Assessing Proficiency Levels of English Language Learners

Introduction

In California, there have been in recent history two standardized assessments that have been
used to identify a student's English language proficiency, previously it was the California
English Language Development Test (CELDT), and currently, it is the English Language
Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC). The CELDT and now the  ELPAC is broken
down into four sections: reading, writing, speaking and listening. With each section, students
are graded between four and zero, four being proficient and zero being not proficient. The
results of these tests are used by teachers and administrators to determine three things: student
classification as English proficient or learner, creating a language instruction educational plan,
and for reclassification from English learner to proficient. Through this paper, these three
decisions will be explained as to how they are determined and how they affect the students. 

Classification

One of the biggest decisions that teachers and administrators need to make based on results of
the CELDT or ELPAC is classifying an entering student as either English proficient or as an
English learner. Under federal law, schools must classify English learner students within 30
days of their enrollment in a public school. Most states use a two-step process for determining
English learners, which involves identifying if a student has the potential to be EL and to have
the students take an English language proficiency assessment pertaining to their grade level
(Linquanti and Cook, 2013). One way that is considered for the first step of the process, which
is identifying if a student is a possible EL student is learning if the language spoken at home is
something other than English. For the second step, the ELPAC is used to indicate the English
proficiency of a student, but it is additionally used to help an educator create a language
instruction educational plan that aligns with their level of proficiency (Lopez, Pooler and
Linquanti, 2016). As of fall 2016, 20.2 percent of students in California have been classified as
EL (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019).

Language Instruction Educational Plan

Once a student is classified as an English learner, teachers are then tasked with helping create
a plan for each student to progress in the various areas of struggle they may have. In a brief
interview with Eric Martin, a high school English teacher of San Benito County, he shared
some insight into his experience with creating these plans. Mr. Martin gave the example of
having a student that scores a two in listening, speaking and reading and scores a one in writing.
As his teacher, he will need to create lessons that support all of the weak areas, but especially
the weakest, while also having that same lesson be to the benefit of other EL students who may
have other weaknesses (Martin, phone call, June 30, 2019). Reaching individual needs while
reaching the needs of the whole class is a complex situation, but incredibly necessary in
helping any student reach their goal. 

Reclassification

The third of the three decisions that are made based on CELDT and ELPAC results is the
reclassification of students from English learners to English proficient. Reclassification is
possible on an annual basis for students and requires a student to retake the ELPAC every year
until they achieve a passing score (Reyes and Hwang, 2019). Unfortunately, there are some
instances where students who are qualified for reclassification do not get reclassified. In 2005,
an audit of eight school districts in California found that of 180 EL students, 62 percent of them
were not reclassified despite meeting standards (Estrada and Wang, 2017). While the reasons
are unclear as to why this was the case, it highlights that the system of reclassification needs to
be carefully monitored. If the classification process has requirements for how quickly it needs
to occur, reclassification needs to happen just as effectively.

Conclusion

Whether previously with the CELDT or with the current ELPAC assessment, students who are
required to take them are greatly affected by them. These three decisions of classification,
language instructional education plan, and reclassification which are made by teachers and
administrators are of great importance for all English language learners. From the initial
assessment that classifies them as an English learner, or English proficient, students have their
immediate future laid out for them.  There are more and more students in our education system
who are being identified as EL and teachers need to be prepared to help cultivate growth in
English for all of their EL students, no matter how they are struggling. Reclassification is just
as necessary to this process as the initial classification piece is. In order for it to work properly,
it needs to have just as many regulations as classification does. Without effective reclassification,
it negates the progress made by EL students.

Reference

Estrada, P., & Wang, H. (2018). Making English Learner Reclassification to Fluent English   
Proficient Attainable or Elusive: When Meeting Criteria Is and Is Not Enough. American Educational
Research Journal, 55(2), 207–242. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831217733543

Linquanti, R., & Cook, H. G. (2013). Toward a “common definition of English learner”: Guidance for
states and state assessment consortia in defining and addressing policy and technical issues and options.
Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.

Lopez, A. A., Pooler, E., & Linquanti, R. (2016). Key Issues and Opportunities in the Initial Identification
and Classification of English Learners.
Retrieved June 30, 2019, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ets2.12090.

Martin, E. (2019, June 30). [Telephone interview].

National Center for Education Statistics. (2019, May). English Language Learners in Public Schools.
Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp

Reyes, M., & Hwang, N. (2019). Middle School Language Classification Effects on High School Achievement
and Behavioral Outcomes. Educational Policy. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904818823747