Reporting Overall Performance on ELPAC Interim Assessments

In addition to a scale score, a performance level is provided for each student. Those performance levels describe how student performance relates to standards of student performance provided in the 2017–18 Summative English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) standard setting study.

The California Department of Education (CDE) made a decision after the standard setting study to report three performance levels by combining Somewhat Developed and Moderately Developed into a single classification called Somewhat to Moderately Developed. The performance levels for the ELPAC Interim Assessments are described as the following:

  • Beginning to Develop
  • Somewhat to Moderately Developed
  • Well Developed

Detailed information about this study can be found in the Standard-Setting Technical Report for the Summative English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (CDE, 2018a) and in the Summative Threshold Score Validation Study (CDE, 2018b).

The minimum scale scores that correspond to the Somewhat to Moderately Developed threshold and the Well Developed threshold for each grade level are provided by domain in table 1 through table 4. The Beginning to Develop performance level ranges from the minimum possible scale score on the assessment to the score point below the Somewhat to Moderately Developed scale scores listed.

Table 1 presents the grade-level thresholds for the Listening domain.

Table 1. Minimum Scale Scores for Listening Performance Levels
Grade Level Listening—Somewhat to Moderately Developed Listening—Well Developed
K 1365 1484
1 1385 1476
2 1400 1514
3 1422 1532
4 1422 1532
5 1435 1601
6 1438 1612
7 1459 1673
8 1459 1673
9 1454 1734
10 1454 1734
11 1486 1752
12 1486 1752

Table 2 presents the grade-level thresholds for the Listening domain.

Table 2. Minimum Scale Scores for Speaking Performance Levels
Grade Level Speaking—Somewhat to Moderately Developed Speaking—Well Developed
K 1398 1475
1 1425 1509
2 1422 1508
3 1441 1500
4 1448 1515
5 1454 1500
6 1454 1517
7 1454 1517
8 1461 1531
9 1469 1519
10 1469 1519
11 1466 1516
12 1466 1516

Table 3 presents the grade-level thresholds for the Reading domain.

Table 3. Minimum Scale Scores for Reading Performance Levels
Grade Level Reading—Somewhat to Moderately Developed Reading—Well Developed
K 1329 1506
1 1418 1503
2 1434 1575
3 1473 1575
4 1487 1596
5 1493 1596
6 1529 1604
7 1529 1604
8 1539 1604
9 1530 1622
10 1530 1622
11 1545 1654
12 1545 1654

Finally, table 4 presents the grade-level thresholds for the Writing domain.

Table 4. Minimum Scale Scores for Writing Performance Levels
Grade Level Writing—Somewhat to Moderately Developed Writing—Well Developed
K 1358 1419
1 1407 1536
2 1431 1534
3 1439 1539
4 1464 1556
5 1476 1576
6 1464 1571
7 1475 1594
8 1475 1630
9 1505 1661
10 1505 1661
11 1506 1631
12 1506 1631

Standard Error of Measurement

Each test score reflects a combination of both student skill and factors unrelated to that skill. Unrelated factors can include the sample of items included on the assessment, the student’s mental or emotional state on the testing day, the student’s luck in choosing more correct answers than incorrect answers when guessing, the conditions under which the student took the assessment, and many others.

The standard error of measurement (SEM) is an evaluation of the degree to which a student’s test score is expected to change across administrations of parallel test forms because of unrelated factors. The SEM is useful in describing a range for which a student’s actual level of skill is likely. The SEM is accounted for in the student test results by the error bands. The error band indicates a statistical range of scores that the student would theoretically achieve if they were to take the assessment multiple times.