TELPAS Guides & Resources

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.

TELPAS Alternate, often shortened to TELPAS Alt, is the version of TELPAS for emergent bilingual students in grades 2–12 who have the most significant cognitive disabilities. It is a holistic assessment rather than an online test. Here is a short overview.

In kindergarten and grade 1, TELPAS is not a test your child sits. Teachers rate each K–1 student's English in listening, speaking, reading and writing from what they see in class. Here is how that works, what the writing samples are, and what families can do.

The TELPAS listening and speaking test is one of the two online TELPAS tests for grades 2–12. Students watch and listen to short videos and answer questions, and record spoken answers, with the two kinds of item mixed through the test. Here is how the test is built, how it is scored, and how to practice for it.

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.

TEA publishes TELPAS released test questions so families and teachers can see what the real test asks. The 2025 release is the most complete. Here is what is available, what the PDFs actually contain, and how to use them alongside other practice.

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.

On the TELPAS speaking test, students in grades 2–12 record spoken answers on a computer, and each answer is scored against the TELPAS speaking rubric. Here is what the speaking prompts ask for, what the scoring looks at, some examples, and how to practice.

TELPAS is given once a year in a spring window set by the Texas Education Agency. The 2027 window runs from February 15 to March 26. Here is how the window works and what to expect around it.

Since spring 2023, TELPAS writing in grades 2–12 has been part of the online reading and writing test, with three written responses and six editing questions. Here is what the writing prompts look like, how the TELPAS writing rubric works, where to find real writing samples, and how to practice.

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.