Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA)

The Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA) is the state summative test used to determine an English learner’s progress to English proficiency and readiness to exit from the English language development program. The OELPA is aligned to Ohio’s K-12 English Language Proficiency Standards and meets the federal requirement of an annual assessment of English proficiency measuring listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, Ohio schools may administer the Alternate Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (Alt-OELPA) to eligible English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities. The Alt-OELPA is aligned to Ohio’s Learning Standards-Extended for English Language Proficiency. Please visit the Alt-OELPA webpage for more information about Ohio’s alternate assessment of English language proficiency, including student eligibility guidelines.

All English learners in grades K-12 must be included in Ohio’s English language proficiency assessment program annually by taking either the general OELPA or the Alt-OELPA.

Districts may administer the OELPA any time during the test administration window and its four domain tests in any order. The Pre-ID file layout and Pre-ID Guidance Document are posted in the resources section of the test portal.  Please find them by searching for “TIDE Support Documents”. Please use the Pre-ID layout to register students for the appropriate test.

The OELPA is an online test (paper is available for students who cannot test online). Districts will schedule time and provide appropriate equipment to administer the OELPA. Districts that want to use the paper test must submit their order through TIDE and include the reason the student cannot test online. Approval of the order is dependent on the reason.

The Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener (OELPS) is the state test based on the English Language Proficiency Standards designed to identify Ohio students in grades K-12 as English learners. Please visit the OELPS webpage for additional information.

Ohio worked with a group of states led by the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) to develop its English language proficiency assessments. View the ELPA21 FAQ page.

Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessments Portal

The Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessments Portal is the gateway to all systems and resources for the administration of the OELPA. It includes resources for students and families, teachers and test administrators, test coordinators and technology coordinators. OELPA test manuals are located on the test portal:

  • Test Coordinator Manual
  • Test Administration Manual - for online tests only
  • Data Entry Interface User Guide
  • Ohio Accessibility Manual
  • Understanding Results Manual
  • OELPA Constructed Response Rubrics
  • OELPA Accessibility Manual

Although this test portal is available to the public, several systems require users to log in using their account information.

Resources

Training Materials

Last Modified: 4/5/2023 4:22:56 PM