TELPAS Target Audience 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal law most directly mandates that Texas assess English Language Learners with TELPAS?
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (Correct answer)
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
- Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act
Correct answer: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
ESSA requires states to annually assess the English language proficiency of all ELLs in grades K–12, which Texas fulfills through TELPAS.
Question 2: A student whose Home Language Survey indicates a language other than English is spoken at home must next undergo which process to determine TELPAS eligibility?
- An English language proficiency assessment to determine if the student is an ELL (Correct answer)
- Automatic enrollment in TELPAS without further testing
- A parent interview conducted in the home language
- A teacher observation period of 30 school days
Correct answer: An English language proficiency assessment to determine if the student is an ELL
After the Home Language Survey flags a non-English home language, students must be assessed to formally determine whether they qualify as ELLs and thus participate in TELPAS.
Question 3: TELPAS assesses English learners across four language domains. Which domain is assessed for ALL grade levels, including pre-K?
- Listening and Speaking (Correct answer)
- Reading only
- Writing only
- Reading and Writing
Correct answer: Listening and Speaking
Listening and Speaking are assessed across all TELPAS grade levels, including pre-kindergarten students.
Question 4: A parent refuses to have their child participate in TELPAS. What does Texas policy require in this situation?
- The district must document the refusal and the student still counts as a non-participant in accountability (Correct answer)
- The student is immediately reclassified as FEP
- The parent refusal fully exempts the student from ELL identification
- The district may ignore the refusal and test the student anyway
Correct answer: The district must document the refusal and the student still counts as a non-participant in accountability
Texas districts must document parental refusals; the student remains identified as an ELL but is recorded as a non-participant, which can affect accountability ratings.
Question 5: For accountability purposes under ESSA, TELPAS results for ELLs are reported in which of the following ways?
- As part of the English Language Proficiency indicator in the state accountability system (Correct answer)
- Separately from all other state assessments with no impact on school ratings
- Only aggregated at the district level, not at the campus level
- Only for students who have been in U.S. schools for more than three years
Correct answer: As part of the English Language Proficiency indicator in the state accountability system
TELPAS results feed into the English Language Proficiency progress indicator, which is part of Texas's ESSA-required state accountability system.
Question 6: Which group of students in Texas public schools is TELPAS specifically designed to measure?
- Students identified as English Language Learners (ELLs) who are receiving language support services (Correct answer)
- All bilingual students regardless of proficiency level
- Immigrant students only, regardless of language background
- Students scoring below grade level on the STAAR
Correct answer: Students identified as English Language Learners (ELLs) who are receiving language support services
TELPAS is designed exclusively for students formally identified as English Language Learners who are receiving ESL or bilingual education services.
Question 7: How many proficiency level descriptors does TELPAS use to classify a student's English language development?
- Four levels: Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced High (Correct answer)
- Three levels: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced
- Five levels: Entering, Emerging, Developing, Expanding, and Bridging
- Six levels aligned to CEFR: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2
Correct answer: Four levels: Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced High
TELPAS uses four proficiency levels—Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced High—to describe a student's English language development.
TELPAS Target Audience 3
Which federal law most directly mandates that Texas assess English Language Learners with TELPAS?