English Language Support

English Language Development

Excelsior Charter School District proudly supports English Language Learners. Students who qualify as an English Language Learners are assigned to an English Language Development class based on their language proficiency level and or grade level. Each site offers in-person classes to support language development. The value of biliteracy is emphasized and promoted by all Excelsior Employees.

The ELPAC is the state-mandated assessment that measures a student’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English.

Initial ELPAC

Students whose home language is other than English as determined by the Home Language Survey will be assessed with the Initial ELPAC within 30 calendar days of enrollment. This is administered only once in a student’s academic career.

Parents receive a student score report that identifies the student’s overall performance level in English and the development of his/her oral and written language skills. Students are designated one of the following:

Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP)
English Learner (L)
Novice English Learner (N)

For more information on the three performance levels, click here .

Summative ELPAC

Each English learner will be assessed annually with the Summative ELPAC during the assessment window to determine their progress in acquiring English. English learners are administered the Summative ELPAC each year until they are Reclassified. There are 4 performance levels of the Summative ELPAC:

Level 1 – Minimally Developed
Level 2 – Somewhat Developed
Level 3 – Moderately Developed
Level 4 – Well Developed

For more information on the four performance levels, click here.

Parent Guide: Understanding the ELPAC

The ELPAC is the test that is used to measure how well students in kindergarten (K) through grade twelve understand English when it is not their primary language. Information from the ELPAC helps your child’s teacher provide support in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

ELPAC PDF Guide

The ELPAC tests four different areas:

Do students with disabilities take the ELPAC?

Yes, the ELPAC has been designed so students, including those with special needs, can participate in the test and show what they know and can do. As a result, the test includes accessibility resources that address visual, auditory, and physical access barriers—allowing virtually all students to demonstrate what they know and can do.

How Can I Help My Child Get Ready for the ELPAC?

You are an important part of your child's education. Some things you can do to help your child are:

Read to your child, or have your child read to you, on a regular basis.
Use pictures and ask your child to tell you what they see in the picture or what is happening in the picture.
Provide your child with opportunities to use language outside of school.
Talk with your child's teacher about your child's listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills to help support your child's progress.

The ELPAC is aligned to the California English Language Development Standards. These standards can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf.

Sample questions, as well as links to practice tests and resources, are available on the Starting Smarter web page at https://elpac.startingsmarter.org.

Additional Information

More information about the ELPAC can be found on the California Department of Education ELPAC web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ep/.

For more information about your child’s scores, contact your child’s teacher or the school office.

ELPAC Overview Videos

Reclassification

Students who meet the following criteria will be considered candidates for reclassification:

Assessment of English Language Proficiency:
1. Achieve an overall level 4 on the state Summative English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPAC)
Student’s Score on Assessment of Basic Skills: Must meet one below
1. Grades 7 – 12: Percentile Rank 25 or higher on STAR Reading
2. ELA CAASPP/SBAC: Standard Met or Standard Exceeded
Teacher Evaluation:
1. Grades 7 – 12: Meet grade-level standards in reading/language arts by receiving a “C” grade or better, and achieve a 2.0 or higher qualifying GPA on the most recently posted grades.
Parental Opinion and Consultation:
1. Parents or guardians receive a Parent Notification of Reclassification letter indicating that their child has been reclassified.

ELAC

CA State Seal of Biliteracy

For a student who is an English Learner and has a disability, the IEP team must carefully consider the impact the disability has on the student’s English Language proficiency and if the student has met their linguistically appropriate, standards-aligned IEP goals. To determine if it may be appropriate to reclassify a student from English Learner to Reclassified Fluent English Proficient, the IEP team must determine if the student possesses the strategies and skills to access and progress in grade-level content separately from their English language development. It is important to understand that a student might retain eligibility for special education and related services but may no longer need English Learner services, including integrated and designated ELD instructions.