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Reading Foundational Skills Support Guide

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Elementary ELD Instruction

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English Learner Instruction / Elementary English Learner Instruction

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Local District Northeast - Parent & Community Engagement Center

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Secondary ELD Instruction

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English Learner Instruction / LTEL Courses - General Resources

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Conversation Norms Poster Conversation Skills Poster Listening Task Poster - CREATE Listening Task Poster - CREATE Student Version Listening Task Poster for CLARIFY Listening Task Poster for CLARIFY Student Version Listening Task Poster for FORTIFY Student Version Listening Task Poster for FORTIFY v2 Listening Task Poster for NEGOTIATE Listening Task Poster for NEGOTIATE Student Version

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Lessons for newcomers and teaching basic classroom discourses

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Multilingual & Multicultural Education / ELD Standards

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Local District Northeast - Parent & Community Engagement Center

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In multiple languages

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This comprehensive guide, Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants, contains practical information to help you settle into everyday life in the United States. It also contains basic civics information that introduces you to the U.S. system of government. You can download free copies in 14 languages. You can purchase printed copies in English, Spanish, and Chinese through the U.S. Government Bookstore.

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bienvenidos a los estados unidos de america

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This comprehensive guide, Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants, contains practical information to help you settle into everyday life in the United States. It also contains basic civics information that introduces you to the U.S. system of government. You can download free copies in 14 languages.

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Upon enrolling their child in public school for the first time, families embark on a time-honored but toilsome tradition: filling out paperwork. Amongst the barrage, parents and caretakers will likely fill out a home language survey - a staple in the English learner identification process. Schools use this form to learn whether students speak a language other than English at home, and if so, schools assess the student to determine if they are in fact an English learner (EL). Students that are deemed ELs join a group of about 5 million other ELs currently enrolled in U.S. public schools.

English learners do not always remain ELs, though. They can be reclassified through the following process: Once identified, federal law requires that ELs be placed in a Language Instruction Educational Program (LIEP), following parent approval, and subsequently monitored until they attain English proficiency and meet state-mandated criteria to exit programs. Once they meet those criteria, districts monitor former-ELs' academic progress for four years. How long these ELs remain a part of the EL subgroup varies greatly, in no small part due to the muddled process of EL reclassification - a problem that a new report could potentially help address.

What should be a straightforward four-part reclassification process is anything but when it comes to implementation. Though federal law dictates the mandatory steps involved in the process, states have autonomy to set their own exit criteria for ELs. Many states use different exams to measure English proficiency (some that they devise themselves), and even when they use the same assessment, they often define "proficiency" by different benchmarks. To complicate the process further, some states give school districts and individual schools ample control over the exit criteria and process (although this practice is slated to end under the Every Student Succeeds Act). As a result, current reclassification practices in schools can be as misguided as they are myriad.

My colleague Conor Williams highlighted these discrepancies in his comprehensive 50-state scan of reclassification policies, Chaos for English Learners, where he writes, "States' reclassification policies align only by accident. Students who satisfy South Dakota's reclassification requirements could well be several years away from meeting Michigan's benchmark."

But serious reforms face the central question: How many years should it take ELs to obtain English proficiency after being identified as ELs?

Answering this question incorrectly carries big consequences for ELs. In fact, studies show that ELs who are reclassified too early or too late are more likely to exhibit lower levels of academic achievement and higher dropout rates than their peers who are reclassified more aptly. The reasons behind these outcomes are simple enough. ELs who shed their English learner status too quickly lose necessary language supports; to make matters worse, the federal and state governments do not provide extra funding to districts for the support of former-ELs. ELs who are reclassified too late, by contrast, may get fewer opportunities to interact with mainstream peers and often miss out on more advanced content instruction. As my colleague Janie Carnock explains, to overcome this "Goldilocks" dilemma we should aim to "exit ELs not too early, not too late, but when it's just right for their long-term success." But the question remains: How long is "just right"?

New research on EL language acquisition trajectories could prove vital to answering this all-important question of timing. A November 2017 report of Hispanic ELs residing in Texas public schools - conducted through a collaboration between Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West at WestEd and the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) - analyzed eight years worth of academic achievement data for over 85,000 ELs starting from their enrollment in first grade. They found that of students entering second grade without English proficiency, 50 percent of them reached proficiency in 2.6 years (by the middle of fourth grade). By eighth grade, approximately 88 percent of ELs had satisfied English proficiency.

These Texas-based ELs demonstrated faster progress toward English proficiency than existing research projections, which suggest that it takes four to seven years to obtain full English proficiency. In a 2015 study of ELs residing in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), for example, 60 percent of ELs attained proficiency within the four to seven-year window. Although Texas and California use different measures of English language proficiency and set different criteria for reclassification, it is still notable that LAUSD ELs seem to have fared worse than their Texas peers on their path to English proficiency. In fact, about one-fourth of the students analyzed at LAUSD were still not reclassified by ninth grade, nine years after their initial classification as ELs. In contrast, only 12 percent of Texas ELs were in the same place by eighth grade.

Both reports do agree on one point: specific subgroups of ELs lag in English proficiency and struggle to meet reclassification criteria. It took half of the cohort of Texas ELs enrolled in special education 5.6 years to attain English proficiency on the state-mandated English proficiency exam, compared to the 2.6 years it took half of their EL peers not receiving special education services. For Texas ELs, age at enrollment in first grade was also consequential: students who were seven years or older at the time of enrollment in first grade were half as likely to attain English proficiency than their peers enrolled in first grade at an earlier age. Finally, students enrolled in free and reduced lunch services - a common proxy measure for low-income status - were also less likely to attain English proficiency.

The study of LAUSD ELs also found that students enrolled in special education made up a disproportionate segment (30 percent) of students who did not achieve English proficiency by ninth grade. Additionally, researchers found that students whose initial performance in English was low in kindergarten were 24 percent less likely to be reclassified by ninth grade than their peers. Additional groups that struggled to attain English proficiency in LAUSD were boys and students whose parents had lower levels of education. Previous research supports both of the studies' findings and also shores up additional vulnerable EL sub-groups, including Spanish-speaking ELs and foreign-born ELs.

Now that there is growing empirical support for better reclassification policies, there are several difficult next steps for states, districts, and schools to consider:

1. Adopting research-based supports that can help ELs reach English proficiency within a reasonable timespan;

2. Ensuring that language acquisition is not taught in isolation, but instead is embedded with content instruction so that ELs do not fall unduly behind on academics;

3. Offering specialized support to subgroups who are are at risk of falling behind and differentiating progress expectations for these subgroups when necessary;

4. Lengthening the monitoring period through 12th grade and increasing financial support for former-ELs; and

5. Standardizing English proficiency measures and reclassification criteria between states to ensure that ELs in all states are held up to the same standards.

ELs face a host of educational roadblocks that, if left unaddressed, can greatly impact their academic and personal trajectories. Given recent research that highlights the link between reclassification policies and EL outcomes, it is only fair that decision makers work to develop empirically-grounded reclassification policies. So many students are or have been ELs and their number will likely grow in the coming years. While reforming reclassification policies and practices alone will not address all of their challenges, for many ELs, the right supports could be the difference between graduating high school prepared to participate in higher education and dropping out.

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Finding the Sweet Spot for English Learner Reclassification

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Upon enrolling their child in public school for the first time, families embark on a time-honored but toilsome tradition: filling out paperwork. Amongst the barrage, parents and caretakers will likely fill out a home language survey - a staple in the English learner identification process.

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EL Master Plan

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Multilingual & Multicultural Education / Master Plan

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Local District Northeast - Parent & Community Engagement Center

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Model Curriculum: English Language Arts (K-12) - Grade 1 Overview

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NJ Home |Services A to Z |Departments/Agencies |FAQs

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Contact Us

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Disclaimer: A reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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massachusetts department of elementary and secondary education

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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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Page Not Found - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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The goal of the Massachusetts public K-12 education system is to prepare all students for success after high school. Massachusetts public school students are leading the nation in reading and math and are at the top internationally in reading, science, and math according to the national NAEP and international PISA assessments.

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ELD Resources to use for professional development in English Language Development and work with English Learners in California

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Strategies for Opinions and Debates | Ellevation Education

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Hear Jeff Zwiers, leading academic language and literacy expert, share strategies for engaging students with opinions and debates to foster interactions and improve speaking and listening skills.

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DLLP - Dynamic Language Learning Progressions Project UCLA | Dynamic Language Learning Progressions Project

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Develop research conjectured and empirically validated dynamic language learning progressions encompassing the language development of students pre-k through grade 12, both English Proficient and English Language Learners, for a range of academic language functions, for example, explanation, description and definition, needed for success in school * Inform, in conjunction with the WIDA standards, the ASSETS Consortium's development of interim and summative assessments * Develop materials to support the use of the DLLPs by teachers for instruction and formative assessment Research on the project was conducted in

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"Those kids are often really talented in the real world," said Ron Berger, chief academic officer for Expeditionary Learning, a network of schools that has pioneered the deeper learning movement. "In real life they thrive in many ways, so the more ways that we can make academic work connect to the real world, we let those kids thrive."

To that end, educators have to move past the idea that learning is a linear process. "It's crazy to separate basic skills from engaging complex work," Berger said. Instead, the basic skills should be in service of something exciting to students because few students show their capacity through textbook work.

An example of a project that meets every learner at their skill level was done in a fourth grade Spanish class in which there were students who had never studied Spanish before alongside native speakers. The teacher partnered with a school in Guatemala online that also had Spanish language learners because its students mostly spoke indigenous languages like Mayan. The two classrooms wrote books for one another. Some books had complicated story lines and others were simpler, but the project gave each student the chance to contribute something meaningful. "They all created something beautiful and of quality," Berger said.
CREATING STRUCTURES FOR SUCCESS
Reaching all learners successfully is a tough job and requires carefully thought-out structures. "There's a misperception that deeper learning is unstructured," Berger said. "It's really just a question about what you're going to be tight and loose about. In traditional classrooms they are tight about pacing and about kids being quiet. I'd rather be tight about kids being focused and courteous." Changing the focus might make for a more chaotic classroom, but meaningful learning is often happening between students in that environment. "It's an active peer-driven sense of working towards quality," Berger said. "It's not just sitting passively and letting someone tell you what to think."

Careful grouping is important to give all learners the best chance at success. "The key thing about deeper learning for the kids we work with is not whether they can do it, but how can we structure classrooms so they can be successful," said Joe Luft, senior director of programs for the Internationals Network and a former teacher and principal at one of their schools.

"You want to be able to support students academically and in terms of literacy," said Rosemary Milczewski, a math teacher at Flushing International High School. "They are arguing; they are talking to each other; and I'm walking around as a facilitator." A common way to teach students for whom English isn't their first language is to group them by proficiency. But Sylvan says that rarely works. Grouping is a delicate balance of English language ability, native language ability, and familiarity with the academic content. "The grouping would differ based on the task you are asking students to do," Sylvan said.
TEACHER GROUPING
In addition to carefully grouping students for project work, it can be very helpful to group teaching staff to best serve the needs of students. At Internationals High Schools, five teachers all work with the same group of students. They coordinate closely on the literacy goals that cross all classes in addition to developing interesting projects together. For example, all teachers may be working on helping students use language to compare and contrast or to use cause and effect language, no matter what subject they teach.

Creating class structures that support student-self esteem and promote an open culture also help reluctant or traditionally hard-to-reach students. "The first thing that comes to mind for me is changing students' perceptions of themselves so they don't see themselves as unable to learn," said Thabiti Brown, principal of Codman Academy, a Boston charter school in the process of growing to be a K-12 school. "If they are thinking about themselves as students who are exercising that muscle, the brain, then it changes their perception of themselves." Students also need to feel permission to express themselves and to know that their input is valued.

Milczewski immigrated to the U.S. when she was a teenager and attended an Internationals School. She uses her story to motivate her students and create a community of learners. "Telling them my story, I feel like it gives them some hope," she said. "They realize they can graduate from high school, go to college and all they've got to do is work hard."
SCHOOL STRUCTURES TO PROMOTE SUCCESS
Teachers working with challenged students need extra time to plan, tutor, and work together. We need a lot of different time to meet in lots of different configurations around a lot of different issues," said Ben Daley, chief academic officer at High Tech High. At Flushing Internationals School teachers meet for two hours each week to discuss instructional work and ways to support specific students. They plan the language function and outcomes they'll be working on and talk logistics.

Additionally, each week they meet to talk about social and emotional needs of students, and there's always a morning meeting for team leaders to report back on the school-wide administrative issues. In addition to all of that, teachers are on committees to help make decisions about the schools. These school-wide structures help teachers feel supported and connected in their difficult work and keep the staff on the same page about learning goals, but they are often built into the school day, not an addition.

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Strategies to Reach Every Student, Regardless of Language Barrier | KQED

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Helping every student experience meaningful, deep learning is a constant challenge, in no small part because no two learners are alike. To reach students who are particularly challenged -- whether because of their ability to speak English or some other reason -- educators can find a way in by tapping into students' interests and passion.