ELPAC - English Language Proficiency Assessments for California Initial vs. Summative ELPAC Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student who has never been enrolled in a California public school before registers for classes in August. The Home Language Survey indicates that a language other than English is spoken at home. According to state and federal law, which of the following actions must the district take?
- Administer the Summative ELPAC to establish a baseline score for the year.
- Wait until the spring testing window to administer any ELPAC test.
- Administer the Initial ELPAC within 30 calendar days of the student's first enrollment. (Correct answer)
- Enroll the student directly into English Language Development services without testing.
Correct answer: Administer the Initial ELPAC within 30 calendar days of the student's first enrollment.
State and federal law require that a local educational agency (LEA) administers the Initial ELPAC to potentially eligible students within 30 calendar days of their first enrollment in a California public school to determine if they are English learners.
Question 2: What is the primary purpose of the Summative ELPAC?
- To provide an initial identification of a student as either an English learner or as initially fluent English proficient.
- To measure the annual progress a student is making in acquiring English language proficiency. (Correct answer)
- To serve as the sole criterion for determining a student's eligibility for special education services.
- To screen all new students enrolling in a California public school for the first time.
Correct answer: To measure the annual progress a student is making in acquiring English language proficiency.
The Summative ELPAC is administered annually to students already identified as English learners to measure their progress in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing, and to determine their current English language proficiency level.
Question 3: A student was identified as an English learner (EL) after taking the Initial ELPAC in the previous school year. Which ELPAC assessment will this student take during the statewide testing window in the spring?
- The Initial ELPAC again, to confirm their EL status.
- The Alternate ELPAC, as it is the next step after the Initial.
- Neither, as a student is only tested once with the ELPAC.
- The Summative ELPAC, to measure their yearly progress. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The Summative ELPAC, to measure their yearly progress.
Once a student is identified as an English learner through the Initial ELPAC, they are required to take the Summative ELPAC each year thereafter until they are reclassified as fluent English proficient.
Question 4: The results from which assessment are a primary component used by districts, along with other criteria, to determine if a student can be reclassified from English Learner (EL) to Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP)?
- Summative ELPAC (Correct answer)
- Initial ELPAC
- California Alternate Assessment (CAA)
- A locally developed reading assessment
Correct answer: Summative ELPAC
A student's performance on the Summative ELPAC, specifically achieving an Overall Performance Level of 4, is the first criterion districts use when considering a student for reclassification to RFEP.
Question 5: Which of the following statements correctly distinguishes between the Initial and Summative ELPAC?
- The Initial ELPAC is administered annually, while the Summative ELPAC is administered only once.
- The Initial ELPAC is used for identification purposes, while the Summative ELPAC is used for measuring annual progress and for federal accountability. (Correct answer)
- Only the Initial ELPAC assesses the four domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
- Parents can opt their children out of the Summative ELPAC, but not the Initial ELPAC.
Correct answer: The Initial ELPAC is used for identification purposes, while the Summative ELPAC is used for measuring annual progress and for federal accountability.
The Initial ELPAC's function is to identify English learners. The Summative ELPAC is administered annually to measure progress and its results are used for state and federal accountability. Both assessments cover the four domains, and parents cannot opt their child out of either required assessment.
Question 6: A school administrator needs to determine if a newly enrolled third-grade student, whose family speaks Spanish at home, requires English learner services. Which assessment is the correct tool for this purpose?
- The Summative ELPAC, administered at the end of the school year.
- A diagnostic reading inventory selected by the classroom teacher.
- The Initial ELPAC, administered shortly after enrollment. (Correct answer)
- The Smarter Balanced Assessment for English Language Arts.
Correct answer: The Initial ELPAC, administered shortly after enrollment.
The purpose of the Initial ELPAC is to identify newly enrolled students who may be English learners and determine if they need support to learn English. It must be given once upon a student's first enrollment in a California school when their home language is not English.
ELPAC - English Language Proficiency Assessments for California Initial vs. Summative ELPAC Questions and Answers 1
A student who has never been enrolled in a California public school before registers for classes in August.
The Home Language Survey indicates that a language other than English is spoken at home.
According to state and federal law, which of the following actions must the district take?