TELPAS
TELPAS is aligned to the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). This assessment is designed to assess the progress that emergent bilingual (EB) students make in learning the English language. TELPAS fulfills ESSA requirements for assessing EB students in kindergarten through grade 12 in four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
- TELPAS Educator Guide (09/25/2025)
Grades Kโ1 include:
- holistically rated observational assessments of listening, speaking, reading and writing
Grades 2โ12 include online tests for:
- listening and speaking
- reading and writing
Who Is Tested?
All EB students in kindergarten through grade 12 enrolled in Texas public schools or open-enrollment charter schools are required to participate in TELPAS. EB students are required to be assessed annually with an English language proficiency assessment until they meet EB reclassification criteria.
What Is Tested?
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- Grade 2 Constructed Response Scoring Guide
- Grade 3 Constructed Response Scoring Guide
- Grade 4โ5 Constructed Response Scoring Guide
- Grade 6โ7 Constructed Response Scoring Guide
- Grade 8โ9 Constructed Response Scoring Guide
- Grade 10โ12 Constructed Response Scoring Guide
- Elementary Sentence Rewrite Scoring Guide
- Middle School Sentence Rewrite Scoring Guide
- High School Sentence Rewrite Scoring Guide
What Do Test Questions Look Like?
Access the online released tests and practice sets on the .
Access answer keys and specific scoring guides at TELPAS Released Test Questions.
What Is Reported?
- Proficiency Standards
- Statewide Summary Reports
- Statewide Item Analysis Reports
- Raw Score Conversion Tables
- 2023 TELPAS Frequency Distribution
What Other Information Is Available?
Test Administration
- TELPAS Test Administrator Manual (Updated 10/13/2025)
- TELPAS Rater Manual (Updated 10/13/2025)
- TELPAS Paper and Holistic Test Administration Information (Updated 10/13/2025)
- TELPAS Proficiency Level Descriptors
- TELPAS Student Rating Roster
- TELPAS Writing Collection
- TELPAS Speaking and Writing Scoring Process
Training
- (Updated 08/29/2025)
- Glossary of Terms Used in TELPAS Holistic Rating Training
- Annotated Examples of Student Writing
TELPAS Transition-Year Assessments (2026โ2027 and 2027โ2028)
In the Fall of 2024, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted new English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). These new standards will become effective in classrooms in the 2026โ2027 school year. As a result of the changes to the ELPS, the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) will transition to a new assessment.
Before the new assessment is implemented, transition-year assessments will be used during the 2026โ2027 and 2027โ2028 school years to measure the English language proficiency of emergent bilingual (EB) students.
During the transition period, the current proficiency level descriptors (PLDs) will continue to be used for the purpose of assessment. In addition, TELPAS will follow the assessment blueprints currently in place. The transition-year assessments will only include questions aligned to standards where there is an overlap between the current and the new ELPS.
The draft assessed curriculum for the transition-year assessments is linked below.
- Grades 2โ3 Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing (Updated 11/14/2025)
- Grades 4โ12 Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing (Updated 11/14/2025)
- Grades Kโ1 Holistic Assessment (Updated 02/25/2026)
- Grades 2โ3 Special Administration Holistic Assessment Listening, Speaking, and Writing (Updated 02/25/2026)
- Grades 4โ12 Special Administration Holistic Assessment Listening, Speaking, and Writing (Updated 02/25/2026)