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What is the Early Childhood Literacy Assessment System (ECLAS-2)?

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about the Early Childhood Literacy Assessment System (ECLAS-2):

Who is assessed?
What is the ECLAS-2?
Why is it given?
How are the scores reported?
How are the results used?

For more information, click her to be transferred to the NYC Department of Education website.

Who is assessed?

All students in Kindergarten through Grade 3 take the ECLAS-2. The ECLAS-2 has 2 parts: the ECLAS-2 Kit and E-PAL (Early Performance Assessment in Language Arts) for Grades 2 and 3.> Teachers have the choice to give their students only part of the ECLAS-2 test, depending on the individual performance of the student.

How ECLAS-2 was given for 2004-05:

Kindergarten - All children will be tested with the complete Kit in January and February. The spring administration is optional. In addition, all children will be tested in selected activities in September to determine eligibility for intervention services.
Grade 1 - All children will be tested with the complete Kit two times per year (fall and spring).
Grade 2 - All children will be tested in the Decoding, Reading Accuracy, and Reading Comprehension activities in the fall and spring. In the fall, any child who does not meet the Level 3 Benchmarks in Reading Accuracy and Reading Comprehension will be tested with the complete Kit. In the spring, any child who does not meet the Level 4 Benchmarks in Reading Accuracy and Reading Comprehension will be tested with the complete Kit.
Grade 3 - All children will be tested in the Decoding, Reading Accuracy, and Reading Comprehension activities in the fall and spring. Any child who in the fall does not meet the Level 5 Benchmarks in Reading Accuracy and Reading Comprehension will be tested with the complete Kit. Any child who in the spring does not meet the Level 6 Benchmarks in Reading Accuracy and Reading Comprehension will be tested with the complete Kit.

What is the Assessment?

ECLAS-2 is a tool designed to help early childhood teachers look at each student's progress in learning the skills necessary to read and write. Teachers can then develop an appropriate instructional program for each student. ECLAS-2 Kit activities are administered individually and to groups. The Kit contains a series of activities that measure progress in literacy skills. It looks at student progress in four strands:

Phonemic Awareness - measures the student's sensitivity to the sounds of language and his/her awareness of phonemes.
Phonics - measures the student's understanding of the alphabetic principle and the ability to use letter-sound correspondence as well as larger spelling patterns and conventions to read and spell words.
Reading and Oral Expression - measures the student's knowledge of grade-appropriate vocabulary; the ability to recognize common words by sight; the understanding of how text is organized; the ability to accurately decode text; the ability to comprehend text; the ability to retell a story; and the ability to read text fluently and with expression.
Listening and Writing - measures the student's ability to comprehend oral language; the ability to write with coherence and expression; the knowledge of writing mechanics; and the ability to organize ideas to produce meaningful writing.

Once a Grade 2 student masters Level 5 in the Reading Activity of the ECLAS-2 Kit, progress is also assessed with E-PAL 2. All grade 3 students are assessed with E-PAL 3.

E-PAL 2 is an untimed test. It looks at writing in response to literature and is given over two days (approximately 45 minutes on Day 1 and one hour on Day 2). On the first day, students listen to the teacher read a passage; on the second day, students read a passage. On each day, the students answer two questions: a graphic organizer question and an extended response question. E-PAL 2 responses are used to evaluate how well students understand the stories or articles they have heard or read. It measures how well students express their understanding in writing.
E-PAL 3 is an untimed performance test. It is given over two days (approximately one hour each day). On Day 1, students listen to a passage and on Day 2 they read a passage. On each day, students answer three questions: one graphic organizer question and two open-ended response questions. E-PAL 3 responses are used to evaluate how well students understand stories or articles they have heard or read. It measures how well students express their understanding in writing.

Why is it given?

New York State and New York City have high learning standards that describe what students should know and be able to do. The standards for English Language Arts require students to read, write, and listen for:

Information and understanding
Literary response and expression
Critical analysis and evaluation

Results from the ECLAS Kit and E-PAL for Grades 2 and 3 measure student progress toward meeting these learning standards.

How is the score reported?

For ECLAS-2 Kit, information is reported as having been Mastered or Attempted in 8 levels, which are based on mid-year and end-of-year benchmarks.
For E-PAL 2, students receive a Listening/Writing score, a Reading/Writing score, and a Writing Mechanics score. The Writing Mechanics score is based on the two extended responses. Answers are scored high (3 points), medium (2 points), or low (1 point) for competency. Responses that receive a high score are well written, show an insightful understanding of the text, and respond directly to the passages and questions.
For E-PAL 3, students receive a Listening/Writing score, a Reading/Writing score, and a Writing Mechanics score. The Writing Mechanics score is based on all four extended responses. Answers are scored high (3 points), medium (2 points), or low (1 point) for competency. Responses that receive a high score are well written, show an insightful understanding of the text, and respond directly to the passages and questions.
Parents may learn how their child performed on ECLAS-2 at Parent-Teacher conferences.

How are the test results used?