Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT) August 2003

Transcription

1 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT) August 2003 What are the mandated test dates for the IPT in North Carolina? The IPT must be administered to all language minority students (grades K-12) at initial enrollment and annually thereafter to all students identified as limited English proficient during the window of February 1 to April 30 with the exception of students who enroll after January 1 (ref. State Board of Education Policy ID HSP-C-005). How does the school decide if the student must take the IPT at initial enrollment? The home language survey determines if the student is a language minority student. If the answer to any question on the home language survey is a language other than English, the student must take the IPT at initial enrollment (ref. ESL Handbook). If a language minority student enrolls after January 1, is the IPT administered to the student twice (initially and annually)? No. If the student enrolls after January 1, the student is administered the IPT as an initial assessment within thirty days of enrollment. The student is not administered the IPT during the annual test window. The initial score will stand for both the initial and annual score due to the short time span. If a language minority student enrolls after April 30, is the IPT test administered to the student? If the school will be open for thirty calendar days following the student s enrollment date, the IPT must be administered to the student to attain his/her initial test score. If thirty days are not available, the initial assessment will be completed the following school year. Who can administer the IPT? Only employees of the school system or charter school are permitted to administer state tests. Contracted tutorial services/agencies are not permitted to administer North Carolina tests. Test administrators shall be school personnel who have professional training in education and the state-testing program (ref. IPT Test Administrator s Guide ). Do administrators administer sections (oral, reading, and writing) of the IPT even if the student was previously tested and scored Superior on one of the sections? Yes. As of the school year, all students with limited English proficiency in the school must be administered all sections of the IPT during the annual test window. Schools can no longer carry over or bank a student s superior score (ref. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; Title I Sec (7)) Page 1

2 Can a parent/guardian refuse to allow the IPT to be administered to his/her child? A parent can refuse to have his/her language minority child tested using the IPT for initial testing only. If the child is identified as limited English proficient, the child must be tested during the annual assessment. The school must ensure the parent understands that refusal of language proficiency testing also means refusal of ESL services, testing accommodations, or participation in alternate assessment. A waiver form is highly recommended as well as the presence of an interpreter. Are proctors required for the IPT testing? Proctors are not required for test administrations with ten or less students. A proctor is required for groups of students greater than ten. How many times is the IPT administered to LEP students? Newcomers (first year LEP students) will be tested upon initial enrollment and during the annual spring window. Current LEP students (second year and beyond) are tested once per year during the annual window. Is the Writing Conventions section of the test administered during the Reading Test or during the Writing Test? The Writing Conventions section is printed in BOTH the Reading and Writing IPT test booklets, but it must only be administered one time either during the Reading Test or during the Writing Test. If a language minority student or LEP student is also identified as a student with disabilities is the student still tested using the IPT? Yes. If the student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), the IEP must be followed. The student must receive both ESL and services for exceptional children (EC). If testing accommodations are documented on the IEP, the student must receive the accommodations during the IPT assessment. Page 2

3 If the student needs a modified format of the test such as Braille, large print, or one-item per page, what can we do? Modified versions of the IPT are not available. Do not enlarge the font by copying the test. Schools must follow best practice and educational judgment when determining what sections of the IPT test or what accommodations can be administered to accommodate students with disabilities requiring modified test formats. If one section or subtest such as the Oral test can be administered, it must be administered. If a student does not take a section of the test due to this issue, the scores are left blank and a reason code is completed. Schools must make every effort to accommodate students to determine their language proficiency (ref. IPT Test Administrator s Guide ). If a LEP student has serious cognitive deficits, is the school required to test the student with the IPT? Schools must follow best practice and educational judgment when determining whether or not to administer the IPT to students with serious cognitive deficits, due to the IEP, who participate in the Alternate Assessment Portfolio (NCAAP). If one section or subtest such as the Oral test can be administered, it must be administered. If a student does not take a section of the test due to this issue, the scores are left blank and a reason code is completed (ref. Test Administrator s Guide ). Can a LEP student, who also has an IEP due to cognitive difficulties, be exited prior to attaining superior on the IPT test? A student with a disability, who may not reach superior on the IPT due to cognitive difficulties, may be exited once language acquisition is acquired as determined by the school. Schools must not exit a child simply based on the student s disability. Adequate time must be allowed for the student to receive ESL services to increase his/her language acquisition. The length of time must be equitable to the length of time allowed for any other LEP student. Can the IPT be administered prior to enrollment? For example, summer intake centers or pre-kindergarten programs. No. The student must be enrolled for the initial test score. NOTE: If the student is enrolled during summer months and schools are not prepared to administer the IPT during the summer enrollment period, the school may administer the IPT during the first thirty days of the school year. Page 3

4 What forms/colors of the IPT must be administered? In order to regulate the forms being administered, the NCDPI designated certain forms for initial administration and different forms for the annual administration to assist with standardization. The list of forms was released to the school system test coordinator because the materials are ordered through the Test Coordinator. These form designations may be off cycle for a particular school system, but the NCDPI requests that schools administer the designated forms. Beginning in , schools will not be allowed to administer nondesignated forms. Is the K-1 Literacy Assessment (Ballard & Tighe, Inc.) of reading and writing required? No. During the school year, the Oral assessment is administered to students in grades K-12. The Reading and Writing assessments are required in grades Can the IPT be administered to limited English proficiency students at other times of the year for instructional purposes? Yes. The state-mandated assessments are required at initial enrollment and annually during the spring window of February 1- April 30. Schools may administer the IPT at other times although the data will not be collected and NCDPI answer sheets must not be completed for those administrations. Is annual training required for all administrators? Yes. All IPT administrators must be trained in the administration of the assessment by a local trainer and on the IPT Test Administrator s Guide by personnel designated by the school system or charter school test coordinator. When is a LEP student no longer considered LEP for headcount funding or accountability? When the LEP student scores Superior in all domains or sections of the language proficiency test (IPT), the student can no longer be considered LEP for headcount funding or testing accommodations. Can a student who is no longer considered LEP (due to the IPT test scores of superior) still receive ESL services? Yes. Once the student is no longer considered LEP, the school must make the local decision to continue or discontinue ESL services for the student. Although ESL services may be continued, the student is not considered LEP or reported as LEP. Page 4

5 Once a LEP student is superior and can no longer be considered LEP, can the student receive a Section 504 Plan to continue receiving testing accommodations? No. Section 504 covers qualified students with disabilities who are be determined to: 1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The Section 504 regulation, at 34 C.F.R (j)(2)(i), defines a physical or mental impairment as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems. Can any adjustments be made to the IPT administration? Can any accommodations be given to LEP students? No. The IPT must be administered exactly as written in the Examiner s Manual and/or indicated on the test booklet. Therefore, unless indicated, the question/item cannot be repeated or clarified. LEP accommodations are not be allowed during the IPT test administration including the accommodation of mark in test booklet. If the student is a non- English speaker, does the administrator still administer the reading and writing tests? If a LEP student is enrolled in grades 2-12, the student must be administered all sections of the IPT including the oral, reading, and writing during the initial and annual assessments regardless of oral proficiency level. The administrator must make an effort to attain responses on both the reading and writing sections. What if a student gives no response on the test? If the student gives no response, the lowest score is recorded for the student. Does the student take both the IPT and the End-of- Grade (EOG) test or just one of those tests? The IPT is a language proficiency test and the EOG is an accountability assessment. These tests satisfy different purposes. A language proficiency assessment is required AND an accountability content assessment is required. NOTE: Some LEP students may be eligible for alternate assessment (ref. State Board of Education Policy HSP-C-005). If a LEP student scores too high on the IPT annual assessment to continue using the NCAAAI, what happens? The student will then participate in any upcoming regular tests (e.g., EOG, HSCT, Writing, EOC, etc.) with or without accommodations and the NCAAAI is coded as Incomplete using a Reason code (ref. IPT Test Administrative Guide ). Page 5

6 If the LEP student will reach his 24-month deadline prior to the test date, what should the school do? The school should not begin a NCAAAI (unless the student is enrolled in Grade 3 to satisfy the Grade 3 Pretest requirement) since the student must take the test at the end of the year or semester. Page 6