ELPAC English Language Proficiency Assessments for California - Practice Test - Grades 6-8

Sep 29, 2026

ELPAC English Language Proficiency Assessments for California—Practice Test for Grades 6–8 familiarizes students and educators with ELPAC question types across Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. It explains the purpose of practice items, including how Test Examiner directions work and how the SAY symbol is used during actual administrations. The guide describes who can use the practice test (students, families, teachers, and administrators) and outlines the structure and administration format for each domain.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages46

Reading Time1 h 56 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

What is the ELPAC?

What is the Purpose of the Practice Test?

Uses of This Document

For Students

For Parents and Families

For Teachers

For Administrators

Listening

Listening Overview

Additional Listening Task Types

Reading

Reading Overview

Additional Reading Task Types

Writing

Writing Overview

Additional Writing Task Types

Speaking

Speaking Overview

Additional Speaking Task Types

Additional Resources

ELPAC English Language Proficiency Assessments for California Practice Test Grades 6–8 Copyright © 2018 by the California Department of Education (CDE). All rights reserved. These materials may not be edited or altered, and must remain unchanged as published by the CDE. Table of Contents Introduction 2 Uses of This Document 3 Listening ■ Listening Overview 4 ■ Listen to a Short Exchange 5 ■ Listen to a Classroom Conversation 6 ■ Listen to an Oral Presentation 8 ■ Listen to a Speaker Support an Opinion 10 Reading ■ Reading Overview 12 ■ Read a Short Informational Passage 13 ■ Read a Student Essay 14 ■ Read a Literary Passage 17 ■ Read an Informational Passage 20 Writing ■ Writing Overview 23 ■ Describe a Picture 24 ■ Write About an Experience 27 ■ Write About Academic Information 29 ■ Justify an Opinion 32 Speaking ■ Speaking Overview 34 ■ Talk About a Scene 35 ■ Speech Functions 37 ■ Support an Opinion 38 ■ Present and Discuss Information 39 ■ Summarize an Academic Presentation 41 Additional Resources 44 Introduction What is the ELPAC? The ELPAC, or English Language Proficiency Assessments for California, is the state’s English language proficiency test for students whose primary language is other than English. The ELPAC helps to identify students who need help in learning English, so they can get the language support they need to do well in school and access the full curriculum. Every year, students who are English learners take the ELPAC to measure their progress in learning English. The ELPAC is administered at these grades/grade spans: ■ Kindergarten ■ Grade one (1) ■ Grade two (2) ■ Grades three through five (3–5) ■ Grades six through eight (6–8) ■ Grades nine and ten (9–10) ■ Grades eleven and twelve (11–12) All grades/grade spans have test questions in four different domains: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The Speaking test questions are administered one-on-one by a Test Examiner at all grades/ grade spans. At kindergarten and grade 1, all test questions are administered one-on-one by a Test Examiner. At grades 2–12, Listening, Reading, and Writing sections are administered to groups of students. What is the Purpose of the Practice Test? The Practice Test gives students, parents and families, teachers, administrators, and others an opportunity to become familiar with the types oftest questions on the ELPAC. When students know what to expect on the test, they will be better prepared to demonstrate their English language proficiency. The Practice Test includes examples of all of the types of questions that may appear in the actual assessment 1 but does not include the full number of questions that appear on the assessment. The practice questions in this document include directions for the Test Examiner and test content for the student. The SAY symbol is used to indicate directions that the Test Examiner reads aloud to the student. During an actual test administration, the Test Examiner directions are not visible to the student. Note that the Practice Test cannot be used to provide an ELPAC test score. The Practice Test can be used to familiarize students with the ELPAC test questions and tasks they will be asked to complete to demonstrate their English language proficiency. 1 On the Practice Tests, the same test questions may be included at multiple grades/grade spans when the question types are similar across those grades/ grade spans. On the actual test, there are no common questions across grades/grade spans. 2 Introduction ELPAC Practice Test—Grades 6–8 Uses of This Document For Students Students can use this Practice Test to: ■ Become familiar with the question types ■ Learn how to provide their answers By reviewing the Practice Test before the test day, students will understand what they will be asked to do. As a result, students will be able to focus on demonstrating their English language

FAQs

What is the ELPAC practice test designed to do for Grades 6–8 students?

It helps students become familiar with the types of questions and tasks they will face, so they can demonstrate their English language proficiency with less uncertainty on test day.

Does the practice test provide an ELPAC score?

No. The document states that the Practice Test cannot be used to provide an ELPAC test score.

How is the speaking portion administered at Grades 6–8?

Speaking questions are administered one-on-one by a Test Examiner at these grade spans.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Taylor Morgan