Professional Documents
Culture Documents
National University
Chelsea Johnston
Carroll Green
29 January 2019
ASSESSING PROFICIENCY 2
Introduction
“Federal and state laws require that school districts must give a state test to students
whose primary home language is not English” (California Department of Education, 2011). In
California, this test is currently called the California English Language Development Test
Assessments for California (ELPAC). These assessments are designed to identify English
learners, measure their language proficiency in English, and gauge their annual progression.
With the results from these assessments, educators can determine the level of assistance required
All students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, whose primary language is not
English, are required to take the CELDT/ELPAC. The state requires students to have taken their
CELDT/ELPAC assessment within 30 days of starting a California public school and must also
be given a follow-up exam annually until “they have learned the skills in English needed to
mandatory for all students, including English learners with a disability; appropriate
accommodations to the CELDT/ELPAC are to be made for each student. These assessments are
designed to test listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, “based on California English
environment, and without a time cap. Students are encouraged to provide their best effort and are
Currently, the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) is in the process
While the main purpose and even major characteristics of the CELDT and the ELPAC are
similar, there are clear advantages for the conversion. For one, the ELPAC is aligned with more
recent California ELD Standards. This allows for a more accurate assessment that will better aid
in each student’s emerging, expanding, and bridging process in the classroom. While both the
CELDT and the ELPAC are currently paper-pencil tests, the ELPAC has the “potential to
assessment window for the ELPAC will also move up in the year (July 1 – October 31 to
February 1 – May 31), which will allow for more pretest instruction time for the students.
Another change between the CELDT and the ELPAC are the grade spans in which they assess
the students. With the CELDT, there are five versions of the test and five grade spans (K-1, 2, 3-
5, 6-8, and 9-12); with the ELPAC, there are seven tests and grade spans (K, 1, 2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-10,
and 11-12). Depending on what grade span one falls in, determines the exam one will take. Since
the ELPAC has smaller groups in each span, the assessments should be tailored more to better
evaluate the students. These changes may seem minor, but the benefits of them could lead to
more accurate evaluations of the student’s English proficiency levels, create a more effective
way of grading the assessments, and could potentially help better pinpoint the area of concern for
each student.
Both the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) and the English
Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) consist of one or two tests for two
purposes. The first purpose is for the initial identification to see if a child is considered an
ASSESSING PROFICIENCY 4
English learner and their current skill level, while the second purpose is for annual progression
review. By being able to identify the students who are English learners, the students can be
offered the necessary tools to strengthen their English skills. Annually assessing these students
allows for the school to monitor their English learning progression. Educators and administrators
rely on the results of these assessments to allow them to decide what type/how much extra
assistance to provide to their students. Understanding the areas of struggle for these students can
allow for a better altered instruction course to truly benefit the needs of each student. Schools
also rely on the results from these assessments as “one of the four measures to help decide when
2011). Other information used by schools to help decide when students may be reclassified are
results from a statewide basic skill test, teacher evaluations, and parent/guardian input.
Conclusion
“Federal and state laws require that school districts must give a state test to students
whose primary home language is not English” (California Department of Education, 2011).
California currently uses the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) but it is
in the process of transitioning to the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California
(ELPAC). While both of these assessments are designed to identify English learners, measure
their language proficiency in English, and gauge their annual progression, the ELPAC was
intended to enhance the quality of the evaluation to better benefit all English Language Learners.
The results from these assessments allow educators to determine the level of assistance required
to aid each student in their English language proficiency and thus positively impact the education
quality for all English learner students. The CELDT/ELPAC plays an important role in the
success of many students within their school career and better prepares them for their future.
ASSESSING PROFICIENCY 5
Taking the time to understand these assessments can better prepare you as an educator or as a
parent in taking the right steps towards providing students with the best education possible.
ASSESSING PROFICIENCY 6
References
California Department of Education. (2011, December 1). CELDT Information for Parents and
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/el/resources.asp.: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/learn-
us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos/5c06b1fe1ee88/4886554?response-content-
disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-
8%27%27Week%25204%2520Celdt%2520%2520Brochure.pdf&response-content-
type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorit
California Department of Education. (2019, January 30). Comparison of the CELDT to the
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ep/celdtelpaccompare.asp