Training
During April and May 2005, CTB/McGraw-Hill (CTB), the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) contractor, is providing 20 regional Training of Trainers workshops for school districts and county offices in preparation for the 2005-06 administration of the CELDT. Four additional workshops will be offered in the fall.
The training focuses on scoring procedures and administering CELDT Form E to prepare the participants for their role of providing training to test examiners in their district or county. Following the trainer of trainers model, all CELDT examiners who administer and score the test are to be trained and qualified on Form E. Signed certificates, training video, CD, and PowerPoint presentation are issued only to those trainers who successfully complete the entire one-day training session. Information regarding the training has been sent to the CELDT District Coordinators.
Pre - Identification
The 2005-06 Form E Pre-Identification File Layout is available at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/pid.asp. CTB will accept precode files from June 15, 2005, through September 15, 2005, only. For additional information, contact the CTB CELDT Help Desk at 800-994-8594 or via email at celdthelpdesk@ctb.com.
CELDT District Coordinator Contact Information
Notifications regarding the CELDT are regularly sent to the CELDT District Coordinators. All school districts, even those that do not currently have English learners enrolled, are required to have a CELDT District Coordinator (CDC) [California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 11513].
New Process
The test contractor maintains an online database located at http://www.ctb.com/ (Outside Source) with CDC contact information. It is each CDC's responsibility to ensure that the information is current and accurate. Changes/updates must now be made online; change requests by telephone or e-mail will no longer be accepted. Each CDC is advised to log on and verify that the contact information is correct. Specific instructions have been sent to each CDC via e-mail and through regular mail. The CTB help desk at 800-994-8594 can assist you in accessing the online database.
CDC and Transfer of Student Scores
In order to comply with state and federal accountability requirements, CDCs are reminded that it is the responsibility of each CDC to transfer a former pupil's CELDT results upon a request from the district where the pupil is now enrolled.
Student Data Files
CTB will provide replacement student data files via the secure CTB CELDT Web site in late May 2005 for districts and charter schools that completed and corrected data fields using the Data Review Module (DRM). The Web site is located at http://www.ctb.com/ (Outside Source).
The data files are used to calculate the annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAOs) required by Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
General Research Tape (GRT)
New scores for listening, speaking, and comprehension have been added to the 2004-05 CELDT annual assessment's GRT in response to Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requirements that English language development test reports include listening, speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension scores.
The California Department of Education (CDE) is beginning the process of developing interpretative materials for the new scores that should be available in early 2006.
The new listening, speaking, and comprehension scores will not appear on individual student reports or on summary reports until after interpretative materials are available; therefore, districts are to use the new scores for research purposes only.
The scores for listening and speaking are sub scores of the listening/speaking score. The comprehension score is the average of the scores for the two receptive domains of the CELDT: listening and reading. Following are the definitions of listening, speaking, and comprehension used to develop the new scores:
Listening
Listening proficiency encompasses the learner's ability to understand spoken communication and non-verbal cues in diverse academic and social settings. An English proficient student understands and comprehends information as heard in classroom activities and in everyday conversations.
Speaking
Speaking proficiency encompasses the learner's ability to generate effective spoken communication in diverse academic and social settings. An English proficient student effectively communicates orally with various audiences.
Comprehension
Comprehension proficiency encompasses the learner's receptive abilities in diverse academic and social settings, including the ability to understand spoken communication and non-verbal cues as well as written communication.
Annual Assessment
Form E of the CELDT is to be used for the annual English language proficiency assessment of all English learners. The 2005-06 CELDT annual assessment window is July 1-October 31, 2005. Districts should receive Form E testing materials from the test contractor by June 15.
Initial Identification Assessment
Initial identification assessment is ongoing. The CELDT is to be administered for initial identification purposes within 30 calendar days of first enrollment to a pupil whose primary language is other than English, as determined by the Home Language Survey, and who has not previously been assessed for English language proficiency in a California public school.
To ensure that all results are reported in the appropriate assessment year, the CELDT is to be administered in the school year in which students are first enrolled. The beginning of the school year is defined as July 1. Therefore: all students with a home language other than English who are first enrolling for the 2005-06 school year are to be assessed with the CELDT, Form E, on or after July 1, 2005.
Unused Form D Materials
A policy change for unused testing materials has been established. At the end of the Form D testing cycle, June 30, 2005, school districts may return the unused test materials to CTB via online scheduling or destroy their documents onsite. Detailed instructions for the proper return or destruction of unused test materials will be sent to each CDC.
This policy does not affect excessive materials charges. These charges will continue to be based on the number of tests a district ordered compared to the number submitted for scoring.
California School Information Services
California School Information Services (CSIS) will be providing training for personnel at local educational agencies who are responsible for the CSIS Student Identifiers. Information about the training and training schedule is posted at http://www.csis.k12.ca.us/ (Outside Source).
For questions regarding CSIS, contact Statewide Student Identifier Support at 916-325-9260 (phone) or at SSID@csis.k12.ca.us (e-mail).
