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CALPADS Update Flash #286

Impacts on Assessments When Moving Kindergarten Students Back to Transitional Kindergarten.

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

From:      California Department of Education (CDE) –
                California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Team

Date:       August 30, 2024

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #286

Impacts on Assessments When Moving Kindergarten Students Back to Transitional Kindergarten

Impact of Assembly Bill 2268 on CALPADS/TOMS Data Exchange

Enrolling transitional kindergarten (TK) students in grade level TK and not grade level kindergarten (KN) has become more critical due to a recent change in state law regarding when students are assessed for English language proficiency. Assembly Bill 2268 (Chapter 15, Statutes of 2024) amends California Education Code Section 60810(b) to exempt TK students from taking the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) or Initial Alternate ELPAC and the Summative ELPAC or Summative Alternate ELPAC. The 2023–2024 school year was the only year that students in grade level TK were eligible to test.

Placement of TK students into grade level KN becomes an issue because the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) sends student enrollment data to the Test Operations Management System (TOMS) on a nightly basis, which means that any TK students inappropriately enrolled in grade level KN in CALPADS will show up in TOMS the next day as needing to take the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC. Local educational agencies (LEAs) can avoid this problem by ensuring that TK students are appropriately placed in grade level TK (Grade level TK was introduced in 2023–2024).

Starting with the 2024–2025 school year, the following section provides steps for resolving issues that are created when TK students are initially enrolled in grade level KN and are in TOMS.

Resolving Issues When TK Students Are Already in TOMS as KN Students

LEAs should contact your LEA ELPAC coordinator immediately and inform them NOT to test any TK students who were inappropriately placed in grade KN (or who were knowingly placed in KN but will be moving back to grade level TK). These students will appear in TOMS as needing to be tested, and the resolution steps are simpler if these students are not tested.

The following two tables provide common scenarios and resolutions for resolving TK students in TOMS.

Please note the following:

  • Any inappropriately placed TK students in KN already in TOMS will not be removed from your LEA in TOMS. Instead, after the student has been exited and processed by TOMS, they will continue to show up as inactive under your LEA in TOMS for the remainder of the school year.
  • The “original” KN enrollment record referred to in the tables is the record that was initially sent to TOMS, which identified the student as needing to test.
  • For LEA ELPAC Coordinators: Students will be made ineligible for tests on deactivation if they were “inactive” before the window.

Table 1

Scenarios for TK students inappropriately placed in KN and who have not started the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC

No. Scenario Resolution
1
Student was inappropriately placed in grade level KN and is in TOMS and has not started testing. LEA has already deleted the original KN enrollment record in CALPADS and enrolled the student in grade level TK.

Notify your LEA ELPAC coordinator not to test the student.

No other action needs to be taken; eventually, TOMS will mark the student as inactive.

Note: LEAs will continue to receive notifications from TOMS to test this student.
2
Student was inappropriately placed in grade level KN and is in TOMS and has not started testing. The original KN enrollment record is still in CALPADS and is the most recent enrollment.

Notify your LEA ELPAC coordinator not to test the student.

  1. Update the KN enrollment record in CALPADS with an enrollment exit date that your LEA believes is appropriate, such as today's date, or the day your LEA identified the student as TK.
  2. Update the KN enrollment record's enrollment exit reason code to E150- MidYearEnrollmentUpdate.
  3. The exit from KN will be provided to TOMS, which will then mark the student as inactive. Allow a day or two for this to occur.
  4. Ask your LEA ELPAC coordinator to confirm that the student is marked as inactive in TOMS.
  5. Once the student is inactive in TOMS, add a TK enrollment record with an enrollment start date that is one day after the KN enrollment record's enrollment exit date. A later date will throw a SENR0286F1error-E150 exit requires new enrollment at same school within one (1) day.
3
Student was inappropriately placed in grade level KN and is in TOMS and has not started testing. The student's most recent enrollment has a grade level of TK. Their original KN enrollment record still exists as a previous enrollment.

Notify your LEA ELPAC coordinator not to test the student.
You can:

  1. Do nothing and wait for TOMS to eventually mark the student as inactive.
    or
  2. Temporarily delete the TK enrollment record, so that the previous KN enrollment record (with an exit date and exit reason code) is the most recent enrollment record. Allow a day or two for TOMS to process the exit and for your LEA ELPAC coordinator to verify that the student is inactive in TOMS, and then restore the TK enrollment record.

Note: LEAs will continue to receive notifications from TOMS to test this student until exited from KN.
4
Student was inappropriately placed in grade level KN and is in TOMS and has not started testing. Student is a no-show, and the LEA deleted the original KN enrollment record.

Notify your LEA ELPAC coordinator not to test the student.
You can:

  1. Do nothing and wait for TOMS to eventually mark the student as inactive.
    or
  2. Restore the original KN enrollment record and exit the student as an N470 no-show. Allow a day or two for your LEA ELPAC coordinator to verify that the student is inactive in TOMS.

Note: LEAs will continue to receive notifications from TOMS to test this student until exited from KN.

Table 2

Scenarios for TK students inappropriately placed in KN and who have already started or completed the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC

No. Scenario Resolution
5
Student was inappropriately placed in grade level KN and is in TOMS and has already started or completed testing. Student's original KN enrollment record still exists in CALPADS and is the most recent enrollment. A TK enrollment record has not been added.
  1. If a student is currently testing, stop testing the student.
  2. Request your LEA ELPAC coordinator to submit a Security Test and Incident Reporting System (STAIRS) appeal to reset the tests for each domain completed.
  3. Wait for the appeal to be approved and tests reset. This can take a few days.
  4. Once the tests have been reset, if necessary, TOMS will send CALPADS a delete transaction to remove the corresponding Student English Language Acquisition (SELA) English Learner (EL) or Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) record.
  5. If necessary, verify in CALPADS that the SELA EL or IFEP record has been removed.
  6. If necessary, if the EL or IFEP status has already been loaded into your Student Information System (SIS), delete that status and update with a status of To Be Determined (TBD).
  7. Update the KN enrollment record with an enrollment exit date that your LEA believes is appropriate, such as today's date, or the day your LEA identified the student as TK.
  8. Update the KN enrollment record's enrollment exit reason code to E150-MidYearEnrollmentUpdate.
  9. Allow a day or two for your LEA ELPAC coordinator to confirm the student is marked as inactive in TOMS.
  10. Add a TK enrollment record with an enrollment start date that is one day after the KN enrollment record's enrollment exit date. A later date will throw a validation error. See Flash 244 for more information.
6
Student was inappropriately placed in grade level KN and is in TOMS and has already started or completed testing. Student's original KN enrollment record no longer exists in CALPADS.
  1. If a student is currently testing, stop testing the student.
  2. Request your LEA ELPAC coordinator to submit a STAIRS appeal to reset the tests for each domain completed.
  3. Wait for the appeal to be approved and test scores have been reset. This can take a few days.
  4. Once the test scores have been reset, if necessary, TOMS will send CALPADS a delete transaction to remove the corresponding SELA EL or IFEP record.
  5. If necessary, verify that the SELA EL or IFEP record has been removed in CALPADS.
  6. If necessary, if the EL or IFEP status has already been loaded into your SIS, delete that status and update with a status of TBD.

Note 1: The resolution is for resetting test scores only. The student cannot be marked as inactive in TOMS because the original KN enrollment record no longer exists. TOMS can only process exited students if their original KN enrollment still exist in CALPADS, have been exited, and is the student's most recent enrollment. Eventually, TOMS will mark the student as inactive.

Note 2: LEAs will continue to receive notifications from TOMS to test this student.
Questions:   CALPADS Office | calpads@cde.ca.gov | 916-324-6738
Service and Support: CALPADS-CSIS Service Desk | calpads-support@cde.ca.gov | 916-325-9210
Last Reviewed: Friday, September 6, 2024
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