English Language Services
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ASSESSMENTS FOR CALIFORNIA {ELPAC}
The ELPAC is the successor to the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) as the current required state test for English language proficiency that must be given to students whose primary language is other than English.
State and federal law require that local educational agencies administer a state test of English Language Proficiency (ELP) to eligible students in kindergarten through grade twelve. The California Department of Education (CDE) transitioned from the CELDT to the ELPAC as the state ELP assessment in 2018. The ELPAC is aligned with the 2012 California English Language Development Standards and is comprised of two separate ELP assessments. The ELPAC Initial* is only given once in a student's career, for the initial identification of students as English learners (ELs). The ELPAC Summative** will be given yearly to all English Learners to measure a student's progress in learning English and to identify the student's level of ELP.
*The ELPAC Initial has three possible English Language Proficiency descriptors for students.
- Initial Fluent English Proficient [IFEP] - Students at this level have well developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills.
- Intermediate English Learner - Students at this level have somewhat developed to moderately developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills.
- Novice English Learner - Students at this level have minimally developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) English skills.
For further information on the initial placement levels, you can access the CDE website by CLICKING HERE.
**A student's English Language Proficiency will be reassessed each year utilizing the ELPAC Summative Assessment and reported as one of the following levels.
- Level 4 - English learners at this level have well developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills.
- Level 3 - English learners at this level have moderately developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills.
- Level 2 - English learners at this level have somewhat developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills.
- Level 1 - English learners at this level are at the beginning stage of oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) English skills.
For more information on these levels and their descriptions, please CLICK HERE to access the CDE website.
ELPAC TESTING WINDOW
INITIAL ASSESSMENT WINDOW: July 1 - June 30
Test students whose primary language is other than English within 30 calendar days after first enrolled, or within 60 calendar days before the date of first enrollment in a California public school, but not before July 1.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT WINDOW: February - March
Test all LEP/EL students once a year, during the Summative Assessment window, to measure their progress in learning English until they are reclassified to fluent English proficient {RFEP}.
ELPAC RESULTS
In the month of July/August we will have access to the digital scores for the ELPAC Summative test through the parent portal in PowerSchool. To learn more about your child’s scores, go to the new parent web page called Starting Smarter, available at https://elpac.startingsmarter.org/.
You may also request a paper copy at the District Office by contacting Annette McTighe at [email protected]
If you have further questions regarding the program or testing please contact Student Services Coordinator, Brynn Bourke at [email protected]