TELPAS Scores Explained: Levels, Scale Scores and What They Mean

TELPAS scores describe English language proficiency, measured against the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). The results say how well a student understands and uses English in listening, speaking, reading and writing. They do not measure what a student knows in other subjects, how hard they work, or anything about their first language.

A TELPAS result is also a snapshot of particular days. It is useful, and it is one piece of evidence. A teacher who has worked with your child all year has seen far more of their English than any test can.

Every domain is rated at one of four levels. These are the same at every grade, from kindergarten to grade 12, and the same for every domain. TEA publishes the TELPAS proficiency level descriptors (PLDs), the official descriptions of each level for each domain, at tea.texas.gov/data-reports/telpas/telpas-plds.pdf. The summaries below are a plain-language guide, not the official wording.

In grades 2–12, each domain on the online tests produces a scale score between 1000 and 2000. The scale score is what places the student in a rating. Kindergarten and grade 1 students are rated holistically by teachers (see TELPAS in kindergarten and first grade), so their reports show ratings rather than scale scores.

Two of the cut points are the same in every grade cluster. A scale score from 1525 to 1599 is Advanced, and a scale score of 1600 or above is Advanced High.

The lowest cut point, where Beginning ends and Intermediate begins, is set separately for each grade cluster and domain. This page does not reproduce it. They belong to the official program, and a number copied from the wrong cluster or the wrong year would mislead more than it helped. TEA publishes the full tables on its TELPAS proficiency standards page, at tea.texas.gov/data-reports/student-assessment-results/telpas-proficiency-standards.

A scale score is more precise than a rating. Two students both rated Advanced might have 1530 and 1595, and the second is much closer to Advanced High. If your child's report shows scale scores, they are worth looking at for exactly that reason.

The four domain ratings are combined into a single composite rating. Since 2018, each domain has counted equally: listening, speaking, reading and writing are each 25 percent of the composite.

In broad terms, TEA converts each domain rating to a number and averages the four to produce the composite. Turning that average into a composite rating also depends on the domain ratings themselves. Most importantly for families, a composite of Advanced High needs an average of at least 3.5 and a rating of at least Advanced in every domain. TEA's District and Campus Coordinator Resources set out the full rules, and they are the source to rely on if a decision depends on the detail.

Two practical points follow from equal weighting. First, no single domain decides the composite on its own. Second, every domain matters. A student with a very strong reading result and an unpracticed speaking result will see that gap in the composite, and a composite rating of Advanced High is one of the reclassification criteria.

Practice cannot predict a TELPAS rating, but it can show which domains feel least familiar. The free TELPAS practice tests on this site cover all four domains from grade 2.

Your district will send home a report after testing, sometimes with a cover letter of its own. Layouts change from time to time, so the wording on your copy may not match a sample you find elsewhere. Work through it in this order:

If any of it is unclear, ask the teacher or the campus's bilingual or ESL coordinator to go through it with you. It is a normal request, and schools can usually arrange an interpreter if you would prefer to talk in another language.

• Check the student's name, grade and the school year. Make sure you are reading the right year.
• Find the composite rating. This is the headline result.
• Read the rating for each of the four domains, and look for any domain that is noticeably lower or higher than the others.
• In grades 2–12, look at the scale score for each domain, and note how close each is to the next rating. Advanced High starts at 1600 in every cluster.
• If the report shows earlier years, compare them. If it does not, ask the school for last year's report and put them side by side.
• Read the district's note about next steps, including the language support your child will receive and whether reclassification is being considered.

It is very common for a student to have different ratings in different domains. Many students who have been in English-speaking classrooms for a few years listen and speak with ease, while reading and writing lag behind, because the English of textbooks and essays is more demanding than the English of conversation. Other students, often those who studied English formally before arriving in Texas, read and write well and are less confident speaking.

That pattern is the most useful part of the report for planning. A composite rating of Intermediate tells you a student needs support. An Intermediate composite with a clearly lower writing rating tells you where to start. For a student in grades 4–5, for example, that might mean extra TELPAS writing practice for grades 4–5.

A rating that stays the same from one year to the next is common. The test also gets harder as a student moves into an older grade cluster, so holding a rating while moving up a cluster is progress in itself.

A rating can also go down. An unfamiliar item type, illness, nerves or a technical problem with a microphone can all show up in a result. If a result does not match what you and the teacher see day to day, say so, and ask what the classroom evidence shows.

• A rating does not measure intelligence, effort or potential.
• It does not measure knowledge of math, science or any other subject.
• It says nothing about ability in the student's first language, which is a strength, not a problem.
• It is not a permanent label. Students move between levels as their English develops.

Speaking and writing responses are scored against the TELPAS speaking rubrics and TELPAS writing rubrics, partly by an automated scoring engine and partly by trained human scorers. A district can request a rescore. There is a fee, which is waived if the score changes. The request goes through the district, not directly from families, so if you have a concern, raise it with the school and ask whether a rescore is appropriate.

To see what scorers are looking for, the scoring guides that come with the TELPAS released tests show real student responses at each score point.

A composite rating of Advanced High is one of three state criteria for reclassification. The other two are a result on a state-approved reading assessment and a teacher's evaluation. The school's Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) reviews all three and makes the decision.

So an Advanced High composite on its own does not reclassify a student, and a student who reaches Advanced High in three domains but not the composite has not yet met the TELPAS criterion. The TELPAS reclassification guide sets out the reading assessment required at each grade.