CALPADS Update FLASH #157

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

From:      California Department of Education (CDE) –
                California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Team

Date:       July 22, 2019

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #157

Options for Testing Students and Utilizing the Results of the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) During the Summer

The process for testing and loading Initial ELPAC scores into the Test Operations Management System (TOMS) is the same as last year. The two options for testing students and uploading the results are reiterated below.

Beginning July 1, 2019, CALPADS now generates a nightly extract of students with an English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) of “To Be Determined” (TBD) and the corresponding 2019–20 enrollment record (this includes a pre-enrollment) to the Test Operations Management System (TOMS), administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). ETS administers the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) and TOMS, and based on the data loaded from CALPADS, will maintain an “Initial Eligible Student List” viewable by LEAs, which lists all students who should be tested with the Initial ELPAC.

Local Agency Representatives (LEAs) may begin administering the paper-pencil Initial ELPAC to eligible students on or after July 1, 2019. Once the Initial ELPAC has been administered, the LEA must load the raw scores and the test completion date into the TOMS Local Scoring Tool (LST) for any student on the Initial Eligible Student List. Based on the loaded scores, the LST will provide the LEA with an overall scale score, an overall performance level, and a new (calculated) ELAS of English Learner (EL) or Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) which is determined by the overall performance level.

In order to address workload issues and inform placement and services allocation decisions, many LEAs will give the Initial ELPAC prior to the start of the school year, particularly for incoming kindergarten students. The CDE is aware that the requirement that students have an enrollment and an ELAS of TBD in CALPADS in order to upload scores to the LST poses a problem. For LEAs that choose to administer the Initial ELPAC prior to the start of the school year, the CDE has developed two options for loading Initial ELPAC scores to the TOMS LST: (1) Pre-enroll students and upload scores to the LST prior to the start of the school year; or (2) Do not pre-enroll students and upload scores to the LST after the start of the school year.

OPTION 1: Pre-enroll students and upload Initial ELPAC results to the LST prior to the start of the school year

To accommodate this option, the CALPADS input validation rule (IVR), GERR0005 – SELA, is disabled from July 1 to August 31 each year, allowing LEAs to submit an ELAS Start Date that is before the Enrollment Start Date. More specific information on the GERR005 can be found in the CALPADS Error List.

LEAs that choose to upload the Initial ELPAC results to the LST prior to the start of the school year should take the following steps:

1. On or after July 1, 2019, submit to CALPADS:
   1. An enrollment record with the student’s actual start date (expected first day of school); that is, “pre-enroll” the student.
   2. A Student English Language Acquisition (SELA) record for the student with the following:
      1. An ELAS of “TBD”
      2. An ELAS Start Date of the current date
      3. A primary language other than English or American Sign Language
2. Once these records have been uploaded to CALPADS, within approximately 48 hours, the student will appear on the TOMS Initial Eligible Student List.
3. The LEA may administer the Initial ELPAC to the student at any time and then once the student appears in the TOMS LST, the LEA may upload from the Answer Book, the scores and the “Date Testing Completed,” to the LST.
4. The LST will produce for the student an overall scale score, an overall performance level, an ELAS of EL or IFEP, and the “Date Testing Completed,” which the LEA can download for upload in the LEA’s student information system (SIS).
5. The LEA should then send a new SELA record to CALPADS with the following:
   1. The new ELAS for the student (EL or IFEP)
   2. An ELAS Start Date of the “Date Testing Completed”
   3. A primary language other than English or American Sign Language

OPTION 2: Do not Pre-enroll students and upload Initial ELPAC results to the LST AFTER the start of the school year once students have enrolled

LEAs that choose not to send pre-enrollments to CALPADS due to the high overhead of having to dis-enroll these students if they fail to show up, may take the following steps:

1. Test the student with the Initial ELPAC paper-pencil test.
2. Using the preliminary scoring guide for the Initial ELPAC provided by the ELPAC program office, manually determine the overall scale score, the overall performance level, and calculated ELAS (LEAs should store the Answer Book in a secure location to upload raw scores later to the LST).
3. Once school has started and the student is confirmed to be attending, submit the following to CALPADS:
   1. An enrollment record with an Enrollment Start Date of the first day of school.
   2. A SELA record for the student with the following:
      1. An ELAS of “TBD”
      2. An ELAS Start Date of the current date
      3. A primary language other than English or American Sign Language

IMPORTANT: Do not enter the ELAS established by manually using the preliminary scoring guide (EL or IFEP) into CALPADS prior to submitting the TBD record and entering the test results into the LST to produce the official score. Failure to follow this process will result in the student disappearing from the Initial Eligible Student List and consequently the LEA will not be able to enter the test results into the LST.

4. Once these records have been uploaded for the student (allowing 48 hours for the student to show up in TOMS), enter the student raw scores from the Answer Book to the LST.
5. The LST will produce for the student an overall scale score, an overall performance level, and an ELAS of EL or IFEP, which the LEA can download for upload in the LEA’s SIS.
6. The LEA should then send a new SELA record to CALPADS with the following:
   1. The new official ELAS for the student (EL or IFEP)
   2. An ELAS Start Date that is at least one day after the date of the TBD record*
   3. A primary language other than English or American Sign Language

*NOTE: If your SIS requires the ELAS Start Date to equal the Enrollment Start Date, then you must first delete the TBD status and then upload the new ELAS with an ELAS Start Date equal to the Enrollment Start Date.

Under Option 2, LEAs need to load the results in the LST to receive an official ELAS, even if the LEA had determined the ELAS manually using the scoring matrix, for the following reasons:

• In order to receive ELPAC apportionment funding for a student, the LEA must submit the student’s scores to the LST.
• Loading the scores into the LST removes the student from the TOMS Initial Eligible Student List, which prevents the student from being re-tested.
• The student’s ELAS, overall performance level and scale score will be available for other LEAs to view in TOMS should the student transfer.

In the future (currently scheduled for July 1, 2020), all EL and IFEP statuses will be fed to CALPADS directly from the assessment vendor. When this functionality is in place, LEAs will no longer upload an SELA with EL or IFEP to CALPADS.

Guidance for Entering Successful Completion of Pre-Apprenticeship Programs in CALPADS

As part of the End-of-Year release for 2018–19, the Student Enrollment (SENR) File was updated with several new work-based learning indicators. Several LEAs subsequently contacted both the California Department of Education’s (CDE’s) Accountability Office and the CALPADS Service Desk for clarification on two of the indicators, specifically:

1.37 - Pre-Apprenticeship Certification Program Completion Indicator

1.38 - Pre-Apprenticeship Program (non-certified) Completion Indicator

A pre-apprenticeship program is designed to provide students with the entry-level skills necessary to be eligible to enter a registered apprenticeship program (i.e., an apprenticeship program that is registered at the state or national level). Typically, schools that offer pre-apprenticeship programs have a partnership with a local business.

There are two completion indicators for this measure in CALPADS because there are two types of pre-apprenticeship programs:

1. Pre-Apprenticeship Program Completion Indicator (1.37): Populating this indicator with a “Y” means that the student successfully completed a pre-apprenticeship program that:
   • Is recognized by business and/or industry and registered at the state or national level (Note: There were no formal pre-apprenticeships that were registered at the state or national level in the 2018–19 school year; however, in accordance with a new state law that took effect on January 1, 2019, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may recognize pre-apprenticeship programs that have formal linkage agreements with state registered apprenticeship programs.)
   • Provides three components:
     1. Coursework directly related to a trade/occupation.
     2. Relevant job-learning activities (either on the job site or school site, as appropriate).
     3. A certificate of completion awarded upon successful completion of the pre-apprenticeship program. (Please note that a pre-apprenticeship certificate is different than an industry certificate. Industry certificates, like those given to security guards and certified nursing assistants, can lead directly to employment.
2. Pre-Apprenticeship Program (Non-certified) Completion Indicator (1.38): Populating this indicator with a “Y” means that the student successfully completed a pre-apprenticeship program that:
   • Is recognized by business and/or industry but not registered at the state or national level.
   • Provides two components:
     1. Coursework directly related to a trade/occupation.
     2. Relevant job-learning activities (either on job site or school site, as appropriate).

Pre-Apprenticeship Program versus Apprenticeship Program

A pre-apprenticeship program prepares students with the prerequisite skills to enter a registered apprenticeship program, which in turn, is designed to provide apprentices with the opportunity to acquire a level of proficiency necessary to advance to the next level.

An apprenticeship program provides apprentices with on the job training, classroom instruction, and supervision by a journey-level or expert-level craftsperson or occupational professional.