Oakland Unified: english learners

This chart follows students who are still learning English. Each dot shows how close the typical English learner was to fluent that year, on the state's English test for English learners.

More about this chart

Who is in it

When a student starts school in California and their family speaks another language at home, the student takes an English screening test. Students who aren't yet fluent are English learners. Every spring, every English learner, kindergarten through grade 12, takes the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (the ELPAC) until they are fluent. Students who are already fluent in English are never on this chart.

What it measures

English itself: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Not math, not science. The test sorts students into four levels:

Level 1: Minimally Developed
Level 2: Somewhat Developed
Level 3: Moderately Developed
Level 4: Well Developed, close to fluent

What a dot means

How far the typical English learner's score was from the Level 4 mark that year. Zero means right at Level 4; below zero means short of it. A dot at −80 means the school's English learners averaged 80 points below Level 4.

The catch

This group keeps changing. When an English learner becomes fluent (reaching Level 4 is a big part of that), they are reclassified as fluent and stop taking the test. Each year the strongest students leave and new beginners arrive. So a school doing a great job can still look flat, because its successes keep leaving the chart.

Two smaller things

The small numbers under each year count English learners only, not the whole school.
The houses show the free or reduced-price meal share for the whole school. The state doesn't publish it for English learners separately.

What a change would look like

Dots climbing above the upper limit would mean English learners are reaching fluency faster than the current system "wants". Because the students who succeed keep leaving the group, a rise here understates the improvement behind it, which makes this one of the hardest charts to move.

The shaded band is this district's normal range. If nothing about how it works changes, nearly every future year should land inside it. Zero means the typical English learner's score is right at Level 4, "Well Developed". The small numbers under the years are how many students were tested.

Step 1 · Each year's result

For each grade tested, take the average (mean) scale score from the California Department of Education's results file, and subtract the lowest score that counts as "Level 4" for that grade. That is the grade's distance from standard. Weight each grade by its share of the students tested, then add the grades up. Grades where the state hides the average because ten or fewer students tested are left out entirely.

2018 from sa_elpac2018_all_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	27,188	1415.9	− 1474	−58.1	× 1610 / 10665	−8.8
1	26,841	1449.9	− 1507	−57.1	× 1359 / 10665	−7.3
2	26,871	1473.4	− 1532	−58.6	× 1241 / 10665	−6.8
3	26,899	1472.3	− 1535	−62.7	× 1113 / 10665	−6.5
4	26,929	1486.7	− 1549	−62.3	× 946 / 10665	−5.5
5	26,956	1492.6	− 1560	−67.4	× 757 / 10665	−4.8
6	26,983	1493.8	− 1567	−73.2	× 587 / 10665	−4
7	27,007	1503.6	− 1576	−72.4	× 545 / 10665	−3.7
8	27,031	1504.4	− 1590	−85.6	× 473 / 10665	−3.8
9	27,056	1471.4	− 1606	−134.6	× 572 / 10665	−7.2
10	27,080	1477.2	− 1606	−128.8	× 629 / 10665	−7.6
11	27,107	1506.2	− 1615	−108.8	× 511 / 10665	−5.2
12	27,133	1507.6	− 1615	−107.4	× 322 / 10665	−3.2
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−75

2019 from sa_elpac2019_all_csv_v2.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	30,401	1416.3	− 1474	−57.7	× 1525 / 10966	−8
1	30,013	1446.0	− 1507	−61	× 1389 / 10966	−7.7
2	30,044	1478.1	− 1532	−53.9	× 1303 / 10966	−6.4
3	30,076	1479.7	− 1535	−55.3	× 1101 / 10966	−5.6
4	30,106	1489.6	− 1549	−59.4	× 987 / 10966	−5.3
5	30,138	1499.1	− 1560	−60.9	× 777 / 10966	−4.3
6	30,165	1486.0	− 1567	−81	× 589 / 10966	−4.4
7	30,195	1493.3	− 1576	−82.7	× 590 / 10966	−4.4
8	30,223	1500.2	− 1590	−89.8	× 531 / 10966	−4.3
9	30,250	1428.6	− 1606	−177.4	× 639 / 10966	−10.3
10	30,279	1479.4	− 1606	−126.6	× 574 / 10966	−6.6
11	30,307	1492.4	− 1615	−122.6	× 517 / 10966	−5.8
12	30,337	1506.4	− 1615	−108.6	× 444 / 10966	−4.4
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−78

2021 from sa_elpac2021_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	1,478	1389.7	− 1474	−84.3	× 1065 / 7054	−12.7
1	1,465	1421.1	− 1507	−85.9	× 1053 / 7054	−12.8
2	1,466	1453.0	− 1532	−79	× 948 / 7054	−10.6
3	1,467	1467.1	− 1535	−67.9	× 816 / 7054	−7.9
4	1,468	1486.2	− 1549	−62.8	× 690 / 7054	−6.1
5	1,469	1496.7	− 1560	−63.3	× 587 / 7054	−5.3
6	1,470	1487.7	− 1567	−79.3	× 430 / 7054	−4.8
7	1,471	1492.7	− 1576	−83.3	× 399 / 7054	−4.7
8	1,472	1486.2	− 1590	−103.8	× 300 / 7054	−4.4
9	1,473	1497.5	− 1606	−108.5	× 185 / 7054	−2.8
10	1,474	1503.9	− 1606	−102.1	× 205 / 7054	−3
11	1,475	1527.1	− 1615	−87.9	× 165 / 7054	−2.1
12	1,476	1412.0	− 1615	−203	× 211 / 7054	−6.1
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−83

2022 from sa_elpac2022_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	1,479	1391.1	− 1474	−82.9	× 1338 / 10593	−10.5
1	1,466	1415.6	− 1507	−91.4	× 1113 / 10593	−9.6
2	1,467	1450.8	− 1532	−81.2	× 1134 / 10593	−8.7
3	1,468	1474.7	− 1535	−60.3	× 1043 / 10593	−5.9
4	1,469	1498.5	− 1549	−50.5	× 1064 / 10593	−5.1
5	1,470	1510.8	− 1560	−49.2	× 952 / 10593	−4.4
6	1,471	1506.4	− 1567	−60.6	× 680 / 10593	−3.9
7	1,472	1526.0	− 1576	−50	× 650 / 10593	−3.1
8	1,473	1526.8	− 1590	−63.2	× 569 / 10593	−3.4
9	1,474	1461.4	− 1606	−144.6	× 719 / 10593	−9.8
10	1,475	1499.7	− 1606	−106.3	× 492 / 10593	−4.9
11	1,476	1520.5	− 1615	−94.5	× 476 / 10593	−4.2
12	1,477	1525.5	− 1615	−89.5	× 363 / 10593	−3.1
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−77

2023 from sa_elpac2023_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	1,447	1391.0	− 1474	−83	× 1323 / 10458	−10.5
1	1,434	1423.9	− 1507	−83.1	× 1113 / 10458	−8.8
2	1,435	1448.4	− 1532	−83.6	× 1076 / 10458	−8.6
3	1,436	1473.5	− 1535	−61.5	× 1036 / 10458	−6.1
4	1,437	1495.5	− 1549	−53.5	× 936 / 10458	−4.8
5	1,438	1514.8	− 1560	−45.2	× 905 / 10458	−3.9
6	1,439	1511.4	− 1567	−55.6	× 679 / 10458	−3.6
7	1,440	1520.3	− 1576	−55.7	× 627 / 10458	−3.3
8	1,441	1531.0	− 1590	−59	× 556 / 10458	−3.1
9	1,442	1459.7	− 1606	−146.3	× 726 / 10458	−10.2
10	1,443	1480.2	− 1606	−125.8	× 656 / 10458	−7.9
11	1,444	1506.1	− 1615	−108.9	× 416 / 10458	−4.3
12	1,445	1511.4	− 1615	−103.6	× 409 / 10458	−4.1
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−79

2024 from sa_elpac2024_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	1,400	1363.0	− 1474	−111	× 1420 / 10847	−14.5
1	1,387	1399.0	− 1507	−108	× 1140 / 10847	−11.4
2	1,388	1438.0	− 1532	−94	× 1116 / 10847	−9.7
3	1,389	1464.9	− 1535	−70.1	× 1028 / 10847	−6.6
4	1,390	1485.7	− 1549	−63.3	× 1004 / 10847	−5.9
5	1,391	1496.5	− 1560	−63.5	× 862 / 10847	−5
6	1,392	1499.1	− 1567	−67.9	× 707 / 10847	−4.4
7	1,393	1507.1	− 1576	−68.9	× 651 / 10847	−4.1
8	1,394	1506.7	− 1590	−83.3	× 552 / 10847	−4.2
9	1,395	1454.1	− 1606	−151.9	× 701 / 10847	−9.8
10	1,396	1472.7	− 1606	−133.3	× 717 / 10847	−8.8
11	1,397	1497.9	− 1615	−117.1	× 542 / 10847	−5.9
12	1,398	1503.3	− 1615	−111.7	× 407 / 10847	−4.2
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−95

2025 from sa_elpac2025_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	1,403	1374.8	− 1474	−99.2	× 990 / 10320	−9.5
1	1,390	1400.9	− 1507	−106.1	× 1066 / 10320	−11
2	1,391	1440.2	− 1532	−91.8	× 1057 / 10320	−9.4
3	1,392	1467.1	− 1535	−67.9	× 1062 / 10320	−7
4	1,393	1486.1	− 1549	−62.9	× 954 / 10320	−5.8
5	1,394	1496.8	− 1560	−63.2	× 907 / 10320	−5.6
6	1,395	1490.8	− 1567	−76.2	× 708 / 10320	−5.2
7	1,396	1508.2	− 1576	−67.8	× 641 / 10320	−4.2
8	1,397	1507.6	− 1590	−82.4	× 562 / 10320	−4.5
9	1,398	1471.4	− 1606	−134.6	× 621 / 10320	−8.1
10	1,399	1491.3	− 1606	−114.7	× 662 / 10320	−7.4
11	1,400	1516.4	− 1615	−98.6	× 547 / 10320	−5.2
12	1,401	1509.1	− 1615	−105.9	× 543 / 10320	−5.6
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−88

2026 from sa_elpac2026_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Level 4	Distance	Students	Weighted
K	1,412	1377.6	− 1474	−96.4	× 958 / 9540	−9.7
1	1,399	1408.4	− 1507	−98.6	× 983 / 9540	−10.2
2	1,400	1443.8	− 1532	−88.2	× 969 / 9540	−9
3	1,401	1468.8	− 1535	−66.2	× 956 / 9540	−6.6
4	1,402	1491.5	− 1549	−57.5	× 955 / 9540	−5.8
5	1,403	1501.8	− 1560	−58.2	× 797 / 9540	−4.9
6	1,404	1502.0	− 1567	−65	× 680 / 9540	−4.6
7	1,405	1509.9	− 1576	−66.1	× 650 / 9540	−4.5
8	1,406	1525.2	− 1590	−64.8	× 534 / 9540	−3.6
9	1,407	1502.7	− 1606	−103.3	× 485 / 9540	−5.3
10	1,408	1497.3	− 1606	−108.7	× 553 / 9540	−6.3
11	1,409	1510.4	− 1615	−104.6	× 518 / 9540	−5.7
12	1,410	1507.6	− 1615	−107.4	× 502 / 9540	−5.7
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−82

Step 2 · The average and the normal range

Average: add the yearly results and divide by how many there are. −75, −78, −83, −77, −79, −95, −88, −82 → −82.1
Typical year-to-year change: how far the result moved from each year to the next, ignoring up or down. 2018→2019: 3 · 2019→2021: 5 · 2021→2022: 6 · 2022→2023: 2 · 2023→2024: 16 · 2024→2025: 7 · 2025→2026: 6 → average 6.4
Normal range: multiply the typical change by 2.66, then add it to the average and subtract it. 6.4 × 2.66 = 17. Upper limit −65.1, lower limit −99.1.

Why 2.66? It is the standard factor from quality control, the work of Walter Shewhart and W. Edwards Deming. It turns "how much the result typically changes in a year" into "how far it can wander by chance alone".

Years with no result (no state tests were given in spring 2020) are skipped: the year-to-year change runs from the last year with a result to the next one.

Step 3 · Free or reduced-price meals

The share of enrolled students eligible for free or reduced-price meals — for a district, the total across its schools. From 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26.

Oakland Unified