PEOPLE (Pruebas de Expresion Oral y Percepcion de la Lengua Espanol) was developed as a test to help distinguish between a language difference and a language deficit in non English proficient (NEP) and limited English proficient (LEP) elementary Hispanic students. PEOPLE was developed, pilot tested in 14 school districts in Los Angeles County with 136 Mexican American students, and in field testing found to promise validity and reliability after editing. Subtests of PEOPLE include auditory association, sentence repetition, encoding, auditory sequential memory, and story comprehension (sample items of each are given). (CL)