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Are all students required to take the OELPA?

No. Districts and schools administer the OELPA only to students currently identified as English learners. Districts and schools must administer the OELPA or the Alternate Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (Alt-OELPA) to all English learners annually, including English learners with disabilities. Only English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities whose IEP teams have decided the alternate assessment is appropriate may be administered the Alt-OELPA. Federal and state laws require all English learners to be administered the OELPA or Alt-OELPA annually. Districts and community schools may not exclude any English learners.

Does the OELPA take the place of the state tests?

No, an English learner must be administered the appropriate state tests in addition to the OELPA.

How should I prepare to give the OELPA?

Read the OELPA Test Coordinator Manual, OELPA Test Administration Manual and the Accessibility Manual for OELPS and OELPA completely before administering the OELPA. Test administrators who will be testing students using paper should review the Directions for Administration for Paper-Pencil Tests (included with the paper-test materials) and the Data Entry Interface User Guide for Paper Tests for instructions on submitting the student responses. Test administrators should visit the Test Administrator (TA) Interface Tutorial to become familiar with the TA Interface and the test delivery system. Students should have the opportunity to take the Student Practice Test to become familiar with the technology and item types. 

Who can administer the OELPA?

The test administrator must be an employee of the district or school and hold a valid, current license, certificate or permit issued by the Ohio Department of Education (Department). The test administrator need not be an English learner specialist.

May the speaking test be administered in groups?

Districts and schools may administer the OELPA speaking tests to groups of students. When scheduling OELPA speaking tests, districts and schools should consider that students will speak their responses aloud. To maintain test validity and security, the speaking test must be administered so that students cannot hear one another and that recordings do not pick up others’ voices. Thus, districts should test students in large quiet spaces and in groups as small as the test window and scheduling allow. Districts and schools administering the speaking test to groups of students can provide students headsets with headphones and microphone to ensure the recordings are audible and clear. If possible, the Department recommends administering the speaking test one-to-one, with one student and one test administrator.

How long does it take to administer the OELPA?

Testing times vary based on student effort, ability and progress through the domain tests. Estimated test times are posted on the OELPA webpage to assist test scheduling.

My student is new to Ohio schools and does not have an SSID, what should I do?

Districts and schools must assign a Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) for each student administered the OELPA. Check if the SSID already has been assigned for other state tests. Districts and schools should work with the IBM vendor to assign an SSID and if necessary, contact the Office of Assessment. This requirement applies to all students attending Ohio’s public schools including community schools and those students enrolled in scholarship programs. Chartered nonpublic-school students participating in an EdChoice, Cleveland or Jon Peterson Scholarship program already have an assigned SSID they will use for the OELPA. For assistance locating a scholarship student’s SSID, contact the Department’s Office of Chartered Nonpublic Schools at chartered.nonpublic.schools@education.ohio.gov or 614-728-2678.

How is the Student ID assigned for a student attending a chartered nonpublic school?

The Department provides chartered nonpublic schools with a four-letter school code to create and assign Student IDs. Test coordinators must use the Department guidelines to establish Student IDs and pre-identify students for testing who attend chartered nonpublic schools. Chartered nonpublic schools will enter Student IDs in the SSID field of the student’s Pre-ID record in TIDE since there is no field for the Student ID. Nonpublic-school students should use the same Student ID from year to year. Newly enrolled students should not be assigned Nonpublic Student IDs used in prior years by another student. Chartered nonpublic schools that need Student IDs assigned for their students must not create the ID without assistance from the Department. A Student ID created by the chartered nonpublic school will cause problems with test administration and delays in reporting results. The chartered nonpublic schools must contact the Department to process and authorize the Student ID. Contact the Office of Assessment at statetests@education.ohio.gov.

How can test administrators help students to navigate the OELPA?

Students who cannot effectively navigate the online OELPA on their own because they are without the necessary skills or experience may have a trained test administrator assist with test navigation. For example, the test administrator may assist with the mouse, point-and-click, drag-and-drop, and on-screen tools. The test administrator may assist only with the technology as indicated by the student and must not assist with answer selection. Influencing a student’s answer selection or response is a test security violation and will invalidate the assessment.

On writing items where the student is to compose a written response, only students with a scribe documented on the IEP or 504 plan may have the test administrator type their handwritten responses into the online test. For students who are incapable of typing their own responses, see the “Scribe” accommodation in the  Accessibility Manual for OELPS and OELPA.

Which accessibility features or accommodations are available for students being administered the OELPA?

For information about accessibility features and accommodations for students participating in the OELPA, refer to the  Accessibility Manual for OELPS and OELPA.

For information about accessibility features and accommodations for English learners participating in Ohio’s State Tests of English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, refer to Ohio’s Accessibility Manual and Planning Tools.

If the student scored proficient in a domain in a previous year's OELPA, must the student take the domain test again this year?

Yes, the English learner must take all domain tests (listening, reading, speaking and writing) of the OELPA each year while identified as an English learner, unless the student is exempt from one or more domain tests. OELPA scores cannot be “banked” from year to year. 

Can the OELPA be paused?

Yes. The OELPA does not have a time limit for pausing; if paused and not resumed, the OELPA will be submitted for scoring at the end of the test window.  Refer to the OELPA Test Coordinator Manual for additional information.

Can I access the OELPA through TIDE?

No, the OELPA is accessed through the Test Administrator (TA) Interface available on the test portal.

I work in a chartered nonpublic school. May I administer the OELPA but not the OELPS?

Chartered nonpublic schools are not required to administer the OELPA or the OELPS but are welcome to use either or both. There is no cost for the tests, scoring or reporting for the chartered nonpublic school. Chartered nonpublic schools participating in Title III funding program for English learners should consult with their public district about whether the OELPS and/or OELPA are used. 

How are reset, reopen and invalidation Test Status Requests different?

The district test coordinator may request a reset, reopen or an invalidation using the Test Status Request feature in TIDE for the OELPA for many situations. The tasks are defined and examples of reasons to request them are listed below:

• Reset. Resetting a student’s test removes that test from the system and enables the student to start the test anew (without losing their test opportunity). The previously submitted responses associated with a test that has been reset are erased from the system. Reasons for a reset are when a student is administered the OELPA unnecessarily, such as the OELPA was opened by mistake instead of the OELPS, or the student exited from the English language development program in a prior year.
• Reopen. Reopening a student’s test saves the student responses and opens where the student stopped the test. Reasons for a reopen are when the test was submitted too soon, a technical issue occurred or the student was ill.
• Invalidation. An invalidation is required when the OELPA has been compromised by a student, test administrator or an unauthorized party. In these cases, the test administrator or district administrator should contact the Department to discuss a possible test security violation.
  
  

Does every student have to be preidentified in TIDE to be administered the OELPA?

Yes. Districts must Pre-ID every student who is administered the OELPA, regardless of whether the student tests online or on paper. For information on marking student eligibility and test mode, refer to the Guidance Document for Ohio Pre-ID Files, Ohio Pre-ID File Layout and the TIDE Upload Files, located under the TIDE Support Documents resource folder on the portal.

Do I enter student responses in the Data Entry Interface (DEI) if the student used the online OELPA?

No. The Data Entry Interface (DEI) is the system in which the test administrators enter student responses when students are administered the paper-pencil, large-print or braille versions of the OELPA. 

Where can I locate the online OELPA Practice Test?

The Student Practice Site can be accessed via any supported web browser by clicking the Practice Tests quick link on the portal homepage. The Student Practice Test Site can also be accessed via the Cambium Assessment Secure Browser or Secure Test App, available for download by clicking the Secure Browsers quick link on the portal home page. The TA Practice Site can be accessed via any supported web browser by clicking the Teachers and Test Administrators or Test Coordinators user cards on the portal homepage and then clicking the TA Practice Site card. The OELPA Practice Site Guidance Document includes information on the Print-on-Request feature to allow students to print practice test items.

Do I have to purchase the headsets listed on the test portal?

No, any compatible device may be used. Students and test administrators may test the compatibility of their earbuds, headphones and microphone on the student practice test and/or during the beginning of each test.