OSPI Guidance on ELPA21 Administration for ELs with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
The following information is provided to districts and schools as guidance for administering the ELPA21 assessment to English learners with significant cognitive challenges. As stated within the guidance, OSPI encourages schools and districts to contact our offices with any questions around accessibility and possible testing engagement options for students. The primary points of contact for questions and further guidance related to this message should be directed to or 360.725.6338.
OSPI Guidance on ELPA21 Administration for ELs with Significant Cognitive Challenge
The English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) window for assessing English Learners (ELs) with significant cognitive disabilities is about to open, thus the following information and guidance is provided to aid with the administration of this state assessment. Refer to the state testing manual, ELPA21 TAM[[1]], for complete information on administration of ELPA21.
ELPA21 Overview
The ELPA21 Annual Test is given to all students who qualified for English Language Development (ELD) services. It measures students’ growth in English language knowledge and skills.
Test Administration Window:
The test administration window is from April 12-May 26, 2017. Test results will determine which students are eligible to continue receiving English Language Development (ELD) services.
Target Student Group:
Participants for this assessment are K-12 students who meet the following two definitions.
Significant Cognitive Disabilities:
- have a disability and are eligible and receiving special education and related services according to an Individualized Education Program (IEP);
- require intensive or extensive levels of direct support that is not of a temporary or transient nature;
- require specially designed instruction to acquire, maintain or generalize skills in multiple settings in order to successfully transfer skills to natural settings including the home, school, workplace, and community;
- score at least two (2) standard deviations below the mean on standardized, norm-referenced assessments for adaptive behavior and intellectual functioning.
English Language Learners:
- are presently enrolled in an elementary school or secondary school;
- have been identified as an English learner through a process of screening or placement into English language development services.
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team Decision-Making Guidelines Regarding Student Participation in Statewide Assessments, provides additional guidance.
Who Administers the ELPA21:
State assessments must be administered by trained staff members of a school district (e.g., teachers, ESAs, EAs/para-educators, substitute teachers) under the general supervision of a certificated employee. Staff administering the ELPA21 should have experience with students with significant cognitive disabilities; experience with English learners (ELs) is preferable. Student teachers and interns have a contractual relationship with the school district — even though they are not paid employees — and may assist in the administration of the assessments, including proctoring.
Volunteers may not administer or assist in the administration of any state assessments. Volunteers are not permitted to assist with handling secure test material. Volunteers may assist in the supervision of students who need a break or have completed testing.
Security and Professional Code of Conduct
The items appearing on the online and paper-pencil test forms are all secure items. No portion of the test is to be documented, discussed with students or in environments outside of direct administration activities, or duplicated for instructional purposes at any time. Any students notes must be collected, accounted for, and immediately returned to your School Test Coordinator (SC) at the end of each days testing, according to your school’s Test Security and Building Plan. Staff administering and overseeing state assessment are required to review the Professional Standards and Security, Incident, and Reporting Guidelines.
All online test usernames and passwords (test tickets) must be kept in a secure location and be immediately returned to your SC after the test administration for that day has completed.
The ELPA21 TAM is not a secure document and schools may print as many copies as necessary.
Professional Code of Conduct is codified by the Washington State Legislature in WACs and RCWs. A list of complete rules and regulations can be found at:
Domains and Grades Assessed:
ELPA21 tests four language domains: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The four domains are organized into grade levels or grade bands outlined below. Students must participate in the grade level or grade band test that corresponds to their grade of enrollment.
Kindergarten / Grade Band 4-5Grade 1 / Grade Band 6-8
Grade Band 2-3 / Grade Band 9-12
Student Participation/Access Guidelines:
OSPI’s goal is to maximize the use of the existing test delivery system. To do this, it is expected that either:
- The student will generate responses within the online platform (with or without some level of test proctor, subsequently referenced as “Test Administrator” or “TA”, assistance), or
- The TA will scribe/transcribe the student’s responses into the online platform or Data Entry Interface or DEI. (For more information on use of the DEI system refer to the Data Entry Interface User Guide). Staff assisting with scribing or transcribing activities are required to be trained and familiar with the scribing and transcribing guidelines of the state’s Guidelines on Tools, Supports, & Accommodations.
OPSI has identified five ways for students to participate in the ELPA 21. These include:
- Online with minimal assistance from TA.
- Online with TA providing substantial assistance
- Paper-pencil with minimal assistance from TA
- Paper-pencil with TA providing substantial assistance
- Engagement Rubric
Whatever the means, the goal is for optimal student-item engagement and independent response. Please note that the terms “assistance”, “minimal assistance” and “substantial assistance” do not include hand-over-hand assistance. Likewise, a TA should not provide students with other types of assistance such as commenting on the quality or proficiency of a response.
To increase the likelihood of student responses, TAs (refer to the earlier section, Who Administers the ELPA21) should use both alternate presentation methods (e.g., read-aloud, pictures, etc.) and student response modes (e.g., choice boards and/or electronic devices, picture exchange communication systems (PECS), scribes/transcribers, and other assistive technology) to assist with the administration. OSPI encourages districts and schools to contact the agency to discuss accessibility options that will optimize student interactions with the assessment. Direct any inquiries or possible ideas to either or 360.725.6338. The goal is to find a suitable means to best assess the students’ English language skills.
Decision-Making: Decisions about accommodation and how best to administer the ELPA21 to a student should be made by educators, or teams of educators, with the parent/guardian and student where appropriate. For example, the special education and an educator familiar with the English language development needs should discuss the supports that would maximize the student’s ability to participate in the ELPA21. For students with significant cognitive disabilities, these support will most often include the specialized instructional strategies, techniques, devices, and/or equipment used by the student during daily instruction.
The Guidelines on Tools, Supports, & Accommodations detail accessibility features available for use with ELPA21 testing, as well as protocols for use of specific features (e.g., scribing).
Paper-Pencil Tests: Paper-pencil versions of the assessment will be provided to all districts identifying students with significant cognitive disabilities participating in the ELPA21. Delivery dates are slated to begin Monday, April 10 for students previously identified through the WAMS WIDA Alternate ACCESS Registration. These booklets will arrive with pre-ID information affixed for each student. For any student not identified prior to March 20, districts will have the opportunity to request a paper-pencil booklet through an additional order process, with District Test Coordinators (DCs) calling the Measurement Incorporated (MI) Help Desk directly at 866.762.1056. Districts have access to the additional order opportunity through May 15, with order fulfillment happening on a rolling basis as received. It takes approximately 5-6 working days for delivery of materials from the time of order placement.
Whether the decision locally is to use or not use the provided paper-pencil booklet, in any capacity for testing, OSPI is requiring the material be returned to MI. Booklet shipments will come with necessary instructions to support re-packaging and return to the vendor.
Stopping Rules:
Determining when best to cease continuation of a test is ultimately the local administrator’s (proctor or TA) decision. After five (5) non-responses, the proctor/TA can decide to end testing within the domain.
Stopping rules are to be applied separately to each of the four domains tested.
Domain Exemption:
English language proficiency assessing allows for domain exemptions in unique student situations that preclude engagement with any of the four language domains (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking).
To have a domain exemption applied for a student the specific domain is to be identified, and set in TIDE, prior to commencement of testing.
In determining which student situation might be applicable for domain exemption administrators and teachers must determine that:
•The student has a documented disability or impairment applicable to the domain (IEP or 504);
•Even with available accommodations, the student cannot engage with (access) the domain; and
•The IEP team, in consultation with the educator(s) supporting student’s English language development, have established a need for a domain exemption.
-It is essential for the determination process that IEP team include participants who have the requisite knowledge of the child’s English language development needs.
If all three criteria above are affirmed, the DC (or District Administrator) will enter the domain exemption determination into TIDE.
A student who can access a domain, even if supporting educators question the soundness of the subsequent scores due to the nature of a student’s response, are not candidates for domain exemption. As an example, a student with a speech impediment that hampers clear articulation, but who does engage in verbal exchange, should participate in assessing her or his English speaking skills. OSPI has established that a “familiar listener” can provide scribed responses to the associated speaking items that will accompany the student’s recorded spoken response through the scoring process.
Engagement Rubric:
As with the alternate assessment for content area testing (WA-AIM), the testing of ELs with significant cognitive challenges will also provide for instances where the student is determined to be at an awareness level of engagement. OSPI has developed a specific process to address the requirement for assessing the small number of students in this category with a process called Engagement Rubric for English Language Development.
The Engagement Rubric is designed not as a measure of English language acquisition, but an opportunity to assess a student’s ability to engage with a language activity. Administration of the Engagement Rubric means the applicable student will receive the lowest possible scores for the four tested domains, and be identified at the “Emerging” profile status for English language proficiency.
Teachers are to document a student’s engagement with an English language activity as part of her or his regular classroom interaction. Refer to Appendix A for more information in using the Engagement Rubric for English Language Development. To administer an Engagement Rubric with students, send an email to with a list of applicable student SSIDs. OSPI will then send a blank rubric for use in administration.
Upon completion of the Engagement Rubric, districts are to fax the documentation to OSPI at 360.725.0424. Due to the presence of personally identifiable information, completed rubrics should not be emailed.
The submission deadline for Engagement Rubrics is the same as the previously stated test window – May 26.
[1] Appendix B is a listing of all the specific URLs associated with hyperlinks embedded in this document
Appendix A
Engagement Rubric for English Language Development
Engagement Rubric Guidance and Directions for Use
Guidance
The Engagement Rubric is a measure of a student’s engagement and attention to language activities. The Engagement Rubric is for students whose level of cognitive development is associated with awareness level engagement; identified students are unable to participate, even minimally, with the regular ELPA21 assessment using the allowable accessibility features. Use of the Engagement Rubric provides information to schools and families regarding the student’s interaction with language activities.
For a student who meets the below criteria, the IEP team may decide that in lieu of participating in the regular ELPA21 assessment, even within the fullest extent that accommodations can support, a student’s engagement with a language activity, conducted in a classroom setting, may prove a more appropriate measure of the student’s skills and abilities. Students, for whom the Engagement Rubric is determined appropriate, will use the rubric in lieu of the ELPA21 testing. Because using the Engagement Rubric replaces the regular ELPA21 assessment, a student’s performance on the four domains will be set at the lowest possible scale score, assigned Level 1 (L1), and the student’s proficiency status will be set at “Emerging”.
The student must meet at least one of the criteria below for the IEP team to consider using the Engagement Rubric for a content area of the alternate assessment:
The student communicates primarily through cries, facial expressions, change in muscle tone but no clear use of objects/textures, regularized gestures, picture signs, etc.
The student alerts to sensory input from another person (auditory, visual, touch, movement, etc.) but requires actual physical assistance to follow simple directions; or the student’s response to sensory stimuli (e.g., sound/voice; sight/gesture; touch; movement; smell) is unclear.
Parents and teachers must interpret child’s state from behaviors such as sounds, body movements, and facial expressions.
Directions for Use and Submission
1: Identify students taking Engagement Rubric
The following steps apply for initiating use of the Engagement Rubric with students:
- School or district staff identifies students who will use the Engagement Rubric.
- Staff member will contact OSPI at to request a blank version of the Engagement Rubric; ensure all applicable SSIDs are included in the request.
- OSPI will email a blank rubric to requester.
The list of students identified for Engagement Rubric use should also be communicated to District Coordinators (DC).
2: Administer Engagement Rubric activities (teacher)
- Teacher administers the language activity and documents activity description (Part 1) and Student’s Response to Activity (Part 2) on Engagement Rubric.
Student Name: / SSID: / Grade:
Part 1: Language Activity
Please describe the language activity the student was presented and/or included. Please detail the expectations of the student’s classmates as well as how the student will be supported to participate.
Activity Date: 3/2/2017
Activity Description: Jamal was brought to the small group table. His peers are matching adjective cards (e.g., cold, rainy, windy – no pictures) with season cards (words only). Jamal’s para educator places the matched cards in Jamal’s hand and makes a simple sentence (e.g., Winter is cold). Jamal’s para educator works with him to make eye-contact when stimulated by the cards in his hands.
Part 2: Student’s Engagement with Language Activity
Please describe the student’s engagement with the language activity under the engagement level which best characterizes the student’s interaction with the activity.
Engagement Level 4: Student is an active participant and can sustain involvement in the activity.
Student may:
- Participate by making vocalizations or signs/gestures in response to events during the activity
- Participate by making purposeful/intentional vocalizations or signs/gestures in response to objects used during the activity
- Participate by imitating action
- Participate by sustaining attention to teacher direction and movement
- Participate by anticipating change in action/predicting words actions
Engagement Level 3: Student is attending to the activity, participating in the activity by allowing the teacher to lead.
Student may:
- Participate in the activity with hand-over-hand exploration of objects/materials associated with the activity
- Attend to the activity by following teacher movements/activities
- Attend to the activity by making vocalizations or signs/gestures in acknowledgment of objects/materials/actions
Jamal sustained attention in this activity for 10 minutes. He tensed his empty hand when an incomplete pair was placed in his other hand (placing “summer” in his left hand, he would open and close his right hand). Jamal also looked at the pair cards on the table in front of him when an adjective was placed in his hand and read aloud. Given a choice between two season cards, he could “choose” one (not always the matching season) by looking at it (while opening and closing his fist).
Engagement Level 2: Student is exposed to the activity and makes minimal response.
The student may:
- Attend to the activity at irregular intervals/occasionally
- Touch/permit hand-over-hand touch of objects
- Look at objects/materials presented
- Shift gaze to acknowledge activity
Jamal could look at the matching cards when an adjective cards was read and placed in his hand. Jamal’s vocalizations often occurred when cards were removed from his hands (then replaced with new cards). Jamal sustained attention on this activity for the 10 minute duration.
Engagement Level 1: Student demonstrates an awareness of the activity.
The student may:
- React to teacher touch/sensory stimuli
- Permit teacher touch, but is unable to interact with objects/materials
Jamal sustained attention with the small group activity for 8 minutes. Jamal’s response to the matched pair in his hands included tensing his hand muscles and following the placement of matched cards in his hands. Jamal made no vocalizations during these sessions.
3: Send completed ELPA21 Engagement Rubric to OSPI: