FIELD ADVISORY

The purpose of the memorandum is to provide information to school personnel regarding the transition of Braille editions of New York State assessments from English Braille American Edition (EBAE) to Unified English Braille (UEB)¹. The timeline for this transition was set forth in the February 2017 memorandum Timelines for Transition of State Assessments to Unified English Braille, and ensures that students will have had two full years of instruction utilizing UEB materials prior to taking State assessments in UEB format. The transition is as follows:

• 2019-20 school year and thereafter: Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Tests, and Grades 4 and 8 Science Tests provided in UEB only.
• 2019-20 school year and thereafter: Grades K-8 New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) provided in UEB only.
• 2019-20 school year: Grades 9-12 NYSESLAT will continue to be provided in EBAE only.
• 2019-20 school year: Regents Examinations provided in EBAE only.
• 2020-21 school year: Regents Examinations provided in both EBAE and UEB.
• 2020-21 school year and thereafter: Grades 9-12 NYSESLAT provided in UEB only.
• 2021-22 school year and thereafter: Regents Examinations provided in UEB only.

To assist students with this change in Braille editions of New York State assessments from EBAE to UEB, the Office of State Assessment (OSA) is making available UEB transcriptions of previously released New York State assessment materials. Please note that NYSESLAT forms are not released and therefore not available for practice. Available immediately or in the coming weeks are the released test questions from the Grades 3-8 ELA Tests from 2018 and 2019; Grades 3-8 Mathematics Tests from 2018 and 2019; and Grade 4 and Grade 8 Written Science Tests from 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Since the transition to UEB for Regents Examinations begins with the 2020-21 school year, previously released Regents Examinations from 2018 and 2019 transcribed into UEB will be made available to schools beginning in fall 2020.

The New York State assessment materials transcribed into UEB will be provided to schools to be used for student practice through the New York State Resource Center for the Visually Impaired. This practice material may be obtained by contacting Robert Graham at the NYS Resource Center for the Visually Impaired:

NYS Resource Center for the Visually Impaired
2A Richmond Avenue
Batavia, NY 14020
585-343-5384
Robert.Graham@nysed.gov​

¹ The New York State Education Department (NYSED) will continue to use the Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science in conjunction with UEB (see the October 2015 field memorandum Guidance for the Transition to Unified English Braille).