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English Language Services

ELPAC

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. 

The main uses of the ELPAC data are to:

Help teachers understand their English learner students English proficiency

  1. Reclassify English learners to English proficient
  2. Communicate with parents and guardians their students' progress toward English proficiency  

PARENT GUIDE

PARENT GUIDES TO UNDERSTANDING THE ELPAC ASSESSMENTS CAN BE FOUND ON THE CDE WEBSITE BY CLICKING HERE. 

 

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 be sending home ELPAC Summative Student Score Reports, as we receive them from the California Department of Education (CDE).