This study, conducted by WestEd and the California Department of Education, examines whether California’s criteria for exiting English Learner status are rigorous, fair, and necessary—offering policymakers, district leaders, and advocates for English Learners timely evidence on one of the state’s most consequential classification decisions.

California is the only state that still requires students to meet four separate criteria before exiting English Learner status, and concerns about whether those criteria are equitable, consistent, or even necessary have grown across the field. This study finds that the state’s current English language proficiency standard—Level 4 on the ELPAC—is both rigorous and appropriate and has remained so over time. Notably, English Learners who reach Level 4 tend to outperform English-only peers on the statewide language arts assessment across multiple student groups.