Program Entrance and Placement Test (Initial ELPAC)

PROGRAM ENTRANCE AND PLACEMENT TEST ADMINISTRATION

Based on a non “English” response to one of the HLS questions, if the student is a new enrollee in a public school and has not attended a public school within the United States previously, they should have an EL Placement assessment administered within the first [30] days of the academic school year.  If a student enrolls after the first 30 days then the school should administer the placement assessment with 2 weeks of student enrollment.  [Confirm timeline with state specific requirement.]

For those students who have attended another public school within the United States, their HLS and EL records should immediately be requested from their last school of attendance.  Once obtained and prior to the first [30] days of the academic school year or if a student enrolls after the first [30] days with 2 weeks of student enrollment, equivalent services should be provided immediately.  [Confirm timeline with state specific requirement.]  Additionally, the annual parent notification should be mailed and the student’s annual English Learning Plan [Check with state name/requirement.] meeting should be held.

The following steps should be adhered to:

1.  Any student new enrollee in a public school and has not attended a public school within the United States previously for whom a language other than English is reported on the home language survey or on the registration form as the student's first acquired language or as a language used in the student's home or by the student shall be administered an English language proficiency screener/ placement assessment. The assessment shall be conducted as soon as practicable, but not later than thirty (30) school days after enrollment and shall be conducted by qualified personnel trained in the administration of the assessment instrument. [Enter State Required Timeline Here]

2.  The English language proficiency screener / placement assessment shall be based on the English Language Proficiency Standards for English Learners K to 12 and shall assess listening, speaking, reading and writing. The assessment [Enter State Required Assessment Here], Placement Test shall be validated for this purpose and is approved by the Department of Education for use statewide.

3.   Any student who achieves a score on the English language proficiency assessment that is lower than the eligibility cut off score in listening, speaking, reading and writing established by the Department of Education shall be identified as an EL and shall be entitled to a program of instruction for ELs.

Additionally, the decision to identify a student as an EL should be based on multiple measures including:

1.  [Enter State Required Placement Assessment Here] Placement Test,  grades K and 1-12

2.  [Enter State Annual Assessment Here]

3.      Work Sampling • Grades • Homework and teacher/parent input

Once placement is confirmed based on the English language proficiency assessment results, parents must be notified within 10 days of placement and given the opportunity to deny services. [Refer to State Specific Timeline Here]

If an eligible student was not identified during the EL identification process or if a parent did not accurately report the child's native or home language, all teachers and administers will receive training on how to complete the General Education Referral Sample in Appendix A.  The EL Lead Teacher will review each referral and investigate student and family need for language support services as defined by the process on the General Education Referral Form.

If a language other than English for questions 1-3 from the Home Language Survey is confirmed by the Stride EL Conference Call team, the language proficiency assessment process will start. The newly enrolled student will be given the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) or the Initial Alternate ELPAC within 30 calendar days of enrollment. 

The Initial ELPAC administration window is open from July 1 through June 30.  It must be administered to all eligible “To Be Determined” (TBD) students within the first 30 days of enrollment. The Initial ELPAC is given to students in grades TK–12 whose primary language is not English. It is administered only once during a student’s enrollment in the California public school system.

The Initial ELPAC is administered in six grade spans: TK/K, 1, 2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12.  In transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grade 1, all domains are administered individually.  In grades 2–12, the test can be administered in groups, except for the speaking domain which is assessed one-on-one.

The Initial ELPAC has been designed so that students, including many of those with special needs, can successfully participate in the test and demonstrate what they know and can do. As a result, the test includes accessibility resources that address visual, auditory, and physical access barriers. However, the ELPAC may still not be appropriate for all students with special needs. Students with significant cognitive disabilities whose native language is other than English may be eligible to take the Initial Alternate ELPAC.  The Individualized Education Program (IEP) team of the student will determine if this assessment is appropriate using the California Department of Education’s Alternate Assessment Decision Confirmation Worksheet.

The Initial ELPAC is locally-scored and used to identify which students are initially fluent English proficient (IFEP) or English learners (EL).  EL students qualify for language support & services. Results on the English proficiency assessments will determine a student’s course of study. If the student’s Initial ELPAC score falls within the Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) level, he/she will be placed in a standard instructional program, without the need for English language development services. If the student’s score falls within the Intermediate English Learner OR Novice English Learner levels, he/she will be placed in the appropriate English Language Development (ELD) program or course, as depicted below.

Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP): Students at this level have well developed oral & written English skills. They can use English to learn and communicate in meaningful ways. They may occasionally need help using English.

Intermediate English Learner (EL): Students at this level have somewhat to moderately developed oral & written English skills. They may sometimes be able to use English to learn and communicate in meaningful ways.  They may need some help to communicate about familiar topics in English and more help on less familiar topics.

Novice English Learner (EL): Students at this level are beginning to develop oral & written English skills. They may be able to use known words and phrases to communicate meaning at a basic level. They may need substantial help using English.

Once placement is confirmed based on the English language proficiency assessment results, parents must be notified within 30 days of placement and given the opportunity to deny instructional services. 

INITIAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ASSESSMENT FOR CALIFORNIA (ELPAC) PROCESS

Who is given an Initial ELPAC

Within 30 calendar days of initial enrollment, students with the following three criteria will be administered an Initial ELPAC to determine an English Language Acquisition (ELA) status:

• • • Be enrolling in a CA public school for the first time and have NO existing SSID.  

    • Have a primary language other than English on the Home Language Survey (HLS) in the Student Information System (SIS) or TVS.

    • Be assigned an English language acquisition status (ELAS) of TBD (To Be Determined) in CALPADS.

Before Administrating the Initial ELPAC

The ELD Coordinator​ will:

• • • Ensure all Initial ELPAC proctors are set up in TOMS as test examiners and are trained appropriately through Moodle.

    • Add students needing an Initial ELPAC to the Initial ELPAC Tracker Google Doc and assign a test proctor for the student.

    • Contact the special education teacher for accommodations, when needed.

    • For Alternate Initial ELPACs: Notify alternate proctor using the ELPAC Alternate Proctor Template email, and attach ELPAC Proctor training documents and student demographic information, as well as cc the HR teacher.

    • Verify that the assigned proctor has completed the ELPAC Proctor training and Moodle course prior to the test session.

After Administrating the ELPAC

Test Proctors will: 

• Complete the assigned testing within 10 days of it being added to the Initial ELPAC Tracker Google Doc.

• Submit speaking scores into the Data Entry Interface (DEI) on www.elpac.org .

• Update the Initial ELPAC Tracker Google Doc with all test information and updated testing status

ELD Coordinator will:

• • • Check to make sure test shows complete in TOMS and scores have been inputted by the test proctor into the DEI.

    • Score grades 3-12 writing answers in the Teacher Hand Scoring System (THSS).

    • Pull Initial ELPAC scores from TOMS.

    • Follow the notification and documentation steps listed in the table below.

ONGOING EL STUDENT PLACEMENT AND WITHDRAWL

Every Friday, the ELD Coordinator will:

1.      Download and save a copy of the ELD Tracker (place date in the file name)

2.      Filter for unassigned Title 1 Teachers (blank fields) = Newly Enrolled/Identified Students

a.      Assign ELD Teacher in Total View and indicate in ELD Tracker downloaded spreadsheet

b.      Send Annual Parent Notification Letter through Total View

c.      Highlight newly enrolled/identified students in green

3.      V-Look up last week’s and the current week’s ELD Tracker by SID#

a.      Highlight withdraws in red

4.      Save the updates

5.      Upload the current week’s ELD Tracker into the ELD Collaborative Team Drive

 IQ ENGLISH LEARNER STUDENT PLACEMENT PROCEDURES

1. As students are enrolled at IQ, the CALPADS/Pathways Team indicates which are English learners on the Student Demographic Research sheet.

2. The ELD Department enrolls the student into the ELD program, indicating the ESL status in Total View and the English Learner status in Pathways/SIS, which will flag the student on our EL Master List.

3. The ELD Coordinator will highlight the students in green notifying the ELD Specialist to add the student to their roster and send out the welcome letter and schedule the student for the next week. 

4. Based on previous ELPAC scores received, a review of available student records, the ELD Department assigns the student to an ELD Specialist in Total View based on his/her language proficiency and grade level, then notifies the ELD Specialist that the student is pending placement in their CC session.

Monthly Records Check by the ELD Coordinator:

1.      V-look up current week’s ELD tracker with the EL Master List for:

a.      Active EL ML

b.      RFEP MON

2.      Ensure that Total View/OMNI records have correct ELAS

3.      Remove students from the EL Master List Active EL ML or RFEP MON tab once records are confirmed to be correct.

DOCUMENTING ENGLISH LEARNER SERVICES

The ELD Administrative Assistant(s) will file the parent letter and student score sheet (SSR) in the student's cumulative folder and file an electronic version of the SSR into the ELD archives.

When a student begins service, a start date for EL service should be entered on the student’s individual record.  If the student begins receiving service, but is withdrawn from services after parent notification (see below), the start date should be indicated as parent withdrawn with the date the school received written parent notification. A start date for ELs receiving EL services must be documented annually. A start date is entered indicating when the student began to receive EL services. The start date should be the first day upon which the student received instruction in an EL program. It is not permissible to simply enter the first day of school if the student did not receive EL services the first day of school.