The Alt ELPA Screener is administered to students who have significant cognitive disabilities and who may also be English learners. Administered year-round, the screener ensures that English learners, regardless of disability, are accurately identified. The results of the screener are used to provide English learners with the language services they need to succeed in school.
The Alt ELPA Screener was developed through a collaboration among state departments of education, ELPA21 staff, and educators with experience in the teaching and assessment of English/multilingual learners and students with disabilities. The Alt ELPA Screener is available in six states in SY 2024–25 as part of the screener’s pilot phase. The test produces operational scores that schools will use to identify English learners and place them into appropriate English learner services. The pilot version of the test also gives ELPA21 the opportunity to gather feedback from educators and administrators, which will be used to fine-tune the assessment’s design.
Like the ELPA21 Dynamic Screener, the Alt ELPA Screener is a fixed-form and mixed-domain assessment designed for one-to-one administration. First, students are administered two practice items aimed at helping them become familiar with the testing platform. Next, they are administered mixed domain operational items that are ordered by domain (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) and increasing difficulty. With technical assistance from the test administrator, students progress through each item until the test is complete. The amount of time needed to complete the test varies by grade band, but typically ranges from 4–23 minutes. This is nearly twice as fast as most traditional screeners, saving teachers precious instructional time and easing the testing burden on students. For more information on testing times, see the Alt ELPA Screener Test Administration Time Chart.
The Alt ELPA Screener is designed to be accessible for potential English learners who have significant cognitive disabilities—including students who may otherwise be unable to participate physically or verbally in the assessment process. This assessment is configurable to an individual student’s accessibility requirements with adaptable administration procedures, granting test administrators the flexibility to use their own judgment for supporting and assisting students during testing. To learn more about the available accommodations and supports on the Alt ELPA Screener, see the Alt ELPA Accessibility and Accommodations Manual.
The Alt ELPA Screener results provide a comprehensive overview of student performance in two key language modalities—receptive skills (listening, reading) and productive skills (speaking, writing). Students who take the Alt ELPA Screener can show their proficiency, even with multiple domain exemptions, allowing all students to demonstrate their skills using English language.
Like its summative counterpart, the Alt ELPA Screener student reports contain a proficiency determination and performance level descriptors for added context. The Alt ELPA Screener scores are used to:
In most cases, the Alt ELPA Screener results will be available through the online reporting system on the same day the screener is administered and submitted in the testing system. To learn more about the contents of the student reports, please review the Sample Alt ELPA Student Report. For information on interpreting student scores and score reports, please see the Quick Guide to Understanding Alt ELPA Reports for Educators.
