About this site
An independent, free site with original TELPAS practice questions, listening passages, speaking and writing prompts with rubrics, and plain-language guides.
How the site works
Free to use
Every question, listening passage, and guide is free for students, families, and teachers. There is nothing to buy and no sign-up.
Privacy
No accounts or passwords. Visits are counted with Google Analytics, but answers, writing drafts, and recordings are saved only in this browser. Writing is sent out only when you ask for feedback on it, and the text of a spoken answer only when the live transcript is on; neither is kept. The live transcript uses your browser's speech service, which in Chrome sends audio to Google — it is off unless you turn it on.
Modeled on the real test
Questions and passages are original, written to follow the task types and scoring guidance the test authority publishes. They are practice, not official test items.
About the TELPAS
The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) is the state assessment that measures how well emergent bilingual students in Texas understand and use English. Federal law requires states to assess these students every year, and in Texas every emergent bilingual student in kindergarten through grade 12 takes TELPAS each spring until they are reclassified.
Each of the four domains (listening, speaking, reading and writing) gets a rating of Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced or Advanced High, and the four count equally toward a composite rating. A composite rating of Advanced High is one of the criteria for reclassification, alongside a reading test and a teacher's evaluation.
Guides
What Is TELPAS? Meaning, Grade Levels and Ratings
TELPAS is the test Texas uses each spring to measure the English of students who are learning it. Here is what TELPAS stands for, who takes it, how it works at each grade level, what the ratings mean, and when it happens.
Read the overview →TELPAS Scores Explained: Levels, Scale Scores and What They Mean
A TELPAS report gives each of the four domains a level from Beginning to Advanced High, and combines them into a composite rating. From grade 2 there are scale scores as well. Here is what TELPAS scores mean, how the pieces fit together and how to read them.
Read about scores →TELPAS Reclassification Criteria: A Guide for Families
Reclassification is the point at which a Texas student is no longer identified as an emergent bilingual student and stops taking TELPAS. The TELPAS reclassification criteria have three parts, and a school committee makes the decision. Here is what they are, grade by grade.
Read about reclassification →How to Prepare for TELPAS: Practice and Tips by Domain
TELPAS measures English that a student builds over months and years, so there is no shortcut to a higher rating. What preparation can do is make sure the test itself is familiar, so a student's real English shows. Here is what is worth doing, domain by domain.
Read the preparation guide →
Practice by grade band
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.