Appendix A—Glossary

Accommodations

Accommodations are resources documented in a student’s IEP or Section 504 plan that an eligible student uses regularly in the classroom for instruction and/or assessment(s) and that are either (1) utilized in the assessment environment, or (2) consist of changes in procedures or materials that increase equitable access to the assessment. Accommodations may not fundamentally alter the comparability of test scores.

Administration

An administration is an eligible student’s attempt to take any part of the Initial (English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC), Initial Alternate ELPAC, Summative ELPAC, or Summative Alternate ELPAC.

Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (Alternate ELPAC)

The Alternate ELPAC is an assessment used to measure ELP for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who have been identified as eligible in their IEP.

Blueprint—Alternate ELPAC

The Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessments for California Test Blueprint follows a single test blueprint for the Initial and Summative Alternate ELPAC, as described in the High-Level Test Design for the Alternate ELPAC.

Blueprint—Initial ELPAC

The Test Blueprints for the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California outlines the specific California ELD Standards tested and the number of questions included within each domain of the ELPAC for each grade level and grade span from K–12.

Blueprint—Summative ELPAC

The Summative English Language Proficiency Assessments for California outlines the specific California ELD Standards tested and the number of questions included within each domain of the Summative ELPAC for each grade level and grade span from K–12.

California Educator Reporting System (CERS)

CERS is California’s online educator reporting system. CERS provides teachers and schools with assessment results to help guide instruction.

California English Language Development (ELD) Standards, 2012

The 2012 California English Language Development Standards describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities in English that are expected at exit from each proficiency level by English learner students. Links to the ELD Standards are available on the ELD Standards web page.

ELD Connectors are aligned to the 2012 CA ELD Standards. They are reduced in depth, breadth, and complexity for this student population. The ELD Connectors for the Alternate ELPAC document is available on CDE website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ep/documents/eldconnectorsaltelpac.docx.

Composite Score

A composite score is the average of two or more other scores. For example, the Oral Language composite score is the combination of the Listening and Speaking scale scores, and the Written Language composite score is the combination of the Reading and Writing scale scores.

Designated Supports

Designated supports are resources that an eligible student regularly uses in the classroom for instruction and/or assessment(s) and that (1) are available for use by any student for whom a need has been indicated with parent/guardian input, as appropriate, prior to assessment administration by an educator or a team of educators; or (2) are specified in the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan.

Domains

Domains are the four areas assessed by the ELPAC, which are Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

The federal ESEA, enacted in 1965, is the nation's national education law and shows a longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. ESEA authorizes state-run programs for eligible schools and districts eager to raise the academic achievement of struggling learners and address the complex challenges that arise for students who live with disability, mobility problems, learning difficulties, poverty, or transience, or who need to learn English.

English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC)

The ELPAC assessments measure an EL student’s proficiency in relation to the 2012 CA ELD Standards. Three purposes for the ELPAC are specified in state law: (1) identifying students as English learners; (2) determining the level of ELP for EL students; and (3) assessing the progress of EL students in acquiring the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English.

English learner (EL) student

An EL student is a student in grades K–12 who, based on objective assessment, has not developed listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiencies in English sufficient for participation in the regular school program. State and federal laws require that LEAs administer a state test of ELP as an initial assessment to newly enrolled students whose primary language is not English and to EL students as a summative assessment. The respective tests for California’s public school students are the Initial ELPAC, Initial Alternate ELPAC, Summative ELPAC, and Summative Alternate ELPAC.

English Learner Progress Indicator (ELPI)

The ELPI is one of the state indicators on the California School Dashboard. The ELPI measures EL students’ progress toward ELP. LEAs and schools use this data in the ongoing process of program monitoring and evaluation. The ELPI represents the percentage of EL students who are progressing toward ELP. The 2023–24 Summative ELPAC and Summative Alternate ELPAC results will be incorporated into the ELPI reported on the 2024 California School Dashboard.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

"ESSA is the federal law that reauthorizes the ESEA wherein lie definitions of federal programs for students. This law requires many things, one of which is the identification of English learners." ESSA requires states to administer a test to newly enrolled students with a language other than English to determine their level of English language fluency. In California, the Initial ELPAC and Initial Alternate ELPAC serve this purpose. Students identified through the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC as EL students must be given the Summative ELPAC or Summative Alternate ELPAC annually until they are reclassified as fluent English proficient.

Home Language Survey (HLS)

The HLS is a survey used to determine which students are to be assessed for ELP, with the possibility of being identified as an EL or IFEP student. Based on the responses in the HLS, students may be tested with the ELPAC to determine their level of ELP. The HLS is to be completed by the student’s parent/guardian at the time of the student’s first enrollment in a California public school. Sample HLS forms are available on the CDE English Learner Forms web page.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The IDEA is a federal law to ensure that appropriate services are provided to students with disabilities throughout the nation. The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youths with disabilities.

Initial ELPAC

The Initial ELPAC is an initial assessment of English language fluency. The Initial ELPAC is first administered to students whose primary language is a language other than English within 30 calendar days of their enrollment in a California public school.

Initial Alternate ELPAC

The Initial Alternate ELPAC is an initial assessment of English language fluency. Students are eligible when their IEP determines alternate assessments are appropriate and when their primary language is a language other than English. The Initial Alternate ELPAC must be administered within 30 calendar days of enrolling in a California public school for the first time.

Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP)

IFEP is a classification for students with a primary language other than English who take the ELPAC and meet the ELP criterion.

Local Educational Agency (LEA)

An LEA is a government agency that supervises local public elementary and secondary schools in the delivery of instructional and educational services. An LEA can be a school district, county office of education, special state school, or independent public charter school.

Lowest Obtainable Scale Score (LOSS)

The LOSS is the lowest score in a range of potential scores for a grade level and subject area. Scale scores can be compared from year to year within a given grade level and subject. Scale scores are not comparable across subjects and cannot be averaged across different grade levels.

Performance Levels

Performance levels are the ranges of scores in which students have demonstrated sufficient knowledge and skills to be regarded as performing at a particular ELP level.

Primary Language

A primary language is the language, or languages, identified (by a parent/guardian at the local level) to be a student’s primary language(s) on the HLS upon the student’s first enrollment in a California public school. Title 5 California Code of Regulation (5 CCR) 11518 Definitions (aa) “Primary or native language” means the language used by a pupil, as identified in accordance with the survey conducted pursuant to section 11518.5(a). This identification is done only once during the course of the student’s academic career, and the results of the survey are used to identify whether the student is to be assessed with the ELPAC.

Raw Score

A raw score is the number of score points earned or answered correctly for each domain. Raw scores should not be used to compare results across grade levels or years. (Refer also to “scale score.”)

Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP)

RFEP students are students who were initially classified as EL students, but who have subsequently met the LEA criteria for ELP and exited EL status.

Research Files

Electronic reports are available to LEAs once the data is verified and ready for public reporting. Summative ELPAC, Summative Alternate ELPAC, Initial ELPAC, and Initial Alternate ELPAC reports are accessed through the CDE Test Results for California's Assessments (formerly known as Public Web Reporting).

Rotating Score Validation Process (RSVP)

The CDE identifies approximately 10 percent of LEAs to participate in the RSVP for Initial ELPAC. Participating LEAs return their scannable kindergarten through grade two Writing Answer Books to the testing contractor. The purpose of this process is to generate a comparison report of item statistics for the Initial ELPAC in order to validate the LEA’s scores. For more information, refer to the ELPAC RSVP for the Initial ELPAC web page.

Scale Score

Scale scores are derived from the number or percentage of questions that students must answer to score at each performance level and are used to equate tests from one administration to the next. Higher scale scores indicate higher levels of performance, while lower scale scores indicate lower levels of performance. The Summative ELPAC is vertically scaled, which allows for the year-to-year comparisons of a student’s scale scores on each composite. A student’s scale score on the vertical scale can be compared from grade level to adjacent grade level. Student scale scores on the Initial ELPAC, the Initial Alternate ELPAC, and the Summative Alternate ELPAC are not linked from year-to-year but provide a measure of the student’s performance during the tested year.

State Board of Education (SBE)

The SBE is the state educational agency for California that sets education policy for kindergarten through grade twelve students in the areas of standards, instructional materials, assessment, and accountability. The SBE adopts textbooks for students in kindergarten through grade eight, adopts regulations to implement legislation, and has the authority to grant waivers for certain sections of the EC.

Student Score Report (SSR)

A SSR provides results of the ELPAC for individual students. The report includes student identifier information, purpose of the assessment, and test results. This report must be provided to the student’s parent/guardian within 30 calendar days of receipt by the LEA from the testing contractor, or within the first 15 working days of the next calendar school year, if received after last day of instruction for the testing year.

Summative ELPAC

The Summative ELPAC is the annual administration of the ELPAC, which is administered only to those identified as EL students on the Initial ELPAC, to identify a student’s level of ELP and assess a student’s progression in acquiring skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This assessment is given annually until the EL student is reclassified.

Summative Alternate ELPAC

The Summative Alternate ELPAC is the annual administration of the Alternate ELPAC, which is administered only to those students who have been identified as EL students and as eligible in their IEP for alternate assessments. This assessment is given annually to measure a student’s ELP and assess a student’s progress in acquiring English until they are reclassified.

Summative Student Score Extract

The Summative Student Score Data Extract Report provides the LEA’s student score results for all students testing within a particular test administration. LEA coordinators can use this report to upload the student results to their student information system.

Test Results for California’s Assessments

Aggregate results from all California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and ELPAC tests are available on the ELPAC Test Results for California's Assessments (formerly known as Public Web Reporting).

Universal Tools

Universal tools are resources that are available to all students who are administered the ELPAC assessments.

Unlisted Resource

Unlisted resources are instructional supports that a student regularly uses in daily instruction and/or assessment that have not been previously identified as a universal tool, designated support, or accommodation.