January MLL Newsletter

Assessment Updates - Presentation

• The ELPAC Criteria 1 Report is a new tool for California local educational agencies (LEAs) to identify English Learner (EL) students who have met the first criterion for reclassification. This new report, available in the Test Operations and Management System (TOMS), specifically helps identify students who have achieved an Overall Performance Level of 4 on the Summative ELPAC or an Overall Performance Level of 3 on the Summative Alternate ELPAC. Achieving this score means the student is eligible to be evaluated for the remaining reclassification criteria (teacher evaluation, parent consultation, and comparison of basic skills).

• The California Spanish Assessment is up and running! This Assessment has the potenital to give LEAs essential, asset-based data on students’ home-language literacy, allow districts to make more accurate placement decisions, evaluate the effectiveness of bilingual and ELD programs, and strengthen equity by recognizing students’ full academic abilities—not just what shows up on English-only assessments. In September 2025, the California State Board of Education approved the use of threshold level 3 on the high school CSA to meet, in part, the requirements of the State Seal of Biliteracy Students can meet requirements in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12.

English Language Development Compendium - Presentation

• The ELD Compendium is the state’s clearest guide to what effective and compliant ELD must look like—using it helps us make better decisions, support teachers, strengthen EL outcomes, and ensure our practices align with the law and the EL Roadmap. View it here

English Learners and the 2025 Dashboard - Presentation

• The CDE published the 2025 California School Dashboard and corresponding data files on DataQuest on November 13, 2025. Informational materials that help explain the data reported on the 2025 Dashboard are accessible on the Dashboard Communications Toolkit web page and on this DataQuest update issue #27. Additional supporting reports are available on the School Dashboard Additional Reports and Data web page. It is important for ML program leaders to understand which students are included under each indicator and analyze data specifically for EL and LTEL student groups.

ELPAC Updates: Accessibility Resources

• The updated graphics for 2025–26 and are now available on the ELPAC Accessibility Resources web page. These graphics provide a one-page PDF quick reference for the embedded and non-embedded universal tools, designated support, and accommodations allowed in the ELPAC system. They are available for the ELPAC Computer-based and the ELPAC Paper-Pencil assessments. The ELPAC Student Needs Matching Tool for the 2025-26 school year has also been updated. The quick reference guide is designed to help educators and individualized education program teams identify appropriate designated supports and accommodations for students in the classroom and on the ELPAC. This document categorizes the available designated support and accommodations into groups according to the needs of a student. For more details regarding accessibility resources, visit the CDE Student Accessibility Resources web page.

State Seal of Biliteracy - Presentation

• California awarded the highest ever number of State Seals of Biliteracy during the 2024–25 school year. Complete participation data, including numbers by county and LEA, are available on the CDE State Seal of Biliteracy web page under the “Data” tab. The State Seal of Biliteracy is one of the options a local educational agency may select for the College/Career Indicator for high schools. 

• To participate in the State Seal of Biliteracy and ensure your data is included in the statewide results: 

  • Request seals through the online Insignia Request Form, available on the CDE State Seal of Biliteracy web page under the “Insignia Requests” tab. Most districts request seals in the spring once they have identified eligible students. You will receive a confirmation email when submitting the form. Please order seals at least four weeks prior to the earliest graduation date to allow time to mail insignias and to affix them to diplomas or transcripts. If the seals have not arrived within two weeks of submitting a form, please contact the CDE MSD at SEAL@cde.ca.gov.

  • Indicate which students earned the State Seal of Biliteracy when exiting students in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). 

• The State Seal of Biliteracy requirements have not changed for 2026 graduates. Please share State Seal of Biliteracy information with students, families, administrators, world language teachers, counselors and other staff early and often so that students will have the opportunity to fulfill the requirements before graduation. Resources below are available under the Resources tab on the State Seal of Biliteracy web page:

  • Flyer to help students track their progress

  • Requirements Flyer in English and Spanish - For additional languages, join the CA Educators Together Seal of Biliteracy group

  • State Seal of Biliteracy webinar for an overview of the program and the process to participate

  • State Seal of Biliteracy Implementation Guide for everything needed to start a program or expand an existing program

  • And much more!

Together, we can ensure more students, especially those who bring the asset of a home language other than English with them to California schools, earn the seal!