By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
English Language (EL) teachers Kelsey Scheuerman and Traci Miller at Riley Elementary in Great Bend are administering the Kansas English Language Proficiency Assessment (KELPA) to 135 students this week. It's one test that, once passed, the student never has to take again. That makes it a big deal for students trying to learn a new language.
"The kids are very excited when we share the results with them in the spring," said Scheuerman, who instructs PreK through second grade. "They know that it means they will not have to take the test anymore and they are proud of their progress. At Riley, we celebrate those who pass each year with a phone call home and a special celebration."
The test includes four domains: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. To score proficient, students must achieve a score of four in all four areas. The test is in grade-level bands kindergarten, first, grades 2-3, grades 4-5, 7-8, and 9-12. The questions are aligned with the Kansas Standards for English Learners.
Plenty of preparation goes into the KELPA. In the fall, a class period is used to discuss student progress and set goals for the year. In January, a short class period is used to check those goals and help the students focus on the things they do in every class that can help them improve. All EL teachers at the elementary level have students log in to the KITE Student Portal to practice questions provided by the state.
"The practice gives the students exposure to the technology and question types," Scheuerman said. "We can give students reminders about good test-taking strategies, which helps their confidence during the test. This year at Riley, we met with students in the fall to set goals based on their results from last year’s KELPA. Students identified things they could work on each day to improve their language proficiency."
Part of the writing portion of the test is administered with a pencil and paper. The rest of the writing test and all other domains are administered through the KITE Student Portal using Chromebooks. One domain is administered each day, and grade levels are tested at different times in a testing window provided by the state.
EL teachers score the student responses on the speaking test and the few handwritten or typed responses on the writing test. A rubric is used to determine the proficiency level of the responses.
"Even though our English Language students and teachers are focused on completing the KELPA assessment right now, the process of learning a second language is difficult while also keeping up with learning in all classes," said USD 428 Director of Teaching and Learning JoAnn Blevins. "EL students are doing double the work at times to acquire a new language while also learning core content. Supporting our EL students on both fronts is a year-round effort for our EL teachers, classroom teachers, and support staff. We appreciate their work to meet the needs of all students."
KELPA is largely administered to students who speak Spanish, but USD 428 also has students who use six other languages, including American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, Kymer, Gujarati, and Tagalong. When a student passes KELPA, they go into a one-year transition period, then are monitored for two years.
Riley Elementary has 135 students ready for KELPA, and 38 more in the following stages. Park Elementary has 63 KELPA students, with 23 in the next phases. Eisenhower Elementary has 46 KELPA students with 11 monitored or in transition. Lincoln and Jefferson Elementary have a combined 41 KELPA students and 12 in the subsequent phases. Great Bend High School has 55 KELPA students, and Great Bend Middle School has 36 with 28 monitored or in transition. KELPA is administered only for grades K-12, but the district has 46 preschool students who will take the test in the future.
Riley Elementary and GBHS each have two EL teachers, and GBMS has one. Park and Lincoln Elementaries share an EL teacher, and Eisenhower, Jefferson, Little Panthers, and HHP share a teacher.