California exempts transitional kindergarten students from English-language proficiency test

Transitional kindergarten students in the state who speak another language at home no longer have to take an English proficiency assessment.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation this month that exempts 4-year-olds from the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California, known as ELPAC .

Under state and federal law, school districts must administer the test to students whose primary language is a language other than English within 30 days of enrollment. There are different tests for each grade level , from kindergarten through 12th grade.

But since TK is technically designated as the “ the first year of a two-year kindergarten program ” in California, TK students were being tested using an exam designated for kindergartners, which requires students to know how to read and write letters.

What’s the argument for change?

The state is in the midst of expanding transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds by the time school starts in 2025. That would mean a lot more 4-year-olds taking an assessment meant for older kids.

“The developmental appropriateness of this test was in question,” said Carolyne Crolotte, director of dual language learner programs at Early Edge California, which co-sponsored the legislation . “Children at that age are not yet reading and writing.”

As a result, Crolotte said, TK students were scoring lower on the assessments and identified as English learners more frequently.

A study from the Public Policy Institute of California found that almost 40% of students in TK were identified as English learners compared to under 30% for kindergartners who didn’t attend TK.

How have parents felt?

Elizabeth Rossi, a TK teacher in Glendale, said she had heard from parents about students being intimidated by the test.

“They felt uneasy, like their child wasn't ready to answer the questions because some of the questions were too hard. And it's also stressful for the child, you know, [their] first public school experience,” she said.

She said TK focuses more on social emotional skills and development, versus kindergarten which is more academic based. She said her goal for her TK classroom by the end of the year was to have children know the sounds of 13 of 26 letters.

“They're reading and writing in kindergarten, whereas in TK, you're writing your name and learning your sounds,” Rossi said. “I always felt in my heart that all students were English language learners in TK, especially because they're still learning the skills, how to speak correctly and properly, comprehension skills, and they're not quite reading yet either.”

What’s next for English assessments?

Martha Hernandez, the executive director of Californians Together, which advocates for English learner students, said while she celebrates exempting young students from EPLAC, the state needs a developmentally appropriate way to identify English-learner students.

“We want them to still receive the supports that they need, even though they will not be identified as an English learner,” said Hernandez, whose group also co-sponsored the measure.

In a press release , Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi of Torrance said the “discussion to properly determine how to assess TK students now moves to the California State Board of Education."

The board released a memo last week about the impact of the legislation, which went into effect immediately. While the state discusses how to move forward with assessments, the memo said school districts can use the home language survey it sends to parents to learn about which students need English learning support.

The board is set to discuss the issue at its meeting on July 10 .

For TK teacher Rossi, she said the change may impact her grading, but doesn’t think it’ll change her instruction in the classroom.

“I'm still going to be pulling out my students that need that extra support because I'm trying to fill in the gaps here and there,” she said.