As required by ESSA and Rule 15, districts must annually assess the English proficiency of all English learners. The test required by NDE is the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century(EPLA21.)

All students designated as English learners on ADVISER, must participate in ELPA21 testing.

English learners eligible for alternate assessments for NSCAS (NSCAS-AAELA, AAM, AAS) are still required to participate annually in the ELPA21, with appropriate accommodations as allowed in the ELPA21 Accessibility and Accommodations Manual. DACs concerned about a student with a disability that would prohibit access to a domain subtest of ELPA21, for example, in the case of a deaf student being unable to hear the Listening subtest, should contact the NDE Title III office for further guidance.