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ELL Testing: ELPA21/TIDE and Instruction Document

ELL Testing: ELPA21/TIDE

Teacher Machines

According to The TN Cambium Portal, Test Administrators (TA) need a computer running, “Nearly any modern device, including mobile devices like tablets and phones, with any modern browser can be used to access the TA Interface and administer a testing session. The TA Interface is a website. Any device you already use to check your email, browse Facebook, read news articles, or watch YouTube should be capable of administering tests.”

Access to other CAI systems requires the use of one of the following supported web browsers:

  • Chrome 138 or higher

  • Firefox 138 or higher

  • Edge 138 or higher

  • Safari 17 or higher

Your teacher leased laptops have macOS, with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari installed. If you think you need Edge, it’s in Self Service under the Connecting (Web Browsers, Messaging, etc.) section.

Student Machines

Student machines' requirements are listed here. At the bottom of that page includes hardware allowed. If you use external mice or keyboards with your Chromebooks, some are NOT allowed!

Please note, student Chromebook devices without a USB charger have experienced AUP and cannot run the minimum required version of ChromeOS for this test. If it doesn't have a USB-C charger, it cannot be fixed/repaired to work with this test. 

A USB-C type charger looks like this:

USB-C Charge cable.

Note

A PDF version of the TIDE User Guide is available from the Resources page of the TN ELPA21 Portal.

Vocabulary Terms

While most of this is understandable by educators, the public may be confused by the amount of acronyms. Here are some definitions.

  • ELL: English Language Learners
  • ELPA21: ELPA stands for English Language Proficiency Assessment. The 21 stands for the Twenty-First century. The assessment was created to assist English learners and their instructors. The ELPA 21 website offers more information.
  • Self Service: we use Jamf’s Self Service to distribute software. An icon in the teacher’s Dock of their Mac looks like the PCSS torch. Teachers can access new programs, information, and configure printers with the click of a button.
  • TIDE: Test Information Distribution Engine. TIDE is a property of Cambium Assessment, Inc. 

ELPA21 Instruction Documents

Documentation

The Testing Document contains general instructions to assist with the first time testing on the ELPA-21 platform, such as checking your version of ChromeOS on your Chromebook, launching the application for the first time, selecting the state, and how to run various diagnostic checks.

The ELPA 21 We Chose The Wrong State document provides instruction if the selected state was not Tennessee.