K-1 Testing for Early Literacy
With the signing of the state budget, Education Code Section 60810 has been amended to authorize early literacy assessment of English learners in kindergarten and grade one commencing with the 2009-10 school year. Field testing will begin in 2008 and early literacy test questions for kindergarten and grade one will be included in 2009-10. The early literacy assessment must be administered for three years or until July 1, 2012. A report on the results of the administration of the early literacy assessment and the administrative process is due to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2013, The early literacy assessment will be designed to be age and developmentally appropriate, and to the greatest extent possible to minimize the testing burden on these young students.
Form F – 2006-07 Initial Identification Summary Results
Summary Results for Form F 2006-07 CELDT administered for Initial Identification will be available on the California Department of Education (CDE) DataQuest Web site in October. As a result, combined results for Annual Assessment and Initial Identification also will be available. CELDT District Coordinators (CDCs) will receive an e-mail from the CDE in advance that announces the availability of summary results.
Data Analysis and Use Workshops
As in previous years, CTB will be offering data analysis and use workshops in the fall. These workshops, previously known as Post-Test Workshops, are designed to assist school district personnel who are responsible for working with test results. The 2007-08 Edition workshops will include appropriate and valid inferences to be made from CELDT data, how data analysis can inform local decisions about English learners, and ways to access and manipulate CELDT data for local use.
Upcoming North-South Meetings
The Standards and Assessment Division of the CDE will provide an update on each of its testing programs at the annual North-South Meetings. The meetings will be held in Sacramento on October 9, 2007, and in Ontario on October 16, 2007. Further information about the North-South Meetings will be sent to all school district test coordinators whose correct information is in the list maintained by CTB.
2007–08 Annual Assessment Window
The 2007–08 CELDT Annual Assessment window is from July 1 through October 31, 2007. The 2007-08 Edition of the CELDT is to be used for the annual English-language proficiency assessment of all English learners in the 2007–08 school year. Due to state and federal accountability requirements, there are no parent waivers for the CELDT. All school districts should have received 2007-08 Edition testing materials from CTB. For questions regarding testing materials, contact the CTB CELDT Help Desk at 800-994-8594 or by e-mail at ctbceldthelpdesk@ctb.com.
Return of Annual Assessment Answer Documents
To ensure that school districts receive the score reports and monthly General Research Tapes (GRTs) in a timely manner, it is imperative that Annual Assessment answer documents be submitted to CTB for scoring on a monthly basis. Districts that submit answer documents early will receive score reports and GRTs early and as a result will be able to verify student placement and may begin to consider students for reclassification. Additionally, answer documents that are received by CTB in late October or early November will have reports and GRTs sent to districts after January 1, 2008. Questions regarding submission of answer documents should be directed to the CTB CELDT Help Desk at 800-994-8594 or by e-mail at ctbceldthelpdesk@ctb.com.
Initial Identification Window
Initial Identification assessment, using the 2007-08 Edition, is ongoing throughout the 2007–08 school year. The CELDT is to be administered for initial identification purposes within 30 calendar days after the date of first enrollment in a California public school, or within 60 calendar days before the date of first enrollment, but not before July 1 of that school year. The Home Language Survey developed by the CDE may be used to determine if a student must be tested with the CELDT. Additionally, Section 3302 of Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 United States Code Section 7012) indicates that districts that receive Title III funds shall, not later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year or within 2 weeks of the child being enrolled in a language instruction program after the beginning of the school year, inform parents or guardians the reasons for the identification of their child as an English learner and in need of placement in a language instruction program.
Pre – Identification Deadline
The 2007–08 Edition Pre-ID File Layout is available on the CDE Web site. CTB will accept Pre-ID files through September 21, 2008. Pre-ID labels are available at no cost this year.
Remember that effective this year, only school districts may determine the Test Purpose. Also, it is mandatory that all students taking the CELDT have a Statewide Student Identifier (SSID). For additional information regarding Pre-ID, contact the CTB CELDT Help Desk at 800-994-8594 or by e-mail at ctbceldthelpdesk@ctb.com.
Answer Document Box 14 Error
The California English Language Development Test (CELDT) 2007-08 Edition answer documents are missing certain bubbles in Box 14 PREVIOUS CELDT SCALE SCORE. As a result, districts are unable to bubble certain previous scale scores for students who do not have pre-ID labels.
CTB/McGraw-Hill (CTB), the CELDT test contractor, is providing Pre-Identification (ID) labels at no cost to all districts this year. Additionally, CTB will provide previous scale scores that were included in Form F results for students who did not have Pre-ID labels.
If a Pre-ID label for a student does not have previous scale scores, CTB will not provide labels. However, districts will be able to enter previous scale scores during the Data Review Module next February.
CELDT District Coordinators
All school district superintendents are mandated to appoint a CDC. Only CDCs on the list maintained by CTB receive communications from the CDE and CTB.
District CDC records can be updated on the CTB Web site (Outside Source) or by contacting the CTB CELDT Help Desk by e-mail at ctbceldthelpdesk@ctb.com.
Key Dates for CELDT
| September 21 | Last day that CTB will accept student files for Pre-ID |
| October 2-3 | Content Review 2008-09 Edition field test items |
| October 5 | Sensitivity and Bias Review 2008-09 Edition field test items |
| October 9 | Standards and Assessment Program Update for northern California (Sacramento Convention Center) |
| October 16 | Standards and Assessment Program Update for southern California (Ontario Doubletree Hotel) |
| October 23 - 24 | 2008-09 Edition Anchor Pulling Sessions |
| October 31 | Annual assessment window closes (2007-08) |
| October 29 – December 6 | Data Analysis and Use workshops (provided by CTB) |
More Information
Additional information about the CELDT is available on the CDE Web site. Questions may be directed to CDE’s CELDT Office by phone at 916-319-0784 or by e-mail at celdt@cde.ca.gov.
