ACCESS for ELLs

EL Assessment Update: School and District ACCESS Planning Guide and Release of 2020 Reporting Elements

Greetings. We hope you have remained healthy during this challenging time. Included in this update are important reminders and resources to help you prepare to safely test English learners during the ACCESS for ELLs testing window.

Now Available: School and District Planning Guide During COVID-19

A new resource, entitled the School and District ACCESS for ELLs Planning Guide During COVID-19, is a comprehensive guide to help schools and districts prepare for safe in-person ACCESS testing and includes health and safety protocols, as well as logistical considerations for testing and how best to communicate with families. The planning guide is now available on the DESE ACCESS web page.

Early Return of Test Materials

District Test Coordinators received an email from Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) on February 8, 2021, reminding schools to return completed Writing test materials for students in grades 1–3 and any other completed test materials as soon as possible. Returning materials now allows DRC to begin processing the tests and means that schools will not need to securely store materials over breaks and throughout the extended 2021 testing window. Schools should return materials when most of the students in a grade or domain have been tested.

Early return of completed test materials to DRC will not affect the scheduling of students for testing through May 20, the end of the testing window. All remaining test materials must be returned on or before May 21. Please see the Returning Materials document in the WIDA Secure Portal Download Library for more information on returning test materials.

Additional Test Materials Ordering Reminder

Prior to placing an additional materials order, schools should first check their initial materials shipment to determine if any materials in the overage can be used. We would also like to remind schools that additional test materials orders should be limited to one order per school, to the extent possible. If additional materials are needed, school test coordinators should use the "Materials" menu in WIDA AMS and choose the Additional Materials tab to place their additional materials order.

2021 ACCESS for ELLs "Office Hours:" Question and Answer Sessions

The Department is offering a series of bi-weekly online opportunities for ACCESS for ELLs Test Coordinators, EL Program Directors, and Principals to ask clarifying questions about the 2021 ACCESS test administration. "Office hours" will be conducted via Zoom and participants will be required to register ahead of time for each session they wish to attend. There will be a limit to the number of participants from each district but each participant may register for more than one session. The next "Office hour" session is scheduled for:

• February 24, 2021 — 1:30–2:30 pm

Please register at 2021 ACCESS for ELLs Office Hours Webinar. A confirmation email will appear on your screen once you have successfully registered. An email with the link to the webinar will be sent to you upon completing registration. If you do not receive the email, please check your spam folder. Email ACCESS@mass.gov with questions about registration.

2020 Reporting Elements

State-, district-, and schoolwide 2020 ACCESS results are available on the DESE ACCESS Results web page. The 2020 ACCESS for ELLs State Results report is now available, as are the 2020 ACCESS for ELLs Results by District and 2020 ACCESS for ELLs Results by School files, showing the number and percent of students at each ACCESS proficiency level, the number and percent making progress (Reporting Element 1) by grade span, and the number and percent attaining English proficiency (Reporting Element 2) by grade span.

The "2020 Reporting Elements 1, 2, 3, and 5: State, and Title III Districts and Consortia " and "2020 Reporting Elements 1, 2, 3, and 5: State, and Title III Districts and Consortia File Layout " are also available on the DESE ACCESS Results web page. Note that "2020 Reporting Element 4: State, and Title III Districts and Consortia" is not available for 2020, due to the cancellation of the MCAS tests last spring.

Reporting Elements 1, 2, 3, and 5 aggregate results and a file layout for each district and school, titled "2020_ACCESS_Reporting_Elements_Agg_" and "ACCESS 2020 Aggregations File Layout," were placed in the Department's Security Portal DropBox. If you do not already have access to the DropBox, please contact your district's Directory Administrator for authorization. Included in the DropBox files are:

• The number and percentage of ELs who made progress in 2020 for ELs and EL students with disabilities (Reporting Element #1)

• The number and percentage of ELs who attained English proficiency (Reporting Element #2)

• The number and percentage of ELs who exited language instruction based on their attainment of English language proficiency (Reporting Element #3)

• The number and percentage of ELs who did not attain English language proficiency within 6 years of initial classification as an English learner (i.e., 5 years after the baseline year) (Reporting Element #5)

Contact Student Assessment Services with any questions about ACCESS for ELLs testing at ACCESS@mass.gov or by phone at 781-338-3625.

Thank you for your attention to this information.