Test Accommodations 2008

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Test Accommodations2008

• Students with Disabilities,
• 504 Students, and
• English Language Learners (ELLs)

Presented by
Janice Koblick, Curriculum Supervisor, SLD Exceptional Student Education Vicky Brioso-Saldala Title III Coordinator Multicultural ESOL Program Services Education Department
February 7-8, 2008
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Participation in Testing

• In general, ALL students enrolled in the tested
  grade levels should participate in test
  administration.

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Students with Disabilities

• All students with disabilities participate in
  assessment in one of the following ways

• Some students with disabilities will participate
  in the same way as other students.

• Some students with disabilities will participate
  using allowable accommodations.

• A small percentage of students with disabilities
  will participate in an alternate assessment.

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Students with Disabilities, cont.

• For exemption of students with disabilities from
  state and district assessments, all of the
  following criteria must be met
• The students demonstrated cognitive ability
  prevents the student from completing required
  coursework and achieving the Sunshine State
  Standards as incorporated by reference in Rule
  6A-1.09401, FAC., even with appropriate and
  allowable course modifications and
• The student requires extensive direct instruction
  to accomplish the application and transfer of
  skills and competencies needed for domestic,
  community living, leisure, and vocational
  activities.

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English Language Learners (ELLs)

• Schools are strongly encouraged to test all ELLs.
• Only ELLs 1 calendar year or less in an ESOL
  program may be exempt from testing.
• AND
• Exemption requires convening and approval of a
  school-based individual ELL Committee.

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• All required procedures for ELL Committee review
  must be followed including parent invitation and
  notification of decision and ELLSEP folder
  documentation.
• The ELL Committee must determine which area, if
  any, of the FCAT the student should be exempted
  from taking.
• The ELL Committee should only exempt a student
  from participation in a component of the FCAT if
  it is determined that participation would have an
  unsound instructional effect on the student (DPS
  Memorandum 02-067).

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• Sample letters entitled
• Testing ELL Committee Meeting Invitation
• and
• Testing ELL Committee Recommendation
• are provided to schools and available
  electronically in English, Haitian-Creole,
  Spanish and Portuguese _at_ www.broward.k12.fl.us/eso
  l/Eng/Handbook.htm
• Copy of letters for the student's ELLSEP folder
• Original letters for parent

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• If an ELL is exempted, an alternative assessment
  must be administered in the test subject content
  from which the student was exempted and this data
  must be reported to the Multicultural ESOL
  Program Services Education Department per
  procedures provided to schools.

• Alternative Assessment must measure how ELLs are
  progressing towards the attainment of the same
  benchmarks as the FCAT.

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Deadlines to Remember
Complete and send the following to Tania Mena at
the Multicultural ESOL Program Services
Education Department

• Names of students exempted from FCAT Writing
• (due February 1, 2008)
• Names of students exempted from FCAT Reading,
• Mathematics and/or Science
• (due February 22, 2008)
• ELL Alternative Assessment Documentation Form
• (due April 17, 2008)

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Administration Accommodations

• Who is eligible?
• ESE students with current IEPs
• 504 students
• ELLs

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State Guidelines for Determining Appropriate
Accommodations for Students
Accommodations should

• Facilitate accurate demonstration of student
  knowledge and skills
• Not provide an unfair advantage or interfere with
  validity not change underlying skills being
  measured
• Be the same or nearly the same as adaptations
  used in classroom instruction and assessment
  activities
• Be necessary for student to demonstrate
  knowledge, ability, skill, or mastery

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Remember
Arrangements for Accommodations for Eligible
Students

• Must be made in advance
• Accommodations provided to one student must not
  interfere with the testing of other students.

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Remember

• School Testing Coordinators must provide
  opportunities for Test Administrators to become
  familiar with the allowable accommodations being
  provided.
• Students should receive instruction in testing
  procedures and have multiple opportunities to
  practice test-taking strategies.
• Students should also have the opportunity to
  practice using their accommodations in
  instructional and testing situations before
  taking the FCAT so they will be comfortable with
  the accommodations.

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Allowable Accommodations for Students with
Disabilities

• Presentation
• Visual Accommodations
• Auditory Accommodations
• Responding
• Accommodations to Response Input
• Accommodations to Response Preparation
• Scheduling
• Setting
• Assistive Devices

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Presentation

• These documented accommodations are for students
  who
• need augmentation of the visual format (i.e.,
  large print versions, colored transparencies)
• have difficulty hearing, understanding, or
  remembering verbal directions and information
  (i.e., directions repeated, summarized, or
  clarified).

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Presentation, cont.

• are unable to read the
• writing prompt (topic), items and answer choices
• math and science test items and answer choices
  (i.e., read all math/science questions but may
  not be reworded, summarized, or simplified)
• have difficulty maintaining attention and effort
  in written assessments (i.e., verbal
  encouragement)

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Responding

• These documented accommodations are for students
  who
• have difficulty recording answers to test
  questions on a separate answer document (i.e.,
  enter answers directly in test booklet, dictate
  responses to the test proctor)
• need assistance to use their own handwriting to
  write responses for performance tasks (i.e.,
  special paper with raised, shaded, or color-coded
  lines, math guides to organize math computation)

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Scheduling

• These documented accommodations are for students
  who
• require adjustments to the FCAT time limits or
  schedule (i.e., have extended time to take any
  session of the test, take the test in several
  brief sessions, take a specific session at a
  specific time of the day)

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Setting

• These documented accommodations are for students
  who
• are unable to sustain attention and effort in
  large group settings (i.e., in an individual or
  small group setting with increased or decreased
  opportunity for movement)
• have special physical or sensory needs (i.e., in
  a classroom designed to accommodate special
  lighting or acoustic needs and FM systems)

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Assistive Devices

• These documented accommodations are for students
  who
• need assistive devices when taking the FCAT
  (i.e., technology such as word processing
  software, digital voice, tape recorder, or
  communication device for performance tasks or
  writing without accessing spelling or grammar
  check, visual magnification and auditory
  amplification devices)

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Accommodations for ELLs

• The District is required to offer FCAT
  accommodations to ELLs who are currently
  receiving services in an English for Speakers of
  Other Languages (ESOL) program.
• Accommodations only apply to ELLs with an ELL
  code of LY.
• Students who have exited the ESOL program and are
  being monitored (LF) are not eligible for testing
  accommodations.

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Allowable Accommodations for ELLs

• The test may be administered with one of the
  following accommodations or a combination of
  these accommodations that are determined to be
  appropriate for the particular needs of the ELL

• Flexible Setting
• Flexible Scheduling
• Flexible Timing (Additional Time)

• Assistance in the Heritage Language
• Translation Dictionary

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Flexible Setting

• ELLs may be offered the opportunity to be tested
  in a separate room with the ESOL or heritage
  language teacher acting as test administrator.
• Parents must be informed of this option for
  students not of legal age and shall be given the
  opportunity to select the preferred method of
  test administration.
• A sample letter for schools to use to inform
  parents of the flexible setting accommodation has
  been provided to schools by the Multicultural
  ESOL Program Services Education Department.

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Flexible Setting, cont.

• Copy of letter for the student's ELLSEP folder
• Original letter for parent
• Letter available electronically in English,
  Haitian-Creole, Spanish and Portuguese _at_
  www.broward.k12.fl.us/esol/Eng/Handbook.htm

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Flexible Scheduling

• ELLs may take a part or session of the test
  during several brief periods within one school
  day however, a session of the test must be
  completed within one school day.

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Flexible Timing(Additional Time)

• ELLs may be provided additional time however, a
  session must be completed within one school day.

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Assistance in the Heritage Language

• For the mathematics and science tests,
• ELLs may be provided limited assistance by an
  ESOL or heritage language teacher using the
  student's heritage language.
• The teacher may answer specific questions about a
  word or phrase that is confusing the student
  because of limited English proficiency, but is
  prohibited from giving assistance that will help
  the student solve mathematics problems and
  science test items.
• The ESOL or heritage language teacher may answer
  student questions about the general test
  directions in their heritage language.
• All student responses must be written in English.
  Responses written in languages other than English
  will not be scored.

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Assistance in the Heritage Language, cont.

• For the reading test
• The ESOL or heritage language teacher may answer
  student questions about the general test
  directions in a way that the student would not be
  led to infer the correct answer to any of the
  items.
• The teacher is prohibited from reading words to
  the student from the passages, test items, and
  performance tasks, and from answering student
  questions about the passages, test items, and
  performance tasks.
• All student responses must be written in English.
  Responses written in languages other than English
  will not be scored.

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Assistance in the Heritage Language, cont.

• For the writing test (prompt multiple-choice)
• The ESOL or heritage language teacher may answer
  student questions about the general test
  directions in their heritage language.
• The teacher may answer specific questions
  concerning a word or phrase that is confusing the
  student because of limited English proficiency,
  but is prohibited from giving assistance that
  will help the student respond to either the
  prompt or the item.
• In no case shall assistance be given to the
  student in responding to the writing assessment
  prompt. The teacher is prohibited from reading
  the prompt to the student.
• All student responses must be written in English.
  Responses written in languages other than
  English will not be scored.

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Approved Dictionary

• ELLs must have access to an English-to-heritage
  language translation dictionary and/or heritage
  language-to-English translation dictionary, such
  as those made available to ELLs in an
  instructional setting.
• A dictionary providing definitions written
  exclusively in the heritage language or in
  English may not be provided.
• Use of electronic dictionaries is strictly
  prohibited and may be cause for invalidation.

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Documentation of Testing Accommodations for ELLs

• Testing accommodations must be documented on the
  Accommodations Checklist for Active ELLs (LYs)
  available in Appendix R of the Multicultural
  ESOL Program Services Education Department
  Handbook

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? For ELLs, the same accommodations provided
during testing must also be provided on a regular
basis during classroom instruction. ? ESOL
instructional strategies must be documented in
the teacher's plan book using the appropriate
codes from the ESOL Instructional Strategies
Matrix.
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Accommodations Prohibited During Testing

• Section 1008.22 (3)(c) 6, Florida Statutes
• ... Accommodations that negate the validity of a
  statewide assessment are not allowable.

• Some accommodations that students receive in the
  classroom are not allowed on the FCAT. Examples
  of accommodations that are NOT permitted include
  the following
• reduced number of test questions
• use of calculator for students in grades 3-6

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Accommodations Prohibited During Testing, cont.

• having a proctor read aloud passages and items
  that test reading skills
• use of spelling or grammar check on written
  responses
• graphic organizer software to assist in preparing
  responses
• text-to-speech software for the reading portion
  of the test

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Test Accommodations

• Questions and Answers

See also Appendix A of 2008 FCAT SSS Test
Administration Manuals on Test Accommodations.
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Contact Information

• Exceptional Student Education
• 754-321-2227
• Multicultural ESOL Program Services Education
  754-321-2953
• 504/Psychological Services
• 754-321-2460