Understanding Assessment & Strategies To Use When

Working With ELL/ESL Students

Study.com, provides a clear distinction of ESL vs. ELL. ESL stands for English
as a Second Language, and ELL stands for English Language Learners. In both
cases, the students in question do not speak English as their first language, and
they require assistance learning English. The most generally accepted distinction
is that ESL is a federally-funded program with specially licensed teachers. These
teachers hold a TESOL, or the Teacher of English to Speakers of Other
Languages, certification or diploma. The students are pulled out of their general
education classes for specialized, intensive English language instruction. ELL
refers to students who have been mainstreamed into only general education
classes. They are not pulled out for specialized instruction, but it is expected that
teachers will accommodate their learning needs and adjust their curriculum so
that it is accessible to English language learners.

One of the concerns with ELL students is determining if they have a learning
disability or if they have a language development issue. It can be a challenge to
determine if the child simply has difficulties due to a different language, or if the
child has a disability that would require special education. Please refer to the
following information to help determine placement.

Determining if an ELL child has a Learning Disability or a

Language Development Issue:
Things to Consider During the Pre-referral Process:

o Identify the problems experienced by the student.

o Identify the source of the problem.
o Present the problem to the IR&S Committee. Make sure that you (the
ESL/bilingual teacher) attend the meeting along with the classroom
teacher.
o Invite the parents to the meeting.
o Develop a plan of action at the meeting to be implemented by all
concerned parties.
o Have a follow-up meeting to discuss the effectiveness of the proposed
interventions and how they worked or didn't.

If the above strategies do not work, then it is time to go further:

 o It is important when evaluating a student to throw away the traditional
testing model and to collect data in a portfolio. Input from the ESL teacher,
the bilingual teacher, the classroom teacher who works with the student
regularly, and the family should all become the basis for the assessment
process.

o Ideally, students should be tested in their native language, the next best
thing would be to find a trained interpreter.

o All four skill areas need to be assessed: Listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. Auditory processing, auditory memory, visual deficits, and learning
style should be considered.

o It is important to determine whether the difficulty that the student is

exhibiting exists in both languages or just in one language.

o Is the learning environment affecting the child? Is there a discrepancy

between performance and IQ? A discrepancy could be due to the cultural
bias of the IQ test. Are there social-emotional problems? These problems
could be due to cultural differences.

Other questions that must be asked in order to determine whether the

difficulties being seen are due to learning or language problems are:

o Has the child's problem persisted over time? If the child has a
language problem, errors in his/her oral language skills will improve
over a period of time. If the child has a learning problem, his/her skills
will not improve.
o Has the problem resisted normal classroom instruction? If the child has
received explicit instruction in the problem area and still does not
improve, it is probably a learning problem.
o Does the problem interfere with the child's academic progress?
o Does the child show a clear pattern of strengths and weaknesses?
Does the child have good oral skills but poor written skills?
o Is there an irregular pattern of success? Does the child seem to get it
one day and not the next?
If the answer to all the questions is "Yes," or you have answered "Yes," to
the first four questions, it is most likely that the child has a learning
disability. If the problem exists in both the first(L1) and second
languages(L2), it is also likely that the child has a learning disability.

o Determine language dominance

 o Before final decision is made make sure you have a full portfolio for the
student which shows educational history, family history, oral samples,
writing samples, standardized language assessment, academic
assessment, psychological assessment, teacher narratives, students
strengths and weaknesses

For more detailed information about the pre-referral process and

determining learning or language barriers, please click on the following
link:

http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/special_education.php

Assessments for ELL Learners (not comprehensive)

The following assessments can help determine if an ELL child is eligible for
special education:

Aprenda – Spanish achievement test for native Spanish speakers, K-9

Batería Woodcock Muñoz Revisada – also for native Spanish speakers. It
parallels the Woodcock-Johnson.
Bilingual Verbal Ability Test (BVAT) - the BVAT is a test to evaluate a bilingual
student’s academic
readiness, assist in placing a bilingual student in an appropriate program, and
plan a suitable program for the student. The overall test score is based on the
student’s knowledge and reasoning skills using both English and his/her native
language. It is available in the following 15 languages: Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, German, Haitian-Creole, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish,
Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
Kaufman Test of Education Achievement, Second Edition (KTEA-II) - The
KTEA-II, available in English only, is published by American Guidance Service,
Inc. and is available through Pearson. It provides an assessment of academic
skills in reading, math, written language, and oral language. The results
demonstrate how a student takes in information and expresses ideas
Language Assessment System (LAS) Links in English or Spanish -
Assesses English or Spanish language ability and proficiency from Kindergarten
through Grade 12. Helps to determine primary language proficiency. Assesses
listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in one or both languages.
Logramos - The Logramos is a Spanish achievement test for math, language,
reading comprehension, word analysis,vocabulary, and listening comprehension.
TONI-3 - language-free assessment of nonverbal intelligence and reasoning
abilities.
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 2nd Edition (WIAT-II) - It can be used
to assess an individual’s achievement skills, in addition to diagnosing a learning
disability, placing a student in special education, and planning curriculum.
Woodcock-Johnson III NU Test of Achievement - this test measures
academic achievement and is used to help determine if a student needs special
services.
For further information on assessments to help determine ELL eligibility for
special education, please click on the following link:

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/curriculum/bilingual/CAPELL_SPED_resour
ce_guide.pdf

Helpful Tips During the Referral/IEP Process

Before the IEP Meeting - Background Preparation

o Prior to sending home IEP meeting invitations, teachers should provide

parents with some basic information, such as the purpose of IEP
meetings, what the IEP process entails, the preparations they might want
to consider making before the meeting, their rights in the process, and the
importance of their participation in the process.

o Paperwork is likely to overwhelm many parents—especially when the

documents may not be written in their primary language or to their level of
education.

o It may be helpful for the general or special education teacher to meet with
the parents face-to-face before the IEP meeting, providing information in
the parents’ native language and answering general questions about the
process.

o Schools should consider offering training sessions and workshops (with

interpretation support) for parents who have attended IEP meetings
previously and need more information. This can allow parents who are
new to the complicated IEP process to see that with sufficient knowledge
and information, they can learn to be prepared and become better
advocates for their children with disabilities.

o Although the disproportionate number of school professionals to parent

attendees in IEP meetings is very common, this intimidates many parents,
especially those whose primary language is not English. Parents should
also be notified that they have the right to invite others to accompany them
to the meetings, as well.

o Letting parents know in advance how much time they need to commit to
the meetings will allow them to make appropriate arrangements at work
and home

o Ensuring that the family and the interpreter are speaking the same
language is crucial, but the skills and experiences of the interpreters are
equally essential.
The Day of the IEP Meeting

o Welcoming parents to school is one of the crucial factors in developing

effective home–school partnerships

o When parents arrive at school for a team meeting, have one of the IEP
team members, preferably the classroom teacher or a staff member who
is fluent in the parents’ primary language, greet the parents and lead them
to the meeting location. This direct personal approach can avoid any
confusion, especially when the meeting location might change at the last
minute

o Have team members introduce themselves and state their roles in the
meeting.

o Ask parents open-ended questions to ensure they understand what is

being discussed and invite feedback from them

After the IEP Meeting

o Provide a written meeting summary and invite parents to call, e-mail or

meet if they have questions

o Inform parents what will happen after the IEP meeting, such as when they
will receive a copy of the proposed IEP and what their rights are if they
disagree with the IEP

o Have the translated IEP available to parents in a timely manner

For more information about helping ELL families through the referral/IEP
process please click on the following link:

https://moodle.viterbo.edu/pluginfile.php/940211/mod_resource/content/1/D
emystifying%20the%20IEP%20Process%20for%20Diverse%20Parents%20o
f%20Children%20With%20Disabilities.pdf

Alternative Strategies When Assessing ELL Students:

o Establish common standards for definition of Limited English Proficiency
(LEP) and proficient that are rooted in up-to-date research in relevant
areas – if this has not already been done.

o Develop/acquire new, well-grounded tests of English language proficiency.

 o Revise and re-norm standardized achievement tests, and/or create
simplified language tests; find test provider who will do so.

o Ensure the use of multiple measures of language proficiency and content

achievement and use those multiple measures in all decision making, and
not in a way that only increases the likelihood of failing to make adequate
yearly progress (AYP). The former can be done by districts and guided by
the state; changes to AYP must be made by feds: influence your
delegation.

o Change the AYP formula to address unequal starting points, ensure

appropriate response to inevitably changing composition of ELL group in a
school or district, and replace the expectation of 100 percent proficient
with realistic goals in a realistic time frame. These are largely issues of the
law itself.

o Make sanctions fit actual problems. Example, under governmental

reconstitution (final stage), there is a "something else" clause: this can be
tailored to meet actual issues and needs, which can be determined
through careful investigation, rather than standardized responses to test
results.

o Ensure adequate and equitable resources, including bilingual teachers

and paraprofessionals, and additional supports for students who need
them. While the federal government has inadequately funded NCLB,
states themselves have too often allowed inadequate and inequitable
schooling. States should take their own steps.

o Don't be controlled by or fixate on test scores. That is, don't become a

test-prep program (not teaching untested subjects; turning tested subjects
into test-prep programs) for ELL or any children. This is an essential point:
research across the nation shows that this is in fact happening frequently.
The pressures to boost scores immediately are severe, but too much
attention to the tests will probably backfire, not succeed in making AYP or
in improving learning.

For further information on assessing ELL students fairly, please click on the
following link:

http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/NCLB_assessing_bilingual_studen
ts_0.pdf
CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP)
LEVELS in the WAUSAU SCHOOL DISTRICT (my school district) in order to
determine ELL INTERVENTION:

1. When the Wausau School District Student Home Language Survey indicates
that a language other than English is or has been used, language proficiency
assessment will be administered by an ESL teacher.

2. When language proficiency assessments indicates a student is eligible for

ESL instruction, the student must be assigned an LEP Level.

3. The responsibility of establishing LEP Levels rests with the ESL teacher, not
the mainstream teacher.

4. Annually, all LEP students’ levels of proficiency must be reassessed and

updated according to district guidelines.

5. The criteria for determining LEP Levels are based on a combination of

observation and test scores.

6. The test used for determining LEP Levels is:

WIDA: ACCESS for ELLs 2.0

ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is a secure large-scale English language proficiency

assessment administered to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who have
been identified as English language learners (ELLs). It is given annually in WIDA
Consortium member states to monitor students' progress in acquiring academic
English. ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is only available to Consortium member states.
ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is aligned with the WIDA English Language Development
Standards and assesses each of the four language domains of Listening,
Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
The assessment is available in both paper-based and online formats for Grades
1-12, while Kindergarten and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs are paper-based tests.
Purpose and Use of ACCESS for ELLs 2.0
o Helps students and families understand students’ current level of English
language proficiency along the developmental continuum.
o Serves as one of multiple measures used to determine whether students
are prepared to exit English language support programs.
o Generates information that assists in determining whether ELLs have
attained the language proficiency needed to participate meaningfully in
content area classrooms without program support.
o Provides teachers with information they can subsequently use to enhance
instruction and learning in programs for their English language learners.
o Provides districts with information that will help them evaluate the
effectiveness of their ESL/bilingual programs.
 o Meets, and exceeds, federal requirements for the monitoring and reporting
of ELLs' progress toward English language proficiency.
Features:
The tasks on the new summative assessment will continue to assess the
language students need to process or produce in various school contexts. Each
assessment item and task will target at least one of the five WIDA ELD
Standards:
o Social and Instructional Language
o Language of Language Arts
o Language of Mathematics
o Language of Science
o Language of Social Studies
o
About the W-APT – Kindergarten

The Kindergarten WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (K W-APT) is an English

language proficiency "screener" test given to incoming Kindergarteners who may
be designated as English language learners. It assists educators with
programmatic placement decisions such as identification and placement of ELLs.

The K W-APT is one component of WIDA's comprehensive assessment system.

The K W-APT does not assign scores across the full range of WIDA ELP levels
1-6. Instead, scores for Speaking and Listening are marked as showing low, mid,
high, or exceptionalproficiency. Scoring details can be found in the K W-APT
Test Administration Manual and on the scoring sheets.

The WIDA MODEL for Kindergarten assessment yields a score between 1 and 6
on the WIDA ELP scale. It may be an optional replacement to the Kindergarten
W-APT.

The K W-APT is:

o An aid to identify students who may be candidates for English language

support services
o A measure that provides diagnostic information that may be used as
additional criteria to guide instruction and service delivery

The above information can also be found by clicking on the following link:

http://www.wausauschools.org/departments___programs/education/english_lear
ners__el_/l_e_p_criteria/