TELPAS Assessment Framework

TELPAS Assessment Framework

The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) is a state-mandated assessment framework developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to fulfill federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA Title III) and state requirements under 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter BB. While the STAAR exam evaluates grade-level mastery of academic content standards (TEKS), TELPAS evaluates the annual progress that K–12 Emergent Bilinguals (EBs) make in acquiring academic English proficiency across four language domains.

The Four Language Domains & ELPS Alignment

TELPAS is directly aligned with the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS - 19 TAC §74.4). It measures language development across four distinct domains:

1. Listening: The ability to understand spoken English, process auditory instructions, and comprehend academic lectures in social and instructional settings.
2. Speaking: The ability to communicate orally, express ideas, use academic vocabulary, and participate in classroom discussions.
3. Reading: The ability to comprehend, analyze, and interpret written English texts across general and content-specific contexts.
4. Writing: The ability to produce written English to express ideas, construct arguments, and demonstrate content knowledge.

Assessment Administration Formats by Grade Cluster

Grades K–1: Holistic Observational Assessment

For Kindergarten and 1st-grade EBs, TELPAS relies entirely on holistic ratings conducted by calibrated classroom teachers. Teachers undergo rigorous state calibration training annually. Throughout the assessment window, teachers observe EBs during authentic daily instruction and assign holistic proficiency ratings across all four language domains based on the state's Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs).

Grades 2–12: Online Assessments in All Four Domains

According to the 2025–2026 TEA TELPAS Educator Guide, students in grades 2–12 take online assessments for listening and speaking and for reading and writing. Holistically rated writing collections are not the current grades 2–12 model.

• Online Listening & Speaking: Students use headsets/microphones to respond to audio prompts; responses are scored according to TEA/contractor scoring procedures.
• Online Reading & Writing: Students complete computer-administered reading and writing tasks that sample the continuum of English proficiency levels.
• K–1 contrast: Kindergarten and grade 1 continue to use holistically rated classroom observation and student work across all four domains.

Teachers still use authentic classroom writing to inform instruction and formative judgments, but the statewide grades 2–12 TELPAS writing measure is the online assessment rather than a five-sample collection portfolio.

Detailed Breakdown of Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs)

TELPAS categorizes student language development into four distinct proficiency levels across each domain:

TELPAS Composite Score Calculation (Grades 2–12)

TELPAS reports an overall Composite Proficiency Rating (Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, Advanced High) derived from the four domain ratings. Per TEA’s current TELPAS Educator Guide, each language domain is weighted at 25%:

$\text{Composite Rating} = (\text{Listening} \times 0.25) + (\text{Speaking} \times 0.25) + (\text{Reading} \times 0.25) + (\text{Writing} \times 0.25)$

• Listening (25%)
• Speaking (25%)
• Reading (25%)
• Writing (25%)

Worked Calculation Example

If an 8th-grade student’s domain ratings convert to numeric points (Beginning=1, Intermediate=2, Advanced=3, Advanced High=4) of Listening=4, Speaking=2, Reading=3, Writing=3: $\text{Composite Score} = (4 \times 0.25) + (2 \times 0.25) + (3 \times 0.25) + (3 \times 0.25) = 1.00 + 0.50 + 0.75 + 0.75 = 3.00 \implies \text{Advanced Composite}$

TELPAS Alternate

For Emergent Bilinguals with significant cognitive disabilities who receive special education services, Texas administers TELPAS Alternate (Grades 2–12). TELPAS Alternate is a holistically rated assessment that evaluates 10 specific observable behaviors per domain, providing an accessible evaluation tool tailored to students taking alternate content assessments (STAAR Alternate 2).