12/17/08

Elizabeth Jimnez, CEO GEMAS Consulting and Advocacy

Introduction
Educators examine the process from initial identification to reclassification of fluent English proficient Educators participate in an activity to understand the five levels of English language proficiency. Participants actively engage in learning to spot culture bias in tests and discuss the implications of test instruments that are valid and reliable for English learners.

Terminology to Know
Home Language Survey (HLS) Reclassification Proficiency Test Achievement Test Formative Assessment Summative Assessment Validity Reliability Norm

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Identifying English Learners

In order to provide a quality education to English learners those students must be identified as such Each state has a prescribed process to initially identify English learners and to determine when they have reached fluent English proficiency

The Process for Initial Identification of English Learners

Complete the Home Language Survey (HLS) The HLS is placed in the students cumulative file Based on the results of the HLS, the student is given the initial English Language Proficiency Test within 30 days of enrollment A letter is sent to parents with the results Based on the results of the English Language Proficiency Test, the student is placed in an appropriate setting

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Home Language Survey

HOME LANGUAGE SURVEY ENGLISH VERSION Name of Student: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Surname / Last Name First Given Name Second Given Name School: ____________________________ Age: ______Grade Level: _______Teacher Name:______________

Directions to Parents and Guardians: Please respond to each of the four questions listed below as accurately as possible. For each question, write the name(s) of the language(s) that apply in the space provided. Please do not leave any question unanswered. Which language did your child learn when he/she first began to talk? Which language does your child most frequently speak at home? Which language do you (the parents or guardians) most frequently use when speaking with your child? Which language is most often spoken by adults in the home? (parents, guardians, grandparents, or any other adults) Please sign and date this form in the spaces provided below, then return this form to your childs teacher. Thank you for your cooperation. Signature of Parent or Guardian Date

The Role of the Front Office

Customer service to the families and students who attend a school should begin when they step on campus. Does the sign or kiosk in front of the school say welcome in the languages of the community? Is the front office staff ready to answer the phone and greet all comers in the languages of the community? Has the district administration trained front office staff on the programs for English learners? Parents often rely on those who can speak their language to guide them and answer their questions.

Initial Identification in CA
All students whose primary language is not English, based on the Home Language Survey (HLS), must take the CELDT within 30 calendar days after they are enrolled in a California public school for the first time to determine if they are English learners.

Source: CA Dept. of Education

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Initial Assessment of Language Proficiency

In California, the state designated English Language Proficiency test is the CELDT CA English Language Development Test CELDT tests 4 domains of language CELDT is not grade specific. It tests grade spans K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 CELDT may only be administered by those who have been trained

The CELDT has Three Purposes:

1. To identify students who are limited English proficient 2. To determine the level of English language proficiency of students who are limited English proficient 3. To assess the progress of limited-English-proficient students in acquiring the skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing in English

English Language Development Standards

In 1999, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted English language development (ELD) standards for kindergarten through grade twelve. These standards define what English learners in California public schools must know and be able to do as they progress toward full fluency in English and proficiency in state English-language arts standards. The ELD standards are organized within the four domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing and separately by grade spans: (1) kindergarten through grade two; (2) grades three through five; (3) grades six through eight; and (4) grades nine through twelve. The levels through which English learners progress toward the standards are identified as beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced. The complete English Language Development Standards for California Public Schools Web document is available at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/documents/ englangdev-stnd.pdf.

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CELDT Question Types

Listening
Following directions Teacher talk Extended listening comprehension

Speaking
Oral vocabulary Choose and give reasons Speech functions 4-picture narrative

CELDT Question Types

Reading
Fluency and vocabulary Comprehension

Writing
Multiple choice answers Sentences Short composition

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Student Oral Language Observation Matrix

ACTIVITY 1. Download the SOLOM document from the resource tab 2. Cut apart the SOLOM into its 25 component boxes 3. Shuffle all the pieces 4. Sort the boxes into descriptions of grammar, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and pronunciation 5. Now, sort each pile from beginning to advanced according to the description How did you know which description went into which pile?

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NCLB Requires States to:

Set Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAO) for ELLs in the areas of English language proficiency and performance on academic content. Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives must include: Annual increases in progress in learning English Annual increases in attainment of English- language proficiency Making Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) in the academic content areas

Annual Assessment
Under No Child Left Behind, English learners must be tested annually for progress in English language proficiency The CELDT is given annually in the fall between July 1-Oct. 31 All English learners must take the test, and results are reported to their parents

Reclassification
School districts must establish their own reclassification criteria. Multi-criteria processes must include as a minimum: Score proficient overall on CELDT with no subtest lower than intermediate Score on state achievement test Teacher input (grades, write ups, conference, etc.) Parent consultation

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Your School Districts Reclassification Criteria

To find out your school districts criteria for reclassification, request a copy from your administration. How can you track English learner progress in your own classroom? What does each of your English learners need in order to reclassify? How can other assessments help?

Types of Assessments
Proficiency Test CELDT tests along a continuum of skills the students level of proficiency in English as compared to native speakers of the language Achievement Test CST tests the students attainment of knowledge of skills that are expected at a particular grade level. Such norm-referenced tests must be valid and reliable. Observation tools uses a rubric of descriptors that help calibrate the observer to others who might observe the same students skill Portfolios a collection of authentic evidence of work over time

Types of Assessments
Criterion-referenced tests compare a child to objective standards rather than to other students, while norm-referenced tests compare a student to a large sample group of students who have taken the test in the past A norm group is a carefully selected racially and geographically diverse set of students chosen by test creators to serve as a basis of comparison for most children in a certain population (such as third grade). Stanine scores compare a child against a norm group, often within just one school or community. Ratings are as follows: 9-7 is above average, 6-4 is average, and 3-1 is below average. Formative test - Measures the students grasp of material that is currently being taught. May also measure readiness. Formative tests help guide and inform instruction and learning. EXAMPLES: quizzes, homework, or portfolios Summative test - Measures what the student has learned. EXAMPLES: end-of chapter tests, final examinations, standardized state tests

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Reliability
Reliability is the consistency of measurement, or the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects. Reliability is the repeatability of the measurement. A measure is considered reliable if a person's score on the same test given twice is similar. Reliability is not measured, it is estimated.

Validity
Validity is the strength of conclusions, inferences or propositions. Cook and Campbell (1979) define it as the "best available approximation to the truth or falsity of a given inference, proposition or conclusion." In short, were we right? Let's look at a simple example of the effect of strict attendance policies on class participation. Class participation did increase after the policy was established. Each type of validity would highlight a different aspect of the relationship between our treatment (strict attendance policy) and our observed outcome (increased class participation).

Test Bias
In psychometric terms, test bias is fundamentally a validity issue. If a test cannot be trusted with identifiable subpopulations, it is not valid in that context. Four aspects of validity seem to have attracted the most attention:
1. 2. 3. 4. content validity construct validity predictive validity consequential validity

Within any of these aspects of validity, we must remember that validity exists only within a specific purpose for the test. Thus, a test may stand up well to validity challenges in one context and not in another.
Source: Stephen J. Schellenberg

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Test Bias Quiz

What are the problems with these items?

A Spanish proficiency test for English learners shows a picture of three children standing at a doorstep ringing the doorbell. One is dressed as a ghost, the other a pirate, and another a skeleton. The test asks, Qu hacen? [What are they doing?] A math test is filled with complex word problems. The English learners score much lower than their classmates. The vocabulary section of an English proficiency test shows a picture of dolphins leaping in the ocean. The test company is located in Monterey, CA, where they field tested this item. English learners in the field test all identified these as dolphins, so it is included as valid.

Valid and Reliable

The real difference between reliability and validity is mostly a matter of definition. Reliability estimates the consistency of your measurement, or more simply the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used in under the same conditions with the same subjects. Validity, on the other hand, involves the degree to which your are measuring what you are supposed to--more simply, the accuracy of your measurement. Validity is more important than reliability because if an instrument does not accurately measure what it is supposed to, there is no reason to use it even if it measures consistently (reliably).

What do You Think?

ACTIVITY
In California, the achievement test (CST) is given only in English, and the results are used to determine annual yearly progress (AYP) of the EL subgroup. In your opinion, is it a valid and reliable test for English learners?

Think and write your ideas down.

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References
California Department of Education www.cde.ca.gov Reliability and Validity: What's the Difference? http://socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Colosi/ lcolosi2.htm Shellenberg, S.J. 2004, Test Bias or Cultural Bias: Have We Really Learned Anything?

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