators, and
OSPI’s service provider, a number of professional development modules and other
additional resources will be generated to support the field. OSPI will collaborate with the
ELPA21 consortium and its service provider in efforts to complete the scoring and
reporting process designed to support delivery of student results in June.
As with the state’s other recent assessment transitions, we should anticipate differences
in how results from the ELPA21 administration might compare to the previous years of
WELPA administrations. Much like the transitions to new English language arts (ELA)
and math assessments this past spring, we should not attempt to compare results from
two different measures aligned to two different sets of standards. Recognizing this
possible situation, OSPI will, over the next few months, petition the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) with a waiver request to allow resetting of AMAO goals for the state’s
English language acquisition program, using the 2016 administration of ELPA21 as a
“baseline” measure. The process of developing and implementing a framework
supporting a waiver request, while demonstrating a necessary and technically sound
decision-making methodology that identifies the continuation of needed student-level
services, will be a collaborative endeavor between OSPI and ED.
The ELPA21 screener is currently under development and will be operational for
2016–17. Districts will continue to use the WELPA Placement Test as the screener
throughout 2015–16. WELPA Placement Test orders are fulfilled through Data
Recognition Corporation.
Background
In 2012, OSPI became a member of the now ten-state consortium, ELPA21, working on
the development of the new assessment instrument. Before assessment development
could begin, consortium members drafted and adopted new English Language
Proficiency Standards (ELPS) as the basis of a new assessment for the 21st century.
Washington contributed to the review of the draft standards through the 2012–13 school
BULLETIN NO. 059-15 ASI
Page 3
September 25, 2015
year, followed by state stakeholder vetting of final proposed standards leading to final
adoption by State Superintendent Randy Dorn in December 2013.
Once up and running, ELPA21 drew on the expertise of Washington teachers as
participants in item development, scoring rules review, and data reviews. Teacher
participation in item writing and data reviews was mutually beneficial to ELPA21 as the
consortium benefited from the classroom perspectives and insights teachers brought to
the exercise and teachers gained a deeper understanding of the ELPS.
A number of Washington districts also took part in consortium-organized cognitive labs
and field testing during 2014–15. Participants, students and educators alike, shared
impressions of the quality and utility behind the design of item types while gaining
valuable knowledge about the assessment as a whole. Feedback from participating
districts influenced revisions, clarifications, and creation of additional training materials.
OSPI has a new email delivery tool called GovDelivery. Now you can sign up for a
variety of topics that suit your interests: job announcements, news releases, bulletins,
program news, and much more. Go to Email Updates to receive updates regarding the
ELPA21 program and webpages and further customize the updates you want from
OSPI.
For questions regarding the content of this bulletin, please contact the English
Language Proficiency Assessment office at either [email protected] a.us or 360-725-6338.
The agency TTY phone number is 360-664-3631.
K–12 EDUCATION
Gil Mendoza, Ed.D.
Deputy Superintendent
ASSESSMENT AND STUDENT INFORMATION
Robin Munson, Ph.D.
Assistant Superintendent
Michael Middleton
Director of Select Assessments
OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion,
color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression,
gender identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. Questions
BULLETIN NO. 059-15 ASI
Page 4
September 25, 2015
and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Equity and Civil Rights Director at 360-725-6162,
TTY: 360- 664-3631; or P.O. Box 47200, Olympia, WA 98504-7200; or [email protected].