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Language Assessment

Students are assessed and may be entitled to additional services if the answer to one of the first three questions on her/his “Home Language Survey” on the SFUSD Enrollment Application indicates a language other than English.  The language assessments evaluate a child’s proficiency in his/her native language (if assessment is available). There are no pass/fail assessments.  Since the results help parents identify appropriate program placement for their child, the district recommends that students be assessed before the enrollment application is finalized. The results help parents identify an appropriate program for their child. Assessments are not timed and students cannot retake the language assessment.

Grades K & 1

The listening/speaking test results are used to determine what type of instructional support and program is necessary to meet the language needs of the student.

Who is assessed?

Students who speak a language other than English. That is, any student who lists a language other than English on one of the first three questions on the Home Language Survey section of the Enrollment Application form.

What assessments do they take?

1. Pathway language tests (listening/speaking): 

  • SFUSD Cantonese Placement Test (CPT)
  • SFUSD Mandarin Placement Test (MPT)
  • Pre-Language Assessment Scales (Pre-LAS) Español for entering kindergarten (K)
  • Spanish Idea Proficiency Test (IPT) for grade 1
  • Student Oral Language Observation Matrix (SOLOM) in Japanese, Korean,  and Russian for grades K and 1 only and Filipino for grade K only

2.a. Students who have applied for the 2012 – 2013 school year prior to July 1, 2012 will be given the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) in listening, speaking, reading and writing at the school site in the in the late summer or early  fall of 2012. 

2.b. Students who apply for the 2012-2013 school year after July 1, 2012 will be given the CELDT at the  Educational Placement Center (EPC).

3. Students enrolling for the 2011-2012 school year are given the CELDT at the EPC upon enrollment

Grades 2 Through 12

The language assessment test results are used to determine what type of instructional support and program is necessary to meet the language needs of the student.

Who is assessed?

1. Students who speak a language other than English. That is, any student who lists a language other than English on one of the first three questions on the Home Language Survey section of the Enrollment Application form.

2. 2nd to 12th grade students who apply to elementary Dual Language Immersion, elementary Biliteracy  or secondary Dual Language Pathways and do not currently attend a SFUSD program**. 

** Students in 2nd grade and above who wish to enroll in an Immersion Pathway must have a degree of proficiency in the pathway language that is appropriate to the grade level to which they are applying.  SFUSD students currently enrolled in Immersion Pathways do not have to take a pathway language test to move to the next level or to transfer to another program of the same language. For SY 2012-13, elementary Biliteracy Pathway students who wish to enroll in an elementary Dual Language Immersion Pathway or secondary Dual Language Pathway will need to take a pathway language test.

What assessments do they take?

1. Pathway language tests: 

  • SFUSD Cantonese Placement Test (CPT)
  • SFUSD Mandarin Placement Test (MPT)
  • Spanish Idea Proficiency Test (IPT) for grades 2 to 12

2.a. Students who have applied for the 2012 – 2013 school year prior to July 1, 2012 will be given the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) in listening, speaking, reading and writing at the school site in the in the late summer or early  fall of 2012. 

2.b. Students who apply for the 2012-2013 school year after July 1, 2012 will be given the CELDT at the  Educational Placement Center (EPC).

3. Students enrolling for the 2011-2012 school year are given the CELDT at the EPC upon enrollment

Where does my child take the test?

  • All assessments will be conducted by the staff at the Educational Place-ment Center, Room 100, 555 Franklin Street or a designated school site.
  • Assessments will be scheduled and conducted prior to families receiving an assignment.

What happens after the test?

Once the test is completed and scored, the parents/guardians meet with a counselor at EPC to discuss test results, program options, and support services.  Parents will have the opportunity to change the school or program requests on their child’s application if they so choose and/or if their child is not eligible for a selected language pathway.

Need Help?

To obtain further assistance in understanding the language assessments, you may call the EPC to speak to an individual staff person. To reach EPC staff, please call 241-6085. This phone number will direct you to an individual staff person in the following languages: English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Filipino and Vietnamese. The EPC staff that provide this support include

  • Lynn Kwong - 241-6085 ext. 13131 (English/Cantonese/Mandarin)
  • Shem Korngold - 241-6085 ext. 13100  (English/Spanish)
  • Raquel Gomez - 241-6085 ext. 13115 (English/Spanish)
  • Hans Gong - 214-6085 ext. 13116 (Vietnamese)
  • Catalina Pajar - 241-6085 (Filipino)

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