Understanding TELPAS: Emergent Bilingual Students in Texas

Invited Guest Author Post by Dolores Diosdado

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Every year in Texas, over a million students are administered TELPAS. Yet many educators, students, and caregivers are left in the dark about why TELPAS is important. TELPAS is a critical assessment that provides students, families, campuses, and districts with meaningful data to ensure equitable access to resources, professional development, and instructional support. It also holds districts accountable for supporting students’ linguistic growth.
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When educators and families understand the TELPAS process from beginning to end, they are better equipped to make informed decisions and advocate for student success. TELPAS should not be viewed as just another test; instead, it should be valued as a tool that helps educators provide intentional instruction and meaningful language experiences that support long-term academic achievement.
What Is TELPAS?

TELPAS stands for the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System. It is aligned with the ELPS (English Language Proficiency Standards), and its purpose is to measure the annual growth in English language proficiency of emergent bilingual students. Research indicates that it can take emergent bilingual students approximately five to seven years to demonstrate full academic language proficiency; therefore, the key focus is steady growth over time. The four language domains assessed are:

• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing

TELPAS is administered by trained and certified educators. Unlike STAAR, TELPAS measures language proficiency rather than content mastery. However, students are still required to meet English reading standards on STAAR as part of the overall accountability system.

📊TELPAS vs. STAARTELPAS:  Measures English language development
STAAR: Measures academic content knowledge

TELPAS Results
TELPAS scores help teachers and students identify areas of growth. Educators use this data to create action plans, adjust instruction, and intentionally meet students’ linguistic needs. Caregivers can also support children at home by focusing on specific language domains. This may include having intentional conversations, asking questions, celebrating growth, and partnering with educators to reinforce language development beyond the school setting. The goal for students is to demonstrate growth each year. While this benchmark is important, TELPAS scores do not define a student’s intelligence or academic potential.

🔍Many Parents Wonder:
My child speaks English.  Why do they still take TELPAS? Is it because they are bilingual? Many parents believe that the reason their child must take TELPAS is that they are bilingual.TELPAS is not about whether a student can speak English socially.  It measures how well students use academic English.

TELPAS can be confusing for parents, students, and new teachers because of the variety of formats and domains in which students are assessed. This assessment is not a single event; rather, it is a process that continues until the student reclassifies by meeting the requirements that demonstrate English proficiency.

Where It All Begins: The Home Language Survey (HLS)Upon enrolling in a Texas public school, families are required to complete a variety of documents. Within that documentation is the Home Language Survey (HLS), which is where the TELPAS journey begins, if students qualify for a language program.

What is the HLS?
The Home Language Survey is a required survey that all students enrolling in Texas public schools must complete. It is composed of three questions:

1. Which languages are used at home?
2. Which languages are used by the child at home?
3. If the child has a previous home setting, which languages were used? If there was no previous home setting, parents should answer Not Applicable (N/A).

The Home Language Survey is important because it helps schools identify the language(s) spoken in the home. This form sometimes raises parent concerns due to the misconception that selecting a language other than English means the student does not speak English well or that it will negatively impact the student academically. However, the opposite is true. The HLS exists to support students in their language acquisition by ensuring schools provide the most appropriate program to support them throughout their academic journey.

Identification of Emergent Bilingual Students
Once the Home Language Survey is completed and a language other than English is identified, the student is assessed using a state-approved oral language proficiency assessment, such as Pre-LAS or LAS Links. The assessment used depends on the student’s grade level:

• ECC/PK/K students are assessed using Pre-LAS Links
• Students in grades 1–12 are assessed using LAS Links

These assessments measure the student’s ability to listen, speak, read, and write in English, using grade-appropriate expectations. Spanish-speaking students are also assessed in Spanish to identify proficiency.

Upon completion of the assessment, the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC)—composed of an ESL or bilingual educator, an administrator, and a parent representative—makes a collaborative decision based on the student’s language proficiency data. The LPAC recommends the most appropriate program, such as ESL, bilingual, or dual language. However, collaboration between parents and schools is essential, as parents ultimately decide whether their child participates in the recommended program.

🤝Did you know? 
Parents are a required part of the LPAC process.  Schools cannot place a student into a language program without parent approval.

Instructional Support
Families often ask what services or benefits students receive once they are enrolled in a language program. Students receive instruction from certified teachers who are trained to support English language acquisition while students simultaneously learn academic content.
Some common instructional accommodations include:

• Pre-teaching vocabulary
• Sentence stems
• Chunking reading passages and assignments to support deeper understanding
• Use of dictionaries

Students may also receive linguistic accommodations daily and during assessments, as long as those accommodations are used routinely and effectively in the classroom.
Reclassification: ExitingContinuous English language growth may eventually lead students to meet the criteria for reclassification, also known as exiting their Emergent Bilingual (EB) status. In Texas, reclassification decisions are based on multiple data points. Current (2025-2026) reclassification includes: 

• In grades 1–2, students must earn a TELPAS composite score of Advanced High and score at or above the 40th percentile on the IOWA, Form F in reading and language, as outlined by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
• For grades 3–8, the LPAC reviews TELPAS scores, ensuring a composite score of Advanced High is achieved, and confirms that the student meets Approaches Grade Level or higher on the STAAR reading assessment.
• High school students in grades 11–12 must also meet the IOWA, Form F requirement with a percentile rank of 40 or higher in reading and written expression.

In addition, a Subjective Teacher Evaluation is completed by each of the student’s teachers to help determine readiness for reclassification. Reviewing the whole child is critical, as exiting too early may remove support students still need to access academic language. Once a student exits, campuses and districts monitor progress for two years to ensure continued success and provide intervention if necessary. Every student is different and learns at a different rate; therefore, strong home and school collaboration is essential to continued growth.

❤️Whole Child Approach
Every EB develops at their own pace.  

It is important to note that Texas is undergoing changes to the English Language Proficiency Standards, which will impact TELPAS. The new ELPS were adopted and will be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year. 

References

Texas Education Agency. (2024). Emergent bilingual students' reclassification criteria. Texas Education Agency.
Texas Education Agency. (2024). Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS). Texas Education Agency.
Texas Education Agency. (2024). LPAC framework and guidance. Texas Education Agency.

Dolores Diosdado, Educator & Academic Leader

​About the Author of this Guest Post:
Dolores Diosdado is an educator and academic leader with a passion for bilingual education, assessment, and equity for multilingual learners. She brings practical classroom experience and systems-level leadership to her work, bridging research and real-world practice. Dolores is also a lifelong learner, doctoral candidate, and advocate for students and families.

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