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Welcome to this CELDT Fundamentals presentation. This is the first in a series of four short
informational videos available on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT)
Web site covering basic information about the CELDT. This presentation provides an overview
of the CELDT, including the purposes of the CELDT, the language domains tested on the
CELDT, the organization of the test into grade spans, and the test components that make up
each domain, including sample items. Let's start with a general overview of the CELDT,
then we'll go over each domain in a bit more detail.
State and federal law require that local educational agencies administer an Initial Assessment
of English language proficiency to students enrolled for the first time in a California
public school whose primary language is not English, and an Annual Assessment to students
who have been previously identified as English learners. For California�s kindergarten
through grade twelve public school students, this test is the CELDT. Additional information
about which students are given the CELDT is provided in CELDT Fundamentals Session Two.
The purposes of the CELDT are to identify English learners, or ELs, determine their
English language proficiency levels, and assess their progress in learning English from year
to year. The CELDT is one of four criteria for the
possible reclassification of EL students from English learners to fluent English proficient
students. The CELDT assesses students� English language
proficiency in four domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. The test is based on
the California English Language Development Standards.
The CELDT is administered by grade spans, specifically: kindergarten and grade one,
grade two, grades three through five, grades six through eight, and grades nine through
twelve. Within a grade span, all the test materials
are the same. For example, all students tested in grades three through five take the same
test, which is different from the test taken by students in grades six through eight. Further,
there are separate scale scores for each grade level that represent student performance.
Some parts of the test are administered to students individually; for example, the Speaking
domain. Other parts are administered to groups of students.
The test is administered to students by test examiners who have been trained to administer
the test. Test examiners are proficient speakers of English, and they only speak English when
administering the test. Some parts of the test are scored by test
examiners, either during or following testing. Other parts are scored by the state's CELDT
contractor. The state's CELDT contractor provides official score reports to schools and districts.
Before we look in more detail at each CELDT domain, I want to let you know about a resource
that will give you a good understanding of the CELDT and what CELDT test items look like.
It's a document called the CELDT Released Test Questions, and is available on the California
Department of Education Web site. It includes an overview of the CELDT and eighty Released
Test Questions from previous CELDT administrations. The questions are organized by grade span
and cover the four domains assessed by the CELDT: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
Each question includes the English Language Development standard addressed, the test component,
the scoring method used, and information on student performance. [Shown on the screen
The sample test items shown in this presentation are from the CELDT Released Test Questions
document. Some of them show the correct answer, but, of course, the correct answers would
not be shown in the actual test materials. Now let's see what's included in each of the
four CELDT domains, starting with the Listening domain. The Listening domain includes four
components: Following Oral Directions, Teacher Talk, Extended Listening Comprehension, and
for kindergarten through grade two only, Rhyming. In the Following Oral Directions component,
students are asked to follow simple directions provided by the test examiner. Students in
kindergarten through grade two, to whom this component is administered individually, respond
nonverbally by, for example, pointing to or drawing on something pictured in their test
materials. In this question, the student is asked to draw a nose on the boy's face. [Shown
without a nose or mouth. The directions to students are "Draw a nose on the boy's face."]
Students in grades three through twelve, to whom this component is typically administered
in groups, mark the appropriate response in their Answer Books. For example, for this
item they are to choose the picture that shows a box around the last tree. [Shown on the
it. In the second set, the second tree has a box around it. In the third set, the third
a box around the last tree. Mark your answer."] The second Listening component is called Teacher
Talk. Teacher Talk items are administered to students individually or in groups depending
on grade level and student maturity level. Teacher Talk items assess students� understanding
of actual classroom situations and readiness for learning in class. For each item, the
test examiner reads aloud a story about a classroom situation, followed by a multiple-choice
question and three answer choices about the story. Young students respond by pointing
to an answer choice; older students mark their own answers.
Here's a sample Teacher Talk question for grades three through five. The test examiner
reads the following, and students mark their answers in their Answer Books:
"A teacher tells the class: 'Tomorrow we are going to start our project about family histories.
I want you to bring to class some pictures of your family. If you can, bring two pictures
that show all the people in your family. We will use these pictures in the project.'
What do the students need for their project? some pictures . . . some books . . . some
five Teacher Talk item from the CELDT Released Test Questions document. The item is as stated
above, with a response bubble next to each answer choice. The response bubble for "some
The next Listening component is Extended Listening Comprehension. Like the Teacher Talk items,
Extended Listening Comprehension items are administered to students individually or in
groups depending on grade level and student maturity level. For this component, the test
examiner reads aloud a passage followed by multiple-choice questions, each with three
answer choices, measuring their comprehension of the passage. Younger students provide their
responses orally; older students mark their own answers in their Answer Books.
Here's a sample Extended Listening Comprehension passage and its associated questions. I won't
take the time to read it to you, but you can see the passage and the questions read aloud
by the test examiner. Note that this item was taken from the Released Test Questions
document I mentioned earlier, which is why it has the correct answers marked. [Shown
on the screen are the grades three through five Extended Listening Comprehension passage
bubbles.] The last Listening component is Rhyming. These
items are administered only to students in kindergarten through grade two, and are administered
to students individually, not in groups. The test examiner reads two words that rhyme,
and asks the student to provide another word that rhymes with the two words. For example,
"I am going to give you two words that rhyme. Then I want you to give me one more word that
rhymes with them. gate, date, . . .." [Shown on the screen is the kindergarten through
grade two Rhyming item from the CELDT Released Test Questions document as stated above. The
item includes this list of possible responses: bait, crate, eight, fate, freight, great,
hate, late, mate, plate, rate, skate, slate, state, straight, trait, and wait.]
Now let's look at the CELDT Speaking domain. It includes four components: Oral Vocabulary,
Speech Functions, Choose and Give Reasons, and Four-Picture Narrative.
The Speaking domain is given to all students individually.
All Speaking items are scored during test administration by the test examiner, who marks
the student�s score for each item in the student�s Answer Book. Oral Vocabulary items
are scored as �no response,� �incorrect,� or �correct.� The other items are scored
using the scoring rubrics provided in the Examiner�s Manual.
Oral Vocabulary items assess the student�s vocabulary by asking, for example, what something
is called or what something is used for. Some items use picture stimuli. Here's an example.
The student is asked "What is this?" [Shown on the screen is the grades three through
five Oral Vocabulary item from the CELDT Released Test Questions document. The item shows a
drawing of a pear, the directions read to students ("What is this?"), and a note that
the correct answer is "pear."] In grades six through twelve, students are
also asked to give the opposite of specified words.
The second component in the Speaking domain is called Speech Functions. These items assess
a student�s ability to use English for a specific purpose, such as asking for information
or making a request. Student responses are scored from zero to two by the test examiner
according to the rubric in the Examiner�s Manual based on whether they performed the
required function and on the correctness of their response in terms of grammar, vocabulary,
and pronunciation. Here's an example: "Now I am going to tell
you about some situations that could happen to you. Then, tell me what you would say.
What would you ask the teacher if you had a paper cut on your finger?" In response,
the student should make a request, such as "Can I have a bandage for my finger?" [Shown
on the screen is the grades six through eight Speech Functions item from the CELDT Released
Test Questions document as stated above. Below the item is the following: "The function is
making a request. The student might say, "Can I have a bandage for my finger?" or "I have
a paper cut on my finger. May I have a bandage?"] In the Choose and Give Reasons component of
the Speaking domain, students are asked to make a choice between two options. First,
they state a preference, then they�re asked to give two reasons for their choice. These
items are designed to evaluate the student�s ability to respond to questions and then formulate
their thoughts and convey those thoughts in spoken English.
For example, the test examiner says to the student: "I�m going to ask you a question.
Which do you think is more useful to your everyday life, math skills or English skills?"
After the student makes a choice, the examiner says "Tell me two reasons why." [Shown on
the screen is the grades nine through twelve Choose and Give Reasons item from the CELDT
Released Test Questions document as stated above. Below the item is the following: "If
a student gives a very short answer, ask the student what other reasons he or she has for
making that choice."] Like the Speech Functions items, the Choose
and Give Reasons items are scored from zero to two using the rubric in the Examiner�s
Manual. To get the highest score, a student must state a choice and support it with two
relevant and different reasons, and the student's speech must be accurate in terms of grammar,
vocabulary, and pronunciation. The last component in the Speaking domain
is called Four-Picture Narrative. Students are shown a series of four pictures and are
asked to tell a complete story, including details, based on the illustrations.
Student responses are scored from zero to four according to the rubric in the Examiner�s
Manual. Scores are based on four elements of the response: the coherence and effectiveness
of the story, including the extent of elaboration; vocabulary; grammar and syntax; and intelligibility,
including pronunciation and intonation. Here's an example. Some children are playing
baseball while their dog watches. One of the players hits the ball into the grass, the
children look for the ball, and they are happy when the dog finds the ball. [Shown on the
screen is the grades six through eight Four-Picture Narrative item from the CELDT Released Test
Questions document with four drawings showing the events described above. The directions
read to students are "I will start a story for you. Yesterday, Maria and a group of friends
played baseball. Tell me what happened."] Let's turn now to the CELDT Reading domain.
It consists of three components: Word Analysis, Fluency and Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension.
The Reading domain is administered individually to students in kindergarten and grade one,
and in groups to students in grades two through twelve.
Kindergarten and grade one students respond to the test questions presented by the test
examiner by pointing to an answer choice, either a picture, a word, or a letter, by
naming letters, or by reading a simple word. The examiner marks the student�s responses
in the student�s Answer Book. Students in grades two through twelve mark
their own responses in their Answer Books. Let's look at a few sample test questions,
starting with Word Analysis. Students in kindergarten and grade one are asked to identify letters
and recognize sound-letter relationships. For example, in this item the test examiner
says "ig," then asks the student to point to the letter you can add to "ig" to make
the word "big." [Shown on the screen is the second kindergarten and grade one Word Analysis
item from the CELDT Released Test Questions document with the item as stated above and
the following three letters: c, b, and m.] Students in grades two through twelve read
and respond to multiple-choice questions about word formation rules. For example, in this
question students are asked to identify the word that has three syllables. [Shown on the
screen is the grades three through five Word Analysis item from the CELDT Released Test
Questions document. The directions are "Choose the BEST answer. Which of these words has
three syllables?" This is followed by the following four answer choices and associated
response bubbles: children, flower, holiday, and yellow. The response bubble for "holiday"
is filled in, indicating that it is the correct response.]
Let's look at Fluency and Vocabulary. At kindergarten and grade one, students are asked to read
simple words and sentences and identify the associated pictures. For example, in this
item the student is asked to point to the picture that goes with the words. [Shown on
the screen is the first kindergarten and grade one Fluency and Vocabulary item from the CELDT
Released Test Questions document. The item includes the following sentence in a box:
"The boy kicks." Below this sentence are three drawings of a boy. In the first, he is drawing;
in the second, he is eating; in the third, he is kicking a soccer ball. The directions
read to the student are: "Look at the words. Point to the picture that goes with the words."]
Students are also asked to read simple words out loud; for example, the word "he." [Shown
on the screen is the second kindergarten and grade one Fluency and Vocabulary item from
the CELDT Released Test Questions document. The item shows the word "he." The directions
read to the student are: "Say this word."] In grades two through twelve, students read
and respond to multiple-choice questions about grade-appropriate vocabulary. Here's an example
for grades nine through twelve. Students are asked to identify the word that means the
same or nearly the same as the word "genuine." [Shown on the screen is the grades nine through
or words."] The last component in the Reading domain is
Reading Comprehension. At kindergarten and grade one, students are asked to identify
parts of a book. In this example, the student is asked to point to the front cover of the
Point to the front cover of the book."] In grades two through twelve, students read
passages and respond to multiple-choice comprehension questions. Here's a sample passage and its
associated questions. This one is for grades three through five. [Shown on the screen are
the grades three through five Reading Comprehension passage and items from the CELDT Released
Test Questions document. Included are the directions to students ("Read this story.
Then do numbers one through three."), a one-paragraph passage, and three multiple-choice items,
each with four answer choices with associated bubbles.]
Finally, let's review the CELDT Writing Domain. As you might expect, the Writing domain for
students in kindergarten and grade one is quite different from the Writing domain in
grades two through twelve, so I'll review them separately, starting with kindergarten
and grade one. Three components are included in the kindergarten
and grade one Writing domain: Copying Letters and Words, Writing Words, and Punctuation
and Capitalization. The test is administered individually to students.
For the first two components, Copying Letters and Words and Writing Words, the student writes
his or her response in the Answer Book. Student responses can be scored locally for instructional
decisions, but official scoring is done by the state's CELDT contractor.
For the Punctuation and Capitalization items, the student points to an answer choice, and
the test examiner marks the response in the student's Answer Book.
Let's look first at the Copying Letters and Words component. Here's a sample Copying Letters
item. The student is shown a capital "B," told that it is a "B," and asked to copy the
letter in the box below. Student responses are scored zero or one depending on the accuracy
of the copy made by the student. [Shown on the screen is the first kindergarten and grade
is a box with a capital B in it, and an empty box where the student is to copy the letter.
The directions read to the students are "This is the letter B. Copy the letter B."]
Here's an item asking the student to copy a word. The student is shown the word "now,"
told what it is, and asked to copy the word in the box below. For these kinds of items,
responses are scored from zero to two based on the accuracy of the copy made by the student.
and an empty box where the student is to copy the word. The directions read to the students
are "This is the word now. Copy the word now here."]
In the Writing Words component, there are two types of items. In one item type, as shown
in this sample, the student is shown an object, told its name, and asked to write that word.
the word can here."] In the other item type, shown here, the test
examiner reads aloud a very short passage then asks the student a question about the
passage. The student is asked to write the one word answer to the question. [Shown on
the screen is the second kindergarten and grade one Writing Words item from the CELDT
Released Test Questions document. There is an empty box where the student is to write
a response. The directions read to the students are "Listen to this story. Tom is a funny
cat. Tom likes to sleep in a box. What is Tom? Write one word here."]
Responses to both of these Writing Words item types are scored from zero to two based on
how well the student writes the word. The third kindergarten and grade one Writing
component is Punctuation and Capitalization. For these items, students respond by pointing
to an answer choice. Here's an example capitalization question. The examiner reads the sentence,
then asks the student to point to the word that needs an uppercase or capital letter.
[Shown on the screen is the first kindergarten and grade one Punctuation and Capitalization
item from the CELDT Released Test Questions document. It includes the following sentence:
"Her name is emma" and "emma" is not capitalized. The directions read to the students are "Look
at the sentence. It says: Her name is Emma. Point to the word that needs an uppercase
or capital letter."] In this sample punctuation question, the examiner
reads the sentence, then asks the student to point to the mark that goes at the end
of the sentence. [Shown on the screen is the second kindergarten and grade one Punctuation
unpunctuated sentence: "When will we eat" Below the sentence are a period, a comma,
and a question mark. The directions read to the students are "Look at the sentence. It
says: When will we eat? Look at these marks. Point to the mark that goes at the end of
the sentence."] Let's turn now to the Writing domain at grades
two through twelve. There are three components: Grammar and Structure, Writing Sentences,
and Writing Short Compositions. The test is administered to students in groups.
Students mark their answers in their Answer Books.
For Grammar and Structure, students respond to multiple-choice questions about grammar
and usage. Here's an example. The student is asked to choose the word that best completes
the sentence. [Shown on the screen is the grades nine through twelve Grammar and Structure
that BEST completes the sentence." The sentence provided is "Our pear tree had blank pears
this summer than last year." This is followed by the following three answer choices and
associated response bubbles: fewer, many, and much. The response bubble for "fewer"
is filled in, indicating that it is the correct response.]
For the Writing Sentences component, students look at pictures and write one sentence about
each picture. Here's an example. Responses to these questions are scored after test administration
on a scale from zero to three based on several characteristics. These include the presence
and complexity of a subject and predicate, content, grammar, syntax, vocabulary, spelling,
punctuation, and capitalization. [Shown on the screen is the grades three through five
Sentences item from the CELDT Released Test Questions document. The item has a drawing
of a girl putting fish food into a fish tank. The directions to the students are "Write
a sentence that describes what is happening in the picture."]
For the Writing Short Compositions component, students write a story, paragraph, or short
essay consisting of at least three sentences, in response to a prompt read aloud by the
test examiner about a topic or situation. For example, students might be asked to write
a paragraph about something they would like to learn to do and explain why they want to
learn to do it. Responses to these questions are scored after test administration on a
scale of zero to four based on characteristics including content, grammar, syntax, vocabulary,
spelling, and mechanics. In conclusion, let's recap the main points
of this presentation. The purposes of the CELDT are to identify
English learners, or ELs, determine their English language proficiency levels, and assess
their progress in learning English from year to year.
The CELDT is administered by grade spans, specifically, kindergarten and grade one,
grade two, grades three through five, grades six through eight, and grades nine through
twelve. The CELDT assesses students� English language
proficiency in four domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
The test is based on the California English Language Development Standards.
The Listening domain includes four components: Following Oral Directions, Teacher Talk, Extended
Listening Comprehension, and for kindergarten through grade two only, Rhyming.
The Speaking domain also includes four components: Oral Vocabulary, Speech Functions, Choose
and Give Reasons, and Four-Picture Narrative. The CELDT Reading domain consists of three
components: Word Analysis, Fluency and Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension.
Finally, the CELDT Writing Domain for students in kindergarten and grade one differs quite
a bit from the Writing domain at grades two through twelve.
Three components are included in the kindergarten and grade one Writing domain: Copying Letters
and Words, Writing Words, and Punctuation and Capitalization.
The Writing domain at grades two through twelve includes three components: Grammar and Structure,
Writing Sentences, and Writing Short Compositions. The document called the CELDT Released Test
Questions available on the California Department of Education Web site includes an overview
of the CELDT and eighty Released Test Questions from previous CELDT administrations organized
by grade span and domain. Each question includes the English Language Development standard
addressed, the test component, the scoring method used, and information on student performance.
[Shown on the screen are the front cover of the CELDT Released Test Questions document,
dated January 2011, and the Web site address where it is available: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/el/resources.asp.]
I hope that you have enjoyed and learned from this presentation. There are three other presentations
in this series. Each is shorter than this one. Session Two focuses on which students
are required to take the CELDT. Session Three provides basic information about how the test
is administered, and Session Four describes the CELDT student performance level score
report for both English learners and fluent English proficient students.
Watching all four CELDT Fundamentals sessions will give you a good basic understanding of
the California English Language Development Test.
You can always find additional information about the CELDT at the California Department
of Education's CELDT Web site, and at the Educational Data Systems CELDT Web site, at
the addresses shown here. Educational Data Systems is the state's CELDT contractor. [Shown
on the screen are the California Department of Education CELDT Web site (http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/el/)
and the Educational Data Systems CELDT Web site (http://www.celdt.org/).]