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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.
NYSESLAT Grade 1 &2 Test Samplers
https://www.baamboozle.com/game/452363 NYSESLAT Speaking Practice
https://www.baamboozle.com/game/403073 NYSESLAT Speaking Practice
https://sites.google.com/ocmboces.org/midstaterberntoolkit/teaching-materials? NYSESLAT
Parent Guides to the NYSITELL and NYSESLAT
ELL and ML Assessment and Testing Accommodations | New York State Education Department (nysed.gov)
NYSESLAT
All NYSESLAT test materials for Spring 2026 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 2026 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 2014, 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 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. In 2024, the grade 1 and 2 tests were 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 2026: April 6-May 22
R, W. & L 2026: May 4-May 22
Deadline to submit answer sheets to scanning centers: TBD
*NYSESLAT Student Practice Materials - Brentwood Union Free School District (bufsd.org)
*Some Elementary Listening stories seem to be from HMH Journeys
LISTENING PRACTICE
Online Listening
http://www.agendaweb.org/listening/elem_interm.html
https://www.readworks.org/ While all of ReadWorks texts have text-to-speech, many have human-voice audio as an option for students to hear a text read aloud by a fluent reader. A teacher can assign audio to their whole class, groups of students, or individual students.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA40c7kKjeI
https://agendaweb.org/listening-exercises.html
Elementary Listening Activities
https://www.pinterest.com/funwithfluff/listening-skills/
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/listening-elementary.php
https://www.esparklearning.com/blog/7-engaging-listening-activities-for-small-groups/
Alphabet, Stories and More
http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/eslvideo/
Movie Clips for Listening Skills
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse?search=listening%20activity%20fre
Videos on Key Topics:
6 Tips for Speaking on the NYSESLAT - YouTube
Chronological Order - Rock 2 the Core - Language Arts K-5 - YouTube
We Draw Conclusions - Rock 2 the Core - K-5 Language - YouTube
5 Tips for Writing on the NYSESLAT - YouTube
Conley's Cool ESL - Writing Complete Sentences - YouTube
Cause and Effects Tutorial | Enable your child to learn critical thinking skills - YouTube
NYSESLAT Review - Tips for Paragraphs - YouTube
How to Annotate a Text - YouTube
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/literary-devices Grammarly
Show Your Evidence Song - Rock 2 the Core - K-5 ELA - YouTube
Listen A Minute: Easier English Listening and Lesson Plans
ELLs and Other New York State Assessments:
(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
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