En este mundo traidor, nada es verdad ni mentira, todo es según el color del cristal con que se mira.
(In this treacherous world, nothing is true or false, everything depends on the color of the lens through which it is seen.)
– José Hernández, in El Gaucho Martin Fierro

In California, all students whose parents speak another language at home must take the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPAC) within their first 30 days of enrollment. Since the introduction of transitional kindergarten (TK), a 2-year program aimed to support children entering the K-12 system, children as young as four may now be assessed by the kindergarten version of the test, which requires students to read and write simple words and identify letters by their sounds.

“My experience is ELPAC is very challenging for all kinder and TK students,” said Bernadette Zermeño, multilingual specialist at Oakland Unified School District. “Even if kids were monolingual and only speaking English, it would still be a very hard exam.”

Brett Loring, student services coordinator for Vallecito Union School District, agrees, saying giving the ELPAC to a transitional kindergartner was “probably the most frustrating test administration I’ve ever given…Why are we making kids do this? Let them develop in the TK year, get them used to the classroom, get them used to socializing. That’s the purpose of TK. It’s really a developmental year. Don’t throw this heavy test on them and expect that you’re going to get good results.”

A bill proposed by Assembly member Al Muratsuchi aims to exempt transitional kindergartners from the test until kindergarten. While this could potentially impact district funding, Muratsuchi and other supporters believe this loss would be minimal compared to the cost of misidentifying children requiring language support.

Carolyne Crolotte, a researcher, points out that Illinois and Virginia only assess English skills in listening and speaking during the first semester of kindergarten, as most children have not yet learned to read or write.