LAS Links Practice Test: Official Practice, Test Format and Scores by Grade

Last updated: October 21, 2026

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

The official LAS Links practice test is a free online tool from DRC, the company that publishes LAS Links. It lets students try the online tools and a few items in each domain (speaking, listening, reading and writing), with no test ticket. It is not a released test form and it does not predict a score. LAS Links itself is a K-12 English language proficiency test: Texas uses it, with preLAS for the youngest students, as the single state-approved test to identify emergent bilingual students, and Connecticut gives it to every English learner each year between January and March. This guide covers the official practice, the test format, the Texas identification rules, scores and cut scores, and the Connecticut window and exit criteria.

Executive Summary

LAS Links matters to two very different readers. In Texas, it is the test every district gives a newly enrolled student whose home language survey names a language other than English, and its result feeds the LPAC decision that must be made within four calendar weeks of enrollment. In Connecticut, it is the annual English language proficiency assessment, and its scores decide who exits English learner status.

The practice question is the same in both places. DRC publishes an online practice test that takes about 8 to 10 minutes for the first domain and 3 to 5 minutes for each of the others. It shows students the screens, the recording tool and a handful of items. That is worth doing for any student who has not used the online platform, because it separates English proficiency from unfamiliarity with the interface. It is not a way to raise a proficiency level, and districts should not treat it as one.

Key Takeaways

• There is an official LAS Links practice test, free and online, with no test ticket required.
• It covers all four domains in English and Spanish, by grade span, and is recommended but not required.
• LAS Links is the Texas identification test: preLAS in prekindergarten and kindergarten, LAS Links from grade 1 to grade 12.
• In Texas grades 2-12, a proficiency level of 1, 2 or 3 in any domain identifies a student as an emergent bilingual.
• The test is untimed, and the four domains can be given on different days.
• Connecticut’s 2026-27 LAS Links window runs January 4 to March 5, 2027.
• Connecticut exit requires an Overall level of 4 or 5, plus at least 4 in Reading and 4 in Writing.

Is There an Official LAS Links Practice Test?

Quick answer: yes. DRC provides a free online LAS Links practice test. According to DRC, it lets students practice the online tools and a few items in each domain, and it is “highly recommended but not required.”

DRC’s guide to the practice test lists three ways to open it: the direct practice portal at wbte.drcedirect.com/LL/portals/ll, the “WBTE Portal” link inside the LAS Links INSIGHT portal, or the INSIGHT testing application itself. No test ticket is needed: the login credentials appear on the login screen. The practice test is offered in English and Spanish for each LAS Links form, and students choose a language, a form and a grade span before starting.

The first domain takes longer because it starts with a navigation video and tools practice. Once a student has seen them, the remaining domains go straight to the practice items. DRC also advises judging a student’s keyboarding skills from what you observe during the practice test, not from assumptions, which makes the practice session the right moment to spot a student who will need help with the writing interface.

What the practice test is not: a released form, a score predictor or a study guide. Searches for “LAS Links practice test PDF” also return files that are not published by DRC or a state agency. The official materials come from DRC and from the state departments that use the test.

What Is LAS Links?

LAS Links is a K-12 English language proficiency assessment published by DRC that measures speaking, listening, reading and writing. DRC describes it as available in English and Spanish, with five grade spans: K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The online and paper versions present the same items.

Who uses it varies by state. Texas uses the LAS battery for emergent bilingual identification. Connecticut uses LAS Links as its annual state English language proficiency assessment. Elsewhere, districts use it locally, for example for placement or progress monitoring.

LAS Links Test Format by Domain

The test is untimed. DRC’s guidance is that trained test administrators give students as much time as they need while they are working. The times below are DRC’s estimates of actual testing time, not limits.

Three administration rules matter more than the timings. Domains can be given in any order and on different days, although DRC recommends finishing a domain in the sitting where it was started. A student should be tested either fully online or fully on paper, not a mix. And if a student stops engaging, a trained administrator may stop that subtest and move on, but the decision must be documented and passed to the LPAC in Texas. DRC’s two FAQs give slightly different listening estimates (10-15 and 15-20 minutes), so plan on the longer one.

LAS Links in Texas: The Emergent Bilingual Identification Test

In Texas, preLAS and LAS Links are the single state-approved English language proficiency test for identifying emergent bilingual (EB) students. Texas has used one statewide identification test since the 2019-2020 school year, and DRC was selected by TEA to provide it. The current rule is 19 TAC §89.1226, whose latest amendment took effect on February 10, 2025.

DRC’s Texas program also includes Spanish forms (preLAS Español Form C and LAS Links Español Form A), used in particular by districts with a bilingual program. Grade assignments come from TEA’s LPAC Beginning-of-Year guidance (July 2025); forms and score rules come from DRC’s Texas identification requirements.

How the Texas Identification Process Works

1. Home language survey at enrollment. If it names a language other than English, the student is tested.
2. preLAS or LAS Links, by grade, as in the table above, in person or virtually.
3. Results. Online, results reach reports 30 to 60 minutes after local educator scoring (speaking, writing, and reading in grades 4-12) or after test completion (listening, and reading in K-3). Paper tests are scored locally right after testing.
4. LPAC decision. The district completes identification and convenes the LPAC to decide on identification and recommend program placement within four calendar weeks of the student’s initial enrollment.

Who administers is a local decision, but DRC specifies professionals or paraprofessionals who are proficient in the language of the test. Districts pay DRC directly for the tests. For the rest of the state framework, see Texas English learner requirements and what “emergent bilingual” means in Texas.

LAS Links Scores: Proficiency Levels, Composites and Cut Scores

LAS Links reports five proficiency levels for each domain and for each composite. The level descriptions below are paraphrased from the LAS Links proficiency level definitions published by the Connecticut State Department of Education.

Composites average domain scale scores: Overall (all four), Oral (listening and speaking), Comprehension (listening and reading), Literacy (reading and writing) and Productive (writing and speaking). Levels 1 to 3 mean “not yet proficient,” which is why a 1, 2 or 3 identifies a Texas student and why Connecticut requires a 4 or 5 to exit.

LAS Links Cut Scores (Forms E and F, Overall)

DRC published the full cut score table for Forms E and F after a standards validation in January 2023. The Overall cuts below are the scale scores at which each level begins.

Two cautions. First, these are the cuts for Forms E and F, the table the Connecticut State Department of Education publishes; Texas identifies with Form A, so read a Texas student’s level on the score report rather than from this table. Second, the 2023 validation lowered the Proficient and Above Proficient cuts for kindergarten and grade 1 writing (and the composites that include writing), so year-to-year trends in those grades are not comparable across 2022 and 2023.

LAS Links in Connecticut: Testing Window and Exit Criteria

Connecticut gives LAS Links every year to all English learners in grades K-12, online through DRC INSIGHT. Students who participate in the state’s alternate assessment system take the Connecticut Alternate Assessment of English Language Proficiency (CAAELP) instead.

Connecticut exit criteria (grades K-12): an Overall LAS Links level of 4 or 5, and a Reading score of 4 or higher, and a Writing score of 4 or higher. All three conditions must be met. The state’s LAS Links documents page also links the online practice tools, so Connecticut students can use the same DRC practice test before the January window.

LAS Links vs TELPAS

Texas educators often meet both tests in the same year, and they answer different questions.

For the annual test, see the TELPAS testing window and the TELPAS practice test guide.

Beyond Identification: Using LAS Links to Track Growth

Because LAS Links has several forms on one scale, districts can test again during the year. DRC’s Texas materials describe using the other English forms for pre and post testing and interim progress monitoring, including for the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment, and preLAS Form D for end-of-year monitoring in the early grades, on the same scale as Form C.

This is optional, and it has a cost. But it is the only way the identification test produces a growth measure before TELPAS results arrive, which is useful for a district that wants to see whether its newcomer supports are working before spring.

Funding and Purchasing

The federal rule on screening comes from U.S. Department of Education guidance, summarized by the Tennessee Department of Education: because districts must identify and place English learners regardless of federal funding, paying for screening or placement tests with Title I or Title III funds would violate supplement-not-supplant. What Title III can pay for is listed in what Title III funds can be used for.

District Benchmark: What Identification Asks of a Texas District

Texas enrolled 1,290,293 emergent bilingual students in 2025-26, about 24% of all students, according to a Texas 2036 analysis of TEA data. Identification testing scales with new enrollment, not with the EB total, so the arithmetic below uses illustrative assumptions.

• A 10,000-student district enrolls 1,000 new students in a year (10%).
• If one in four reports another home language, about 250 students are tested.
• For a student in grades 2-12, the four domains take roughly 90 to 125 minutes of testing time.
• Most of those tests land in August and September, each with its own four-week LPAC deadline.

That is several hundred hours of student testing time, plus local scoring of speaking and writing, concentrated in the first weeks of school. The practice test is cheap insurance in that context: ten minutes that keep an interface problem from being recorded as a language problem in a decision that follows the student for years.

Common Mistakes District Leaders Make

1. Treating the practice test as a predictor. It shows the interface and a few items. It does not estimate a level.
2. Skipping practice for students new to computers. Keyboarding and recording problems then show up as low writing or speaking scores.
3. Reading Texas Form A results against the Forms E and F table. Use the score report.
4. Confusing LAS Links with TELPAS. One identifies, the other measures annual progress.
5. Mixing paper and online for one student. DRC recommends one mode per student.
6. Not documenting a stopped subtest. The LPAC needs that record.
7. Letting August volume push identification past four weeks. Plan testers and scorers before the first day of school.

Recommended Actions

Immediate (this month): confirm who administers and scores LAS Links on each campus, and check that every test administrator knows where the practice test is.

Medium-term (this year): build the practice test into the enrollment workflow for students who have not used the online platform, and track the share of identifications completed within four weeks.

Long-term (strategy): decide whether a second LAS Links form during the year would give your newcomer program a growth signal before TELPAS, and budget for it outside federal funds.

Questions District Leaders Should Ask

• How many identification tests did we give last year, and in which months?
• What share of LPAC identification decisions met the four-week deadline?
• Who scores speaking and writing locally, and how long does it take?
• Do students take the practice test before their first LAS Links session?
• How many newly identified students start at level 1 or 2 in speaking, and what speaking practice do they get in their first semester?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an official LAS Links practice test?

Yes. DRC offers a free online LAS Links practice test covering all four domains, in English and Spanish, with no test ticket. It is recommended but not required, and it is not scored.

What is LAS Links assessment?

LAS Links is a K-12 English language proficiency assessment published by DRC. It measures speaking, listening, reading and writing and reports five proficiency levels, from Beginning to Above Proficient.

What is LAS Links in Texas?

It is part of the single state-approved test Texas uses to identify emergent bilingual students: preLAS in PK3 to kindergarten, LAS Links from grade 1 to grade 12. Districts give it after the home language survey and before the LPAC decision.

Is the LAS Links online assessment a timed assessment?

No. Test administrators give students as much time as they need while they are working. DRC’s typical times are 10-15 minutes for speaking, 10-20 for listening and 35-45 each for reading and writing.

Do students have to finish LAS Links in one sitting?

No. The four domains can be given in any order and on different days. DRC recommends finishing a domain in the same sitting where it was started.

What is pre-LAS testing?

preLAS is the early-childhood test in the same family, used in prekindergarten and kindergarten. In Texas, PK3, PK4 and kindergarten students take the preLAS Oral component (Form C), and an Oral score of 1, 2 or 3 identifies them as emergent bilingual.

What LAS Links score identifies a student as an emergent bilingual?

In Texas grades 2-12, a proficiency level of 1, 2 or 3 in any of the four domains. Levels 4 and 5 mean proficient.

What LAS Links score do students need to exit EL status in Connecticut?

An Overall level of 4 or 5, a Reading score of 4 or higher and a Writing score of 4 or higher, all three together.

Can LAS Links be given online or remotely?

Yes. LAS Links runs online or on paper, with the same items, and TEA’s guidance allows preLAS and LAS Links to be administered in person or virtually for identification.

Related Resources

• English Learners in Texas: A District Guide
• LPAC Committee: Membership, Deadlines and Duties
• Texas English Learner Requirements
• TELPAS Testing Window 2027
• English Language Proficiency Assessments Guide
• WIDA ACCESS Practice Test

Conclusion

The LAS Links practice test does one thing: it makes the platform familiar so the score measures English, not the interface. In Texas that matters more than for most tests, because the result decides identification and placement within four weeks of a student’s arrival. Ten minutes of practice is a small price for a cleaner decision; the real work starts the day after the LPAC meets.

Sources: DRC, LAS Links Online Administration FAQs; DRC, LAS Links General Information; DRC, Navigating the LAS Links Practice Test; DRC, Texas Emergent Bilingual Student Identification Program; DRC, LAS Links ID Program Requirements (Texas); DRC, preLAS ID Program Requirements (Texas); TEA, LPAC Beginning-of-Year Guidance, July 2025; 19 TAC §89.1226; DRC, LAS Links TIA Vendor FAQ, Spring 2026; DRC, LAS Links Standards Validation Results, Forms E and F, 2023; LAS Links Proficiency Level Definitions (CSDE); CSDE, 2026-27 State Summative Assessment Calendar; CSDE, English Learner Exit Criteria; CSDE, LAS Links Documents; Texas 2036, Enrollment Report 2026; Tennessee Department of Education, Title III Supplement Not Supplant.

The First Semester After the Score

A student arrives in late September, takes LAS Links, and the report comes back at level 1 or 2 in speaking. The LPAC meets, a placement is set, and the student joins a class of twenty-five where English is spoken all day and the student almost never speaks it.

We know what that student needs most: turns to talk, every day, long enough to build a sentence. We also know what one teacher can give. Spoken practice happens one voice at a time, and a full class leaves each student a few minutes a day at best, however skilled the teacher.

Some districts now add speaking practice that does not wait for the teacher’s turn. Telo AI is one example: five-minute conversations three times a week, up to an hour of extra speaking a month, where the student is pushed past one-word answers toward longer responses and the teacher sees participation and speaking growth across sessions. See how newly identified students get more time to speak.

The identification score describes where a student starts. The first semester decides how long they stay there.