Administering the ACCESS for ELLs

1
Administering the ACCESS for ELLsListening,
Reading, and Writing Tests
Emily Evans, Center for Applied
LinguisticsJanuary 2007New Jersey Department of
Education
Developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics
2
Training Objectives

• To understand the organization of the ACCESS for
  ELLs test booklet
• To understand administration requirements of the
  Listening, Reading and Writing components of the
  ACCESS for ELLs

3
Outline

• General Information
• Test Administration Overview
• Listening Test
• Reading Test
• Writing Test

4
General Information

• All test sessions must take place within a
  states testing window.
• NJs testing window is April 16th June 1st,
  2007
• Tests are secure and you must follow state test
  security regulations.
• The Test Administration Manual contains guidance
  on test accommodations for students with
  disabilities.

5
Test Administration Overview
Listening, Reading and Writing

• Administered in groups of up to 20 students
• Centrally scored by MetriTech, not by the Test
  Administrator
• Each grade level cluster and each tier must have
  separate group sessions
• The administrators scripts arrive with the test
  booklets
• Scripts are different for each test form

6
Test Booklet Organization

• Test booklet order 1) Listening 2) Reading 3)
  Writing
• Each test will begin with practice items or a
  model
• Tests are organized by theme folders A series
  of questions about one topic with graphic and/or
  text support
• Each theme folder for Listening and Reading
  contains 3-5 items (test questions)
• Each theme folder for Writing contains 1-4 items
  per theme folder in Tier A for all grade levels
  and form 1-2B. The theme folders for the rest
  of the forms contain one item per theme folder.

7
Test Administration Times

• Listening and Reading are administered together
  in one group session
• Listening Administration 20-25 minutes
• Break in between Listening and Reading sections
  5 minutes
• Reading Administration 35-40 minutes
• Logistics 15 minutes (approximately)
• (including break in between sections)
• Total 75 minutes (approximately)
• Writing is administered in a separate group
  session
• Writing Administration 60 minutes
• Logistics 15 minutes (approximately)
• Total 75 minutes (approximately)
• 15-20 students per group session

8
Scheduling Guidelines Example

• Assume there are 90 students in the same grade
  level cluster with 30 students per Tier tested 15
  at a time
• You can test all students in both
  Listening/Reading and Writing in a total of 12
  sessions over 4 days
• This example assumes there is a Single Test
  Administrator in the school

Number of test takers per time block
9
How to read the Script

• Read all of the text in Bold aloud
• example Part A Classroom Objects
• The text which is not bolded serves as a
  guideline and should not be read aloud
• example Pause, make sure all students are
  in the right place.

10
How to read the Script (cont)

• The test item is in Blue and should be read aloud

11
Listening Test Overview

• Format Multiple choice
• Time 20-25 minutes
• Scoring Machine scored (by MetriTech)
• Weight
• 30 of comprehension score
• 15 of composite score
• 6-7 thematic folders with at least one from each
  standard (Math, Science, Language Arts, Social
  Studies, Social Instructional)
• Test items read aloud only one time

12
Listening Test Overview (cont)

• Keep the test going at a steady pace
• Follow pause times given in the script
• After an item is read, give students up to 25
  seconds to mark their answers
• Follow the Test Administration Script exactly

13
Listening Test Introduction

• The beginning of the listening test starts with a
  scripted introduction.

14
Listening Test Practice Problems
Practice problems

• Occur at the beginning of the test, after the
  introduction, and are scripted
• Must be administered
• Help students understand the structure of the test

15
Listening Test Practice Problems
16
Listening Test Practice Problems

• Script First the boy and girl play catch, and
  then they ride their bikes.
• Find the set of pictures that shows this in the
  right order. PAUSE.

17
Listening Item Example Science 1-2 A
18
Listening Example Levels 1 and 2 - Scripts

• Script A seed is small. Find the small seed.

Script One day the seed will grow into something
large, round, and heavy. Find what the seed
grows into.
19
Reading Test Overview

• Format Multiple choice
• Time 35-40 minutes
• Scoring Machine scored (by MetriTech)
• Weight
• 70 of comprehension score
• 35 of composite score
• 6-7 thematic folders with at least one from each
  standard
• Follow the Test Administration Script exactly

20
Reading Test Scripting Requirements

• Begins with an Introduction

21
Reading Practice Problems

• Practice problems follow the introduction and
  must be administered.

22
Sample Items Within a Reading Test

• Only on forms 1-2A and 1-2B
• 1-2A occur after every folder and are scripted
  (the answer is filled in together as a group)
• 1-2B occur after some folders and are not
  scripted
• Purpose Extra assistance for the student

23
Individual and Group Check-ins

• Intended to help guide students though parts of
  the test and are indicated with a stop sign
• Whole-group check-ins Check in with all of the
  students at the same time and explain the next
  part of the test. Occurs after every section in
  the 1-2A Reading Test.
• Individual check-ins Students raise their hand
  when they arrive at a stop sign and you check to
  see the student has completed the section. Invite
  them to respond to any skipped questions.
• Halfway through 1-2B, 1-2C, 3-5A, 3-5B, 6-8A,
  9-12A
• At the end of every tier and grade level

24
Reading Item Example Math 6-8 B
25
Reading Item Example Math 6-8 B
26
Writing Test Overview

• Format Student constructed responses
• Time Up to 1 hour
• A break can be given halfway through the test if
  necessary
• Scoring Rater scored (by MetriTech)
• Weight 35 of composite score
• The following standards are covered
• Social Instructional (SI), Math (MA), Science
  (SC)
• On Tier B and C Integrated Task (IT) - combines
  Language Arts (LA), Social Studies (SS), and
  Social Instructional (SI)
• Writing tasks are modeled to scaffold the student
• Follow the Test Administration Script exactly

27
Writing test organization

• Tier A
• 3 folders covering Social Instructional (SI),
  Math (MA), Science (SC) standards. About 15
  minutes for each section.
• Form 1-2A only has SI standards and there are 4
  folders.
• Tier B and C
• 3 folders (about 10 minutes each) covering SI, MA
  and SC standards.
• Form 1-2B doesnt cover the SC standard.
• Fourth folder is an IT standard combining LA, SS,
  and SI standards (student is given about 30
  minutes).

28
Individual and Group Check-ins

• Whole-group check-ins used to guide students
  through the model in Tier A for all grade levels
  and in all Tiers for grades 1-2
• Individual check-ins Students raise their hand
  when they arrive at a stop sign which occurs at
  the end of every writing question. Check to make
  sure that they have completed the writing task.
• After 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes,
  circulate in the room to monitor students
  progress.
• If necessary, you can prompt students who are
  lagging behind by saying, Make sure you save
  enough time for the other parts.

29
Writing Item Example IT 6-8 C
30
Writing Rubric
31
Writing Rubric (cont)
32
Scoring an IT Writing item

• Rater scored by MetriTech using a rubric
• The preparing and planning sections are not
  scored.

Planning sections not scored by MetriTech
33
Example of Modeled Writing Item
Math 6-8Tier A
Look at the sentence in the black box. Point to
it in your test booklet. Scan the room and make
sure all students are in the right place. It
says, "For a math assignment, Andrei needs to
find the area of a triangle. Look at the
diagram. The triangle is labeled with the Base
and the Height. The formula for the area of a
triangle is given as Area equals Base times
Height times one half. Point to picture of
triangle and formula in the book as you read
it. Look at the next black box. It says Andrei
answered two questions about the math
assignment. What do the first question and
answer say? Allow time for student response, or
say It says, What is the name of the shape in
the picture? Triangle. What do the second
question and answer say? Allow time for student
response, or say It says, What do you need to
do to find the area of the shape? I need to
multiply the base times the height times one
half.
34
Example of Modeled Writing Item (cont)
Math 6-8Tier A

• Look at the last black box. It says, The
  pictures show the steps to follow to find the
  area. Andrei explained each step in writing.
• What did Andrei write for step 1?
• Allow time for student response, or say First, I
  have to measure the length of the base. The base
  is six inches long.
• We cant read everything Andrei wrote for step 2,
  only the beginning. What do you think he wrote
  for step 2?
• Allow time for student response, or say
• Maybe he wrote something like, Then I have to
  measure the height of the triangle. The height is
  four inches.
• Step 3 shows us the formula again, and the math
  Andrei did to find the area of the triangle. On
  the lines we see the beginning of his answer. How
  did he begin?
• Allow time for student response, or say
• He began, Now I have to use the formula to find
  the area of the triangle. I multiplied
• Go to the top of the next page. It says, Now
  its your turn to write! Point to this in your
  test booklet. Scan the room and make sure all
  students are in the right place.

35
Example of Writing Item Task

• Now look at the directions in the black box. They
  say, Now you have to find the area of the
  rectangle.
• Find number 1 and look at the directions. You
  need to answer the questions in the box. You can
  use Andreis writing as a model for your own. You
  can begin in a moment, but first find number 2.
  The pictures show you how to find the area of a
  rectangle. On the lines you need to write at
  least 1 sentence to explain each step in the
  process. Again, remember that you can use
  Andreis writing as a model for your own.
• Before you begin, are there any questions?
• Answer any questions.
• Now you can begin writing on this page. You can
  have up to 15 minutes to do this part. Remember
  to stop when you get to the stop sign.
• Monitor the students work. When students have
  finished, remind them to check their work.
• If a student finishes early and wants to go back
  to complete Part A or Part B, he or she may do
  so.
• This part is over when all the students have
  finished or 15 minutes have passed, whichever
  comes first.
• (If 15 minutes have passed and some students are
  still working, say If you are not finished, take
  a few more seconds to finish up this part. Pause
  15 seconds.)

36
When the Test Administration is Complete

• Collect test materials
• This happens after the Listening/Reading sections
  AND the Writing section
• Follow test security policies

37
Questions or Comments?

• For more information, please contact the WIDA
  Hotline[phone] or www.wida.us/helpform

World Class Instructional Design and Assessment,
www.wida.us
Center for Applied Linguistics, www.cal.org
Metritech, Inc., www.metritech.com