Comprehensive Study Guide to the Updated Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)

Current Educational Context in Texas:
- There are over $120$ languages spoken in Texas schools.
- Over $90\%$ of students who speak another language peak Spanish.
- Statewide Statistics: Out of $5,500,000$ students, $1,200,000$ are classified as emergent bilinguals ( $21.8\%$ ).
- Waxahachie District Statistics: Approximately $10\%$ of the student population is emergent bilingual, consisting of over $1,100$ students out of a total of $11,000$ .
ELPS Historical Timeline and Implementation:
- 2007: Adoption of the original ELPS.
- 2019: Updates to the ELPS began.
- 2020 \text{--} 2023: The update process was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2024: Updated ELPS became effective.
- 2024 \text{--} 2025 \text{ (Current School Year):} Planned implementation year.
- 2026 \text{--} 2027 \text{ through } 2027 \text{--} 2028: TELPAS (Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System) will transition using overlapping standards.
- 2028 \text{--} 2029: Full implementation of the new TELPAS aligned with the updated ELPS.

Organizational Shifts:
- The standards have been relocated to the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter $120$ .
- The goal of the reorganization is clarity and a streamlined approach for teachers, though the content volume remains significant.
Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs):
- PLDs were formerly general; they are now content-specific.
- Separate standards now exist for English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR), Math, Science, and Social Studies.
- This change addresses myths, such as the idea that "math is a universal language" that does not require specific linguistic support; students require academic language to explain complex content.
Grade Banding:
- Movement from a single $K \text{--} 12$ system to two distinct grade bands: $K \text{--} 3$ and $4 \text{--} 12$ .
Proficiency Level Expansion:
- The system has expanded from four levels to five levels.
- New levels: Pre-production, Beginning, Intermediate, High Intermediate, and Advanced.
- Pre-production: Specifically captures the "silent period" where students are soaking up language but not yet producing it verbally.

PLC Conversations:
- Leadership and teachers should discuss how content and language work together.
- A central question for PLCs: "How would we scaffold the same lesson differently for students at each proficiency level?"
- Without language ability, students cannot demonstrate their actual content knowledge.
Curriculum Application (Amplify Example):
- Amplify is often viewed as a "script," but it is described as a guide for "instructional conversation."
- It requires the craft of instruction and fidelity to the curriculum while maintaining flexibility for linguistic needs.

Legal and Instructional Requirements:
- Language objectives are legally required if there is an emergent bilingual student in the room.
- While intended for emergent bilinguals, these objectives benefit native speakers who may struggle with formal academic English.
The Difference Between Objectives:
- Content Objectives: Verb-driven, aligned to content standards, and demonstrate what mastery of the subject looks like.
- Language Objectives: Anchored in language domains (listening, speaking, reading, writing). They make academic language explicit and clear.
Case Study (3rd Grade Math 3.2a):
- Content Objective: Compose and decompose numbers up to $100,000$ .
- Language Objective: Focused on the specific vocabulary and language structures needed to explain the math (e.g., using terms like "expanded form," "standard form," and specific sentence stems).

Intentional Scaffolds:
- General: Use of instruction strategy playlists.
- Science-specific: Use of labeled diagrams, Venn diagrams, and sentence stems to enable scientific discussion.
Active Academic Discourse:
- Move beyond simple "turn and talk" to purposeful student interactions.
- Students should reach higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, including justification and questioning.
- Dual Language Mastery: Dual language classrooms are identified as the "master class" for observing high-level academic discourse.
The Importance of Immersion and Use:
- Anecdote: A student using Duolingo for Italian has a high "streak" ( $823$ days) but remains terrified because the app lacks real-world immersion and practice. Instruction must bridge the gap between knowing rules and using the language.

Measurable Growth:
- Language development is both measurable and intentional.
- Teachers should know exactly where a student's language proficiency is and set a goal for where it should be.
Metrics to Monitor:
- TELPAS results and domain scores.
- Proficiency levels throughout the year.
- Pre-LAS and LAS Links scores ( $Pre-LAS / LAS$ ).
- Individual growth over time.

Training Schedule:
- August 5 and 7: Elementary split training for $K \text{--} 2$ and $3 \text{--} 5$ .
- Secondary RLA: Three-hour training led by Dr. Sandra McCurry.
- Other Secondary Content: Pending finalized state training materials from TEA (Texas Education Agency).
Key Resources:
- Lead Forward: Free resources and paid trainings.
- ELPS Flip Books: Tools compiled by Seidlitz Education used to track student descriptors by grade band ( $4 \text{--} 12$ ) and domain (listening, speaking, reading, writing).
- TEKS Guide: A summary tool that includes all ELPS for quick reference.

Question: Who says "TEKS" (each letter separately) versus "TEKS" (as a word)?
- Response: The speaker notes that while the official term is T-E-K-S, many people (including the speaker) say "TEKS."
Question: What if I need campus-specific support?
- Response: Reach out to the speaker, Gloria Walker, or Desiree Zarate of the bilingual ESL team.