THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

David K. Moore, Ed.D.
Supervisor of the Elementary- and Intermediate-Level Testing Program
Office of State Assessment

August 2009

To:    Principals of Secondary Schools
From:    David K. Moore, Ed.D.
Subject:  Procedures for Requesting and Storing the 2009-10 Language Assessment Battery–Revised (LAB–R)

This memorandum provides essential information about the LAB–R. This memorandum and all information in subsequent mailings pertaining to the LAB–R will be posted on the Department’s web site at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/lab-r/. If you have questions concerning the requesting of test materials, or about any of the other information in this memorandum, please call 518-474-8220 for assistance.

Accompanying this memorandum are the School Data Sheet, the Worksheet for Developing Online Requests (DET 1348), the Instructions for Submitting Language Assessment Battery–Revised (LAB–R) Examination Requests Online (DET 1349), and a chart entitled New York State – LEP Identification Process (DET 1350).  

REQUESTING EXAMINATION MATERIALS

All regular and large-type editions of LAB–R must be requested through the Department’s online examination request system. Telephone requests will not be accepted. The Department will accept and enter online on the school’s behalf only requests that are submitted by fax for the braille edition of LAB–R.

You must have a user name and password in order to enter your school’s examination requests online. If you were the principal of the same school during the 2008-09 school year, the expectation is that you have previously been issued a valid user name and password. Use those to log onto the online examination request system. If you do not have a valid user name and password, determine which of the following situations applies to you in order to obtain them.

Specific directions for using the online request system are enclosed with this memorandum. Within two business days after your request has been submitted, you will be sent a confirmation notice via e-mail indicating the number of examinations to be shipped to the school. It is of utmost importance that you carefully check the confirmation notice for accuracy to ensure that the correct quantities of examination materials will be shipped to your school.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LAB-R

Pursuant to Part 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, public and charter schools must administer LAB–R to newly enrolled students who by reason of foreign birth or ancestry speak a language other than English, and who understand and speak little or no English, to determine whether they are limited English proficient (LEP). LAB–R was developed by the New York City Department of Education and has been adopted by the State Education Department for distribution to and use by all schools statewide. Nonpublic schools are encouraged to administer this test for the same purpose. The LAB–R materials to be administered during the 2009-10 school year are the same as those provided to schools for
the 2008-09 school year.

For your information, a chart entitled New York State – LEP Identification Process is enclosed with this memorandum. If you need assistance with the identification of LEP students, please contact your local Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Center (BETAC). Contact information for the BETACs may be found on the Department’s web site at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/biling/bilinged/betac.html.

Unused and reusable materials remaining from the current school year should be stored in a secure location and used as needed in the upcoming school year. Schools that do not expect to have sufficient quantities of LAB–R materials remaining for the upcoming school year should submit requests for additional materials through the online request system.

REQUESTING LAB-R MATERIALS

Initial online requests for LAB–R may be submitted as soon as you have received this memorandum. Request only those quantities of examinations actually needed for administration in the 2009-10 school year. Check the confirmation notice as soon as you receive it so any necessary supplemental requests may be placed by August 21 for delivery of test materials by September 9, 2009.

Telephone requests will not be accepted. The Department will accept and enter online on the school’s behalf only those requests submitted by fax for braille editions of the LAB–R.

Guidelines for requesting specific materials are provided below. A request must be submitted for each school building in which the tests will be administered. The requests for two or more schools in a district should not be combined into one request.

• Regular Test Booklets: Indicate the number of test booklets you will need for each of the five grade bands for the test. Your school will be sent the number of test booklets requested, rounded up to the next multiple of 20.
  
  
• Large-Type Test Materials: Indicate the exact number of students who will need large-type test materials at each grade band for students whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Accommodation Plan (504 Plan) specifically requires this accommodation. Schools may not submit requests for these special editions of LAB–R unless they will be needed for actual administrations. Schools may request these special editions of LAB–R at any time in the future should the need arise.
  

• Braille: The braille edition of LAB–R cannot be requested via the online request system. Braille editions must be requested in a separate letter signed by the principal and faxed to the Department at 518-474-2021. The letter must specify the exact quantity needed for students whose IEP and 504 Plans specifically require this accommodation.
  
  
• Answer Sheets: Templates for schools to use in photocopying hand-scorable answer sheets for the LAB–R are included in the Examiner’s Directions.
  
  
• Examiner’s Directions: The Department will send schools sufficient quantities of the Examiner’s Directions based on the number of tests requested.

SCHEDULING LAB-R

LAB–R should be administered to eligible students within two weeks of their initial enrollment, whether at the beginning of the school year or at any other time. Screening with LAB–R is not necessary if the student’s LEP status is available from his or her previous school and is based on an appropriate standardized test, such as the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), administered during a prior school year.

SHIPPING 2009-10 LAB-R TEST MATERIALS

Materials for LAB–R requested by August 21 will be delivered on or about September 9, 2009. All test shipments will be delivered by UPS between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

OBTAINING ADDITIONAL LAB-R MATERIALS

Principals who find they need additional LAB–R materials after the initial submission may return to the online examination request system throughout the school year to revise or add any supplemental quantities needed. Any supplemental materials requested throughout the school year should arrive at the school 30-60 days after the request has been made.

EXAMINATIONS STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

Every principal requesting State tests must provide any information or affirmations required by the online request system. Your agreement to the security pledge on the first screen indicates that you understand and agree to store all LAB–R materials in a secure storage location as soon as they are received, and access to the test materials must be restricted to ensure that test security is maintained.

The principal of each school requesting LAB–R materials is responsible for making the necessary arrangements to safeguard the test materials delivered to the school. If the building where the tests will be administered does not have a secure location large enough to hold the test materials, arrangements must be made to store the test materials at an alternate location.

When requesting your tests on the online request system, if you indicate that your tests will be stored at an alternate storage location other than that indicated in the shipping information, you will be required to complete the Examination Storage Plan form (DET 1347) available on the online request system, and fax it to the Office of State Assessment at 518-474-2021.

Except for the purpose of taking inventory of the test materials when they are received, secure test materials for the Listening, Reading, and Writing sections of LAB–R may not be removed from the secure storage location until the day scheduled for the administration of that section of the test. The sealed packages of secure test materials must not be opened during the inventory. Since the teachers score the speaking sessions of the test as they are administering them individually to students, teachers must be given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the materials for that part of the test prior to beginning administrations. Principals must caution teachers to safeguard these materials whenever they are outside the secure storage location.

LAB–R is a secure test. No one may make notes of any of the questions from the test. The school principal may authorize school personnel to make photocopies of secure LAB–R test materials should the school’s supply be insufficient, but the principal must ensure that all original and photocopied LAB–R materials are stored in the school’s designated secure location.

The materials for LAB–R remain secure after test administration and should be retained in a secure location in the school for administration to new entrants who enroll in the school later in the school year or in successive school years. LAB–R test materials should not be returned to the Department unless the school expects to have no further use for them.

Enclosures
New York State – LEP Identification Process (DET 1350)
Instructions for Submitting Language Assessment Battery – Revised (LAB–R) Examination Requests Online (DET 1349)
Language Assessment Battery – Revised Worksheet for Developing Online Requests (DET 1348)