Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA)
Overview. The Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA) is the state summative test that assesses an English learner’s progress to English proficiency and readiness to exit from the English language development program. All public schools and participating chartered nonpublic schools administer the OELPA annually to students identified as English learners in grades kindergarten through high school (Ohio Administrative Code 3301-13-11(A)(2)). The OELPA is aligned to Ohio’s English Language Proficiency Standards and meets the state and federal requirements for an annual assessment of English proficiency measuring listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Schools may administer the Alternate Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (Alt-OELPA) to eligible English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities in grades kindergarten through high school whose IEP teams have determined the alternate assessment is appropriate. Please visit the Alt-OELPA webpage for information.
Federal and state laws require all English learners to be administered the OELPA or Alt-OELPA annually, and these summative tests are required in addition to Ohio’s State Tests in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
Administration. Districts and schools may administer the OELPA’s four domain tests in any order and at any time during the test window. The OELPA is an online test, but paper test forms are available to accommodate students, districts, and schools who cannot test online. Districts and schools requiring paper tests (paper-pencil, large-print, or braille test) must submit their order through the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) and include the reason the online test cannot be used. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce’s (Department's) approval of the order is dependent on the reason.
OELPS. The Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener (OELPS) is the state test designed to identify Ohio students in grades kindergarten through high school as English learners. Please visit the OELPS webpage for additional information.
ELPA21. Ohio works with a group of states led by English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) to develop and maintain its English language proficiency assessments.
Current News
For important updates and announcements about the OELPA, please visit the Announcements page of Ohio’s English Language Proficiency Tests Portal. Additionally, educators may wish to subscribe to the District Test Coordinator Bulletin to receive monthly updates from the Office of Assessment about the state assessments.
Ohio English Language Proficiency Tests Portal
Ohio’s English Language Proficiency Tests Portal is the gateway to state test administration systems and resources for:
The Department's vendor, Cambium Assessment, Inc., maintains the test portal. Answers to frequently asked questions on a variety a topics are on the test portal.
Although this test portal is available to the public, several systems require users to log in using their account information.
TIDE for Test Administrators
The Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) is a secure online system used by districts and schools to manage administrative tasks related to Ohio’s statewide assessments, including the OELPA. Districts and schools must register (preidentify) all students being administered the OELPA in TIDE prior to testing. Refer to the
TIDE User Guide for information about registering students for testing and updating student test settings.
Pre-identification in TIDE. The
Ohio Pre-ID File Layout and
Guidance Document for Ohio Pre-ID Files are on the portal's
TIDE Support Documents page to help schools register students for the test in TIDE.
Resources on the Test Portal
Most of the following resources are posted on Ohio’s English Language Proficiency Tests Portal. This Portal Resources Tutorial Video demonstrates how to search for and locate resources on the test portal’s Resources tab.
The following list of resources supporting the OELPA administration are grouped in the categories below:
Note: Although most information remains consistent from year to year, the Department and Cambium Assessment update many of the resources below during the months preceding each test administration.
Planning the Test Administration
These documents provide district test coordinators and test administrators with a month-by-month timeline and task checklist to prepare for the OELPA administration.
District Test Coordinator Checklist
The District Test Coordinator Checklist is Appendix D of the OELPA Test Coordinator Manual.
Test Administrator Checklist
The Test Administrator Checklist is Appendix E of the OELPA Test Coordinator Manual.
Manuals, User Guides and Administration Documents
The OELPA Test Coordinator Manual (TCM) explains the policies and procedures for test administration. District test coordinators and building test coordinators must review this manual prior to the test administration and refer to it during staff training.
The OELPA Test Administration Manual (TAM) guides test administrators through the online administration of the OELPA’s four domain tests. It contains general information about the OELPA, log-in directions for test administrators and students, detailed instructions on administering each domain test, and the script test administrators read aloud to students. Test administrators must review this manual prior to testing and refer to it during testing.
The Department offers translated test directions for the online OELPA, available in both audio and text formats, to assist students who may benefit from instructions in their native language. The translated directions are verbatim reproductions of the scripted test directions in the OELPA Test Administration Manual. Audio track number annotations in the test administration manual help the test administrator know which track to play. The translations include Arabic, (Simplified) Chinese, Marshallese, Russian, S’gaw Karen, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
The accessibility manual is a comprehensive policy document providing information about the accessibility features of the OELPS and the OELPA. It explains the administrative considerations, universal tools, designated supports, accommodations, and domain exemption policies for the OELPS and OELPA.
Directions for Administration Manual for Paper-Pencil Tests
The Directions for Administration (DFA) guides the administration of the OELPA paper tests (paper-pencil, large-print, and braille). The DFA is a secure document and is not posted on the test portal. It is delivered with the paper test materials and must be returned to the vendor after testing. Test administrators must review this manual prior to testing and refer to it during testing.
This user guide is for individuals administering the OELPA paper tests (paper-pencil, large-print, and braille). The guide includes step-by-step instructions for submitting student responses and scores into the Response Entry.
SCORING AND REPORTING
Speaking Local Scoring Document
The paper-pencil and large-print forms of the OELPA speaking test are designed to be scored by test administrators. The Speaking Local Scoring Document includes the rubrics needed to score the student’s spoken responses. The document lists the items that are to be scored and includes instructions on scoring responses and entering scores to the Response Entry (RE). The document is secure and is not posted on the test portal. It is delivered with paper test materials and must be returned to the vendor after testing.
This tutorial explains how to score the OELPA speaking tests from the paper-pencil and large-print formats. Test administrators administering OELPA paper tests should review this tutorial. As students respond to each speaking test question, test administrators assign scores and record the scores in the Response Entry.
These rubrics present the scoring criteria for students’ constructed responses in the speaking and writing domain tests of the OELPA. Constructed-response items require students to speak or write (i.e., construct) a response. There are no writing rubrics for kindergarten and grade 1 since the writing test for these grades does not include constructed-response items.
The ALDs describe the skills and processes that students demonstrate in language development at each tested grade band and in each language domain (listening, reading, speaking, and writing)
The manual helps district and school staff by defining and explaining elements of the OELPA score reports and what the results mean for their students. It describes the various reports that can be generated from the Centralized Reporting System, including individual student reports.
This document provides district test coordinators with directions for submitting rescore and verification requests for the OELPA. Please review this document before submitting these requests.
These reports provide comprehensive documentation of the OELPA test development process, test administration, and statewide results.
Training
This course provides step-by-step instructions for starting a test session in the Test Administrator Interface, marking student test settings, approving students to test, and monitoring a test session. The Department encourages all test administrators to complete the course annually to prepare for the OELPA. The course applies to all state tests accessed from the test portals. The companion document offers Ohio-specific information and clarifications. Please review the companion in conjunction with the Certification Course.
This user guide explains how to use the Test Administrator Interface and Test Administrator Practice Site to proctor operational and practice tests online. It provides detailed instructions on preparing for and administering tests, including account setup in TIDE, security protocols, test session management, the login process for test administrators and students, and the built-in accessibility features for students.
Webinars offer general and detailed information about the OELPA and can be useful for training staff to administer the OELPA.
System Resources
These resources help district and school staff complete test administration tasks in TIDE. The support documents include resources, such as:
- TIDE User Guide
- TIDE Training Modules
- TIDE Tutorial
- Ohio Pre-ID File Layout
These resources help district and school staff access test results and generate score reports in the CRS and include resources such as:
- CRS User Guide
- CRS Quick Guide
- CRS Training Modules
- Students Results Data File Layouts
Technology coordinators and test coordinators should refer to the Tech Guide on the Technology Coordinators page of the portal for technical specifications, including how to use the online systems, set up workstations, and administer the online tests with the secure browser.
Resources on the Department Website
Note: Although most information remains consistent from year to year, the Department and Cambium Assessment update many of the resources below during the months preceding each test administration.
A student’s OELPA results determine whether the student is eligible to continue as an English learner or is proficient and ready to exit the English language development program. These criteria explain Ohio’s standardized requirements for exiting English learner status.
This one-page document presents estimated test times to administer the OELPA domain tests by grade band. These estimates are for students’ time only.
This resource answers the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) received by the Department about the OELPA.
This one-page document presents the number of tasks and test questions by grade band for each OELPA domain test: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The translated OELPA Family Report templates are in the state’s most common home languages, as reported by Ohio schools. The Department provides the translated templates to help districts and schools notify parents and guardians about students’ achievement on the OELPA.
This page states the test administration window for the OELPA, as well as other state tests.
Important Links
Last Modified: 2/6/2026 10:39:07 AM