About ELLS and 2024-25 New York State Assessments and More

L.I. RBERN ENL Report Cards

Administering the 2024 NYSESLAT

(Especially for new teachers)

Testing for ELLs/MLLs in NYS

The New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) assesses the English language proficiency of all NYS ELLs/MLLs enrolled in Grades K–12 every April-May. The NYSESLAT is a part of New York State’s compliance with federal laws that require yearly testing and monitoring the progress of all ELLs/MLLs in English Language proficiency. New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) | New York State Education Department (nysed.gov)

All NYSESLAT test materials for Spring 2024 will be requested through NYSED’s contractor for the NYSESLAT. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) will be contracting with MetriTech, Inc, for the spring 2024 administration of the NYSESLAT. The ordering system is expected to open in mid-January for schools to submit their requests.

As you may remember, In the spring of 2015, a new version of the NYSESLAT was given to ELL/MLL students in New York State. Some highlights of the NYSESLAT included alignment to the Common Core Learning Standards and new Bilingual Common Core Progressions. It contained five performance levels: Entering, Emerging, Transitioning, Expanding, and Commanding.

There is now greater emphasis on academic and classroom context and language. There are new test questions that address the Common Core shift to reading for information and literary purposes. All four sections of the test integrate speaking, reading, writing and listening questions which are tied to global themes. The Kindergarten NYSESLAT is intentionally different from the Grades 1-12 NYSESLAT and is administered by each individual modality of speaking, reading, writing, and listening. This year, in 2024, the grade 1 and 2 tests will be divided into 2 different tests.

-Grade 1 is completely new. Grade 2 will take the same 1-2 band.

-2026 is the projected transition to computer-based testing. 2024 and 2025 will remain paper-based.

Regulations Concerning ELLs and MLs | New York State Education Department (nysed.gov)

Speaking 2024: April 14-May 23, 2023

Reading, Writing & Listening 2024: May 12-May 24

Deadline to submit answer sheets to scanning centers: TBD

(Exams can be ordered in several home languages and students can use bilingual glossaries)

Many students will take the New York State Grades 3-8 ELA and Mathematics on computer, so they need computer- based testing training in advance. Exam dates vary based on paper exam vs. computer exam.

Grades 3-8 Test Schedule 2024-25 Regents Exams Information

· Glossaries containing content-area vocabulary words and the same words translated into the students’ home languages can be used in New York State assessments except the NYSESLAT. Bilingual Glossaries and Cognates | NYU Steinhardt . Additional time is also provided.

· Please see NYS Bilingual Glossaries, Testing accommodations also apply.

·*Administrators have a key responsibility to create an environment helpful to ELL success. Here is an Assessments Toolkit for assisting school leaders in communicating.

NYS Office of State Assessment

Possible Helpful Resources: