Important Updates About TELPA Reporting for Incoming Students in Fall 2018

Attached is the updated Excel workbook for reporting TELPA screening data for the 2018-19 school year. Keep in mind this should ONLY be used in these two situations:

• Screening for incoming kindergarten students for Fall 2018 (kindergarten round-up) conducted this spring
• Screening of any incoming student K-12 conducted in June or July for placement Fall 2018

The grade level reported in this spreadsheet should be the grade level applicable for the 2018-19 school year. However, districts should wait until July 1, 2018 to submit it to the state. Reminder, beginning Aug. 1, all screening assessments must be completed using the ELPA21 Screener.

Take Note of These Important Updates to English Learner Assessments

For the 2017-18 school year, schools should continue to make placement decisions using the TELPA. There will be a switch to the ELPA21 screener for the 2018-19 school year, beginning with screening for incoming kindergarten students in May. Online training to administer the ELPA21 screener will be available next spring.

For the 2017-18 school year, schools should continue reporting TELPA scores for their students to the Iowa Department of Education. Please use this new, updated Score Reporting spreadsheet and discard any earlier versions you may have. The DE has been working with the EdInsight team to get screening scores added to the data warehouse, but the first step is to ensure that data is complete and accurate. Schools no longer need to include screening results in the SRI data elements, so the spreadsheet is the only way the Department can document compliance with this expectation from the Title III corrective action plan.

Current information on EL assessments can also be found on the ELPA21 page of the DE website and in the TELPA online training materials.

ELL Training Announcements for 2017-2018 School Year

TELPA training has been updated for the 2017-18 school year and is now available at the AEA Learning System. The method and timelines for reporting student scores on the TELPA has also been updated in the training. ELPA21 training modules will be announced when they become available.

There is now a way to earn re-licensure credit with the ELP Standards modules. (Note: If you have completed some or all of the modules, you would not need to redo them.) For more information about this course offering, click this link.

If you are unsure what trainings are available around serving ELs, click this link for a list of trainings and how to access them.

Do You Administer the TELPA Screener Training?

Anyone administering the Tennessee English Language Placement Assessment (TELPA) during the 2016-17 academic year must certify or recertify through training on AEA PD Online.

Do You Administer the TELPA Screener Training?

Anyone administering the Tennessee English Language Placement Assessment (TELPA) during the 2016-17 academic year must certify or recertify through training on AEA PD Online.

Essential TELPA Updates for 2016-17 Provided by Department of Ed

Dr. Jobi Lawrence and Colleen Anderson from the Iowa Department of Education asked the Title III Consultants to share the following information with districts related to TELPA Training, ordering of TELPA materials and TELPA Administration for the 2016-17 school year.

TELPA Training for 2016-17
Please ensure that anyone administering the TELPA for the upcoming academic year certifies on the training system on AEA PD Online, as the training has been updated to reflect changes in ordering and submitting scores due to the change in vendor. Iowa Testing Programs is no longer able to serve as our vendor for TELPA, and this has precipitated these changes.

From: Dr. Jobi B. Lawrence, Director, Title III, Iowa Department of Education, (515) 281-3805.

TELPA Assessment Administrators Must Recertify
Anyone administering the Tennessee English Language Placement Assessment (TELPA) assessment during the 2016-17 academic year must recertify through training on AEA PD Online. Even if a certificate states it is valid for three years, there have been changes to TELPA ordering and data reporting and everyone must recertify this year to ensure that the program remains in compliance with federal requirements. Visit the Heartland AEA website for more information about TELPA.

Ordering the TELPA
Dr. Lawrence states to please see the message below from Colleen Anderson related to changes in the TELPA for the upcoming administration year. PLEASE broadly distribute the information below to your schools and colleagues.

• Beginning July 1, 2016, any districts wishing to order the TELPA screener should place the order directly with Measurement Incorporated (MI) instead of going through IA Testing Programs.
• TELPA can only be ordered online. It is sold in packs of 10 and includes all the support materials needed.
• If you would like to place an order or have any other questions, please contact the TELPA Helpline at (888) 612-0180 or elda@measinc.com. MI will provide you with the credentials for your district as well as directions on how to place an order on the TELPA website

TELPA Administration

1. Download the correct bubble answer sheet (BAS).
TELPA K-2 Answer Sheet
TELPA 3-12 Answer Sheet

2. Score the screeners locally

3. Complete the Score Reporting Template to enter student information and TELPA scores. Save each file with a standard name (e.g. Ames_072716 (District name_Date)).

4. Log into the State of Iowa Secure email (https://securemail.iowa.gov/). Your name will be your email associated with your EdPortal A&A account (not your Account ID), your password is your A&A account password. Not sure of your A&A email, login to the portal (https://portal.ed.iowa.gov), click on ‘My Profile’ in the upper right-hand corner and review your email in the center of the screen. If you receive an error, when logging in please contact the EdPortal help desk at (515) 725-2040 or by email ated.portal@iowa.gov.

5. After logging in to Secure Email, click on ‘Compose Mail’ in the upper left corner. Enter Ed.portal@iowa.gov in the ‘To’ field, in the Subject field enter your district name and the word TELPA (e. g. Ames TELPA).

6. Click on ‘Attach’ and ‘choose file’ to select the file created in step one. Click on Upload.

7. Click on ‘Send’ to send your email.

From: Colleen Anderson, Student Assessment, Iowa Department of Education, (515) 281-3249.

The information below has also been updated on the DE website and is reflected in the updated TELPA training module. The link to the DE website for all of this information is: https://www.educateiowa.gov/english-language-proficiency-assessment-21st-century-elpa-21 

Conditional Exiting of English Learners and How to Order the TELPA Screener
The Iowa Department of Education has released a webinar with timely guidance for districts on ordering the TELPA screener and the conditional exiting of students. Share this webinar widely with those who will depend on accurate information in your district.

Delay in Release of ELPA21 Screener Means Continued Use of TELPA for Upcoming School Year

The Iowa Department of Education reports that there has been a delay in the release of the ELPA21 Screener, which necessitates the use of the TELPA for the 2016-17 academic year. Due to field testing complexity issues related to the ELPA21 Screener, the field testing can’t be accomplished until the fall of 2016 and the final operational screener will not be available until spring of 2017. As such, Iowa has made the decision to use TELPA for the full academic year to ensure consistency in the identification of ELs.

More information on ordering materials and returning assessment results to the vendor will be forthcoming. This status is provided to help you RETAIN current TELPA test booklets and to assist you in planning for Kindergarten round-up testing.

Thank you for your ongoing collaborative spirit and dedication to Iowa’s growing population of English Language Learners. For more information, contact Dr. Jobi B. Lawrence, Title III Director, Iowa Department of Education at (515) 281-3805 or Colleen Anderson, Student Assessment, Iowa Department of Education at (515) 281-3249.