Beginning of Year ELD Assessment: How to Run One in the First Week
A practical guide to running a beginning of year ELD assessment across grammar, reading, writing, and speaking — and using what you find to plan the first weeks.
Every August, secondary ELD and ESL teachers walk into a classroom full of multilingual learners with one of two things in hand: a roster with scores from last spring, or nothing at all. Both leave you guessing.
A beginning of year ELD assessment closes that gap. Done well, it tells you what students can currently do across the four areas you actually teach — grammar, reading, writing, and speaking — and which patterns are blocking them most. That is the information you need to plan the first six weeks, and it is the information a year-old district score cannot give you.
📥 Get the free Beginning-of-Year ELD Diagnostic — an 18-page printable for grades 6–12, written for ELD levels 1–4, with answer keys, a student score sheet, and a class profile sheet. Free, no email required.
Why a Beginning of Year ELD Assessment Matters
Spring scores are a year old by the time you see them, and summer changes things — especially for newcomers and recent arrivals. Without your own baseline, you can spend the first three weeks teaching content that is either far too hard or far too easy for half the room.
A baseline you gathered yourself also gives you something concrete for your first parent conference, your first PLC, and your first IEP/504 meeting. "Here is what your student did in writing on day four, and here is what we are working on next" is a far stronger sentence than "They're working hard."
What the Free Diagnostic Actually Contains
The Grammar Spy packet is one printable PDF, 18 pages, letter size and black-and-white friendly. It covers four areas rather than grammar alone:
- Grammar — present simple, present continuous, past tense, future forms, pronouns, and question formation.
- Reading — one narrative passage and one informational passage, with vocabulary, main idea, and inference questions.
- Writing — a narrative prompt with a planning organizer and a student self-check list.
- Speaking — a short set of interview questions with a teacher observation checklist.
Plan on roughly 65–82 minutes of class time in total, and expect to split it across two or three periods. A common pattern: grammar and reading on day one, writing on day two, and the speaking interviews one student at a time during independent work over the following days.
Nothing is submitted online and nothing is auto-scored. You score the packet yourself using the included answer keys, then record results on the score sheet.
How to Run It Without Losing Your First Week
Print one packet per student before day one. The grammar, reading, and writing sections need no setup beyond a pencil. The speaking section is a one-to-one teacher interview, so plan a routine that keeps the rest of the class working while you talk to individuals — silent reading, a station, or a low-stakes game.
Run it early, but not on day one. Day three or four works well: students are settled enough to try, and you have not yet committed to a scope and sequence you would have to unpick.
For students who arrive mid-year, run it within their first two weeks. You need instructional information immediately, and the same packet gives you a comparable starting point.
How to Read the Results
Score for patterns, not points. You are not producing a percentage or a proficiency level — you are working out what to teach first. Transfer each student's section scores to the score sheet, then roll the class up on the class profile sheet.
Then ask three questions of the class profile: which area is weakest across the room, which students are outliers in either direction, and which single grammar pattern shows up in the writing sample most often. Those three answers are your first unit, your first small group, and your first set of bell ringers.
Treat the results as one data point for instructional planning alongside your own observations and your district's assessments. This packet is not a placement instrument and does not assign a proficiency level.
What to Do With the Results in Week One
Share targets, not scores. "You are working on past tense and subject-verb agreement this month, and here is why it matters for everything you write" is usable by a student; a number is not.
Conference first with the students whose writing sample was shortest. Five minutes, one-on-one, looking at their own page together. In my experience that is the highest-leverage thing you can do in the first two weeks.
Then build the routine. Use the first-week grammar bell ringers for the daily warm-up and pick the curriculum arc that matches the pattern the class profile surfaced.
📥 Download the free diagnostic or open the PDF directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take? Roughly 65–82 minutes of class time in total, usually split across two or three class periods.
What does it assess? Four areas — grammar, reading, writing, and speaking — over 18 printed pages, for grades 6–12 at ELD levels 1–4.
Can I use it with newcomers? Yes. It is written for levels 1–4, and short or partial responses are still information.
Can I use it for placement or reclassification? No. Use it as one instructional data point alongside other assessments and your own observations.
Should I re-run it later? Re-running the same packet mid-year gives you a like-for-like comparison in the areas you have been teaching.
Do I need an account? No. The PDF is a direct free download; the email form is optional.
Where to Go Next
1. Print the diagnostic. Run it on day three or four, split across two or three periods.
2. Fill in the class profile sheet. Sort by the pattern that is blocking students most, not by a score.
3. Pick the matching arc. The six Grammar Spy curriculum arcs are organised by communicative purpose, so you can start with the one your class profile points to.
Related: How to Teach Grammar to ELL Students · Grammar Intervention for High School Students · ELD Grammar Activities · Free Teacher Toolkits.