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  English Language Acquisition

CELA Testing

Assessing Oral Proficiency in English

All parents registering students in Denver Public Schools are provided with a Home Language Questionnaire to determine if a language other than English is spoken in the home. If so, their child will be tested within 15 days of registration.

CELA Placement Test

The State of Colorado requires that all new students to the district whose native language is other than English, as indicated on the Home Language Questionnaire, be tested upon entry using the CELA Placement Test. This placement test is designed to give teachers and administrators information for initial placement into instructional programs. The test measures Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing as required by NCLB and takes approximately 30 minutes to administer. The Speaking section is administered individually for all grades and the Reading, Writing, and Listening sections are group administered for most grades.

CELA

The Colorado Department of Education requires all districts in the state to administer the Colorado English Language Assessment (CELA) each spring. CELA assesses the four language domains as required by NCLB.

For further information please visit the Assessment and Research website.