ELPAC - English Language Proficiency Assessments for California
The ELPAC is the state-mandated assessment that measures a student’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English.
Initial ELPAC
Students whose home language is other than English as determined by the Home Language Survey will be assessed with the Initial ELPAC within 30 calendar days of enrollment. This is administered only once in a student's academic career.
Parents receive a student score report that identifies the student’s overall performance level in English and the development of his/her oral and written language skills.
Students are designated one of the following:
- Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP)
- Intermediate English Learner (I)
- Novice English Learner (N)
For more information on the three performance levels, click here.
Summative ELPAC
Each English learner will be assessed annually with the Summative ELPAC during the assessment window to determine their progress in acquiring English. English learners are administered the Summative ELPAC each year until they are Reclassified.
There are 4 performance levels of the Summative ELPAC:
- Level 1 - Minimally Developed
- Level 2 - Somewhat Developed
- Level 3 - Moderately Developed
- Level 4 - Well Developed
For more information on the four performance levels, click here.
Alternate ELPAC
The Alternate ELPAC is used to measure how well students in Kindergarten through grades 12, including students through 21 years of age, understand English when it is not their primary language. This test is designed for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are English learners and/or potential English learners. The IEP team determines whether a student is eligible for this alternate assessment.
TELL (Test of English Language Learning)
District EL Proficiency Benchmark
English learners in grades 1-12 are also administered the Test of English Language Learning (TELL) throughout the academic year to monitor their language development. It is an interactive, engaging, and performance task-oriented assessment that measures both social and academic English. Results are immediately available. Teachers and administrators use this student data to plan and target ELD instruction.
ELPAC, TELL & CA ELD Standards Proficiency Levels
In order to analyze and interpret the district's ELPAC and TELL student data, the Multilingual Programs Department has created the below visual in order to illustrate the connections between our language proficiency assessments and the CA English language development proficiency levels.
