Spanish Voice Pack Issue with Newer Chromebooks

CAASPP email update, January 12, 2024.

Dear LEA CAASPP Coordinator:

ETS learned that Google has removed the Spanish voice packs from ChromeOS starting with version 119. This means that students cannot use the text-to-speech accessibility resource with Spanish text on a Chromebook running ChromeOS 119 or newer (e.g., ChromeOS 120) for the following assessments:

• Smarter Balanced for Mathematics with dual language support—designated support
• California Spanish Assessment (CSA)—accommodation

The text-to-speech resource for Spanish text is working correctly on devices other than Chromebooks using ChromeOS 119 and newer.

If your LEA is using Chromebooks for testing, please provide the following recommendations to your technology department:

1. Refer to the Supported Operating Systems and Devices web page for a list of currently supported systems. The Google information is in the first row of the table.
2. Install the Spanish voice pack manually on devices that are using ChromeOS 119 or newer and will be used for testing where the text-to-speech in Spanish resource will be needed by taking the following steps:
   1. Enable the option for the "floating accessibility toolbar" in the ChromeOS Admin console. This must be done by the system administrator.
   2. Open the secure browser on the device(s) that need a Spanish voice pack.
   3. Select the new floating toolbar in the right corner of the screen and then select Settings.
   4. Install the Spanish voice pack.
   5. Disable the option for the floating accessibility menu in the ChromeOS Admin console again. This step is required.
3. Assign a small number of devices that require the Spanish voice pack to ChromeOS 114 LTS using the Google Admin console's rollback function . Note that a device will be wiped of all local data during this process. This version of ChromeOS was released on December 8, 2023, and so will continue to receive security updates for six months. Refer to the Google Long-term Support (LTS) on ChromeOS web page for more information.

This issue will be listed on the CAASPP Known Issues web page along with updates, once resolved.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause your LEA.

Sincerely,

California Outreach Team

CAASPP website ELPAC website

Contact Us: California Outreach web page