English language learner student characteristics and support strategies

Alignment

Examine the format and alignment of the ELL Proficiency Standards

The ELL Proficiency Standards are proficiency or performance standards. They are not content standards. For example, the general content standards for Arizona kindergarteners for reading include such academic benchmarks as the ability to distinguish letters from words, the ability to know that reading (in English) takes place from left to right, and the ability to demonstrate the correlation between written and spoken words. These are defined as content standards because they are posed on a yes/no basis -- can the student accomplish this task or not?

The proficiency standards for an ELL child on this level also define book handling skills as part of proficiency, on a scale from basic to advanced levels, but they do not include other elements of the general content standards such as distinguishing rhyming from non-rhyming words. The ELL standards tend to define the ability to eventually meet content standards on a more skills-based level. They measure and assess students on speaking, reading, and writing ability. They also define not only what a student knows and can do using the English language but also, but how well a student demonstrates these specific content areas. This acknowledges the wide variety of abilities evident in the performance of ELL students. Some students may be recent arrivals and not speak English at all at home, and thus have a low level of mastery on these performance-graded scales, while other students may have studied English in their home country, or have been residents of America for a long time, even if they need some assistance in meeting the general standards expected of non-ELL students, as measured on standardized assessment tests. The grading of ability is not meant in a punitive manner, but merely designed to give assistance in appropriate placement and aid to ELL students.

Examine the alignment with the Language Arts Standards

According to the state's Curricular and Instructional Alignment Declaration (CIA) "the central components of standards-based education" must be "in effect at every level in every school district and charter school in the State. The central components of standards-based education include a curriculum aligned to the Standards, instructional materials aligned to the Standards and the evaluation of teachers to ensure that the Standards are integrated into instructional practice."

However, for ELL students there are obvious challenges to meeting these standards. This is why they are judged upon performance, and how well they meet content standards. Although they are not graded on a performance basis on all grade-level standards they are graded on a sliding scale upon some of the standards, which indicate the desire of the state to align most of the ELL performance-based standards with the content-based standards of other learners.

Using assessment data from your school, determine language proficiency goals and objectives for individual students in each domain