Fewer 'English learners' reach proficiency under new standards

By Laurel Rosenhall / The Sacramento Bee06/22/07 04:48:58

California has ratcheted up the standards for students to be considered fluent in English, causing fewer of them than last year to meet the bar. Twenty-nine percent of the 1.3 million students who are labeled "English learners" scored proficient on the test that measures their acquisition of the language, according to results released Thursday by the state Department of Education.
Last year, 44% were considered proficient.

But the difference doesn't mean fewer immigrant students are learning English, education officials said. Instead, they said, it reflects a harder test and tougher scoring: Students now have to answer more questions right in order to be considered fluent.

"Our goal is to better prepare all students with strong communication skills in English so they can effectively participate in school and successfully compete in the work force," state Superintendent Jack O'Connell said in releasing the scores.

The new system results from input state officials received from nearly 100 teachers and principals throughout California. It's supposed to more closely match the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills students need in mainstream classrooms.

Students who score well on the California English Language Development Test, or CELDT, are supposed to move out of the English learner category and into mainstream classrooms with English-speaking peers -- if they also have a teacher recommendation, parent approval and score well on the English standards test that English-speaking students take.

Students who score low on the CELDT are supposed to be taught in ways that bolster their language skills, while they also learn history, math and science. The strategies vary from school to school, but on many campuses English learners are in separate classrooms.

It's up to each school district to decide when a student is ready to advance from English-learner education to mainstream education. And many districts appear reticent to reclassify them.

Even though 29% of English learners scored as proficient on the CELDT this year, just 9% were reclassified and moved out of the English-learner category, state data show. That could be because schools have a financial incentive to keep students in the English learner category.

Schools receive an additional $90 for each student considered an English learner, Department of Education officials said.

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