This memorandum provides information concerning procedures for requesting, shipping, and storing materials for the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT).

As the 2020–21 school year gets underway, NYSED and the Board of Regents continue to make our primary focus the physical and mental health, safety, and well-being of the children and adults in our schools. We continue to be mindful of the many uncertainties faced statewide and nationally, and we will continuously monitor the situation and provide updated guidance as the situation requires.

This will include NYSED and the Board of Regents closely monitoring the feasibility and fairness of administering the NYSESLAT next spring. At this time, no final decision regarding the 2021 NYSESLAT has been made. Keeping this in mind, we are sharing the following information to prepare should it be deemed feasible to proceed with the spring 2021 test administrations in person in schools throughout the State.

REQUESTING INFORMATION

Please note: All NYSESLAT test materials will be requested through the online ordering system of the NYSESLAT contractor, MetriTech, Inc. Further information on ordering the NYSESLAT will be forthcoming from MetriTech, Inc. by the end of the month.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The NYSESLAT is designed to assess the English language proficiency of students who have been identified as English Language Learners (ELLs). This memorandum, and all information in subsequent e-mail communications pertaining to this test, will be available on the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) website. Test booklets, Directions for Administration, scoring materials, and the School Administrator’s Manual are being prepared by MetriTech, Inc.

Being mindful of the variability statewide in the manner that instruction is being provided to students across the State in response to COVID-19, NYSED is carefully considering providing schools much more flexibility than has been necessary in past years in the local scheduling of the spring 2021 operational tests. More information about such flexibility will be provided as the test administration window approaches.

All schools administering the NYSESLAT must contract with a Regional Information Center (RIC) or large-city scanning center in order to obtain answer sheets and scanning services. When ordering tests through MetriTech’s online examination request system, schools must identify the RIC or large-city scanning center with which they have contracted. Schools will not be able to proceed with ordering State tests until this information has been entered. A complete list of RICs and large-city scanning centers is available on the Department’s website.

Schools must submit examination requests under their own BEDS code. The requests for two or more schools in a district must not be combined into one request.

Please be advised that schools will need to provide a CD audio player for the administration of the Grades 3–12 Listening section.

STUDENTS TO BE TESTED

• English Language Learners (ELLs). Part 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires that all ELLs be tested annually. All public (including charter) schools must administer the NYSESLAT to all ELLs in Grades K–12, regardless of the physical location of the student, whether a student is identified as a student with a disability, or number of years of service (including six or more years), until proficiency is attained as reflected in the score achieved on the NYSESLAT (or by a combination of scores achieved on the NYSESLAT and Grades 3–8 English Language Arts Examination or Regents Examination in English Language Arts). Religious and independent schools are strongly encouraged to administer the test to their ELLs. If a religious or independent school receives Title III funds, it must administer the NYSESLAT or an equivalent test to its ELLs annually. High School Equivalency (HSE) programs preparing students for the Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) should not administer the NYSESLAT to any of their students. Valid scores and score reports cannot be provided for students enrolled in HSE programs who take the NYSESLAT.
• Students with Disabilities. All ELLs with disabilities, identified by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) or by a multidisciplinary team, including those participating in the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA), must participate in the NYSESLAT. Use the chart on NYSED’s website to ascertain the appropriate NYSESLAT grade test to administer to those ungraded ELLs with disabilities.

STORAGE OF TEST MATERIALS

The NYSESLAT must be stored in a secure location in the building to which the tests will be shipped. All secure test materials must be placed in the storage location as soon as they are received. Access to the test materials must be restricted to ensure that test security is maintained.

If the building in which the tests will be administered does not have a secure location large enough to store the NYSESLAT materials, arrangements must be made to store these at another school. Tests stored at such a location must not be transferred to the school in which the tests will be administered until the day scheduled for the administration of each part of the test.

With the exception of the Speaking session materials, tests and other secure materials may not be removed from the secure storage location until the day scheduled for the administration of each part of the test. The packages containing the scoring materials for the Speaking session may be opened prior to the date of administration of this part of the test, so that teachers can familiarize themselves with procedures and rubrics for scoring. Teachers who have been given the scoring materials for the Speaking session must safeguard these materials and must not leave them unattended. The other sealed packages of secure test materials must not be opened during the inventory and must remain sealed until the test administration date.

Additional information about the NYSESLAT is available on the Department’s website. If you have any questions about the NYSESLAT, please e-mail the Office of State Assessment (OSA) or call 518-474-5902. If you need assistance with the identification of ELLs, please e-mail the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages or call 518-474-8775. If you have specific questions concerning any information in this memorandum, please call 518-474-8220.