Alaska’s English Language

ProficiencyStandards 2005

Alaska Department of Education & Early DevelopmentFebruary 8, 2006

English Language Proficiency Standards

Serve as guidepost for curriculum, instruction, and assessment of English language acquisition,

Outline the developmental stages of English language acquisition, and

Align with academic content standards to offer opportunities for continuity of learning.

Alaska’s ELP 2004 Standards

Developed by committee in 2003 to meet NCLB requirement

Based on former TESOL standards

Four domains – listening, speaking, reading & writing

Included social goals as well as academic goals

ELP 2004 Standards

Drafted by committee of educators and administrators with experience in ESL

Draft reviewed by larger committee in November, 2003

State Board adopted in March, 2004

AK ELP Assessment Selection

Alaska joined the Mountain West Assessment Consortium (MWAC), (10 states) in spring of 2003 to begin development of ELP Assessment

The MWAC assessment delivered to EED in December 2004

No responsive proposals received to RFP to implement MWAC ELP assessment.

EED issued an RFP July 29, 2005 for proposals to implement an existing NCLB compliant ELP assessment.

State Approved Assessment

State selected Pearson Educational Measurement (PEM) and Ballard & Tighe to implement statewide the IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT) beginning March, 2006.– NCLB compliant– consistency across the State– useful data at all levels

Review of ELP 2004 Standards Needed

Newly adopted Alaska grade level expectations in content areas

Extensive ELP standards development by other states and consortia

TESOL standards under revision

Research & Other Standards

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Inc.

World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium standards

North Carolina, Indiana, Utah, Colorado, and Virginia state standards

Academic English: A Conceptual Framework, Robin Scarcella

2005 ELP Standards Committee

Recruitment of Committee– 12 stakeholders around state– 9 of the 12 took part in the creation or review of the

2004 ELP Standards

Objective of Committee– Review & revise ELP Standards before alignment

study with IPT assessment

• Level of appropriateness

• Assessable for large scale

• Coherence across grade spans and domains

• Demonstrate through the GLEs; linked to science, math, language content standards.

Highlights of ELP Standards 2005

Four Guiding Standards

One: (Listening) The learner will comprehend spoken English in a variety of personal, social, and academic contexts within the school setting.

Two: (Speaking) The learner will communicate in appropriate spoken English in a variety of personal, social, and academic contexts within the school setting.

Three: (Reading) The learner will comprehend written English in personal, social and academic contexts within the school setting.

Four: (Writing) The learner will communicate in appropriate written English in a variety of personal, social, and academic contexts within the school setting.

Grade Spans Kindergarten – There is increasing accountability for

learning at early school years. By describing the English language acquisition process for young students, Alaska provides an overall comprehensive program for assessment.

Grades 1-2 – English language learners in primary grades are becoming acclimated to the demands of school and are acquiring a foundation in literacy. TESOL suggests 1-3 grades.

Grades 3-5 – By middle elementary school years, students are focused on complexity and depth within the content areas through literacy.

Grades 6-8 – This grade span was not changed; middle school brings on a unique set of challenges for English Language Learners.

Grades 9-12 – This grade span was not changed; this span outlines the language of academic success necessary by the end of secondary schooling.

Levels of Language Proficiency

The comprehension and use of the technical language of the content areas

The linguistic complexity of oral interaction or writing

The development of phonological syntactic, and semantic understanding or usage

5 – Proficient High

5- Proficient Low

4- Intermediate High

3- Intermediate Low

2- Beginner High

1- Beginner Low

Profic

ient

Inter

med

iate

Begin

ner

AMAO OptionAnnual Measurable Achievement Objectives

1

23 4 5

Growth in proficient area for two consecutive years.

Level of Appropriateness

All levels maintain consistency throughout the grade spans with some developmental growth.

Assessable Indicators

Skill or knowledge oriented:

ask, respond, express

Restate, summarize, describe

Coherence (to be logically connected)

Depth and complexity increases

Demonstrated through the Content

The use of e.g. makes the content link. GLEs can be specified.

Math

Language Arts

Science

Locally Assessed Standards

Some standards are coded with (L) to indicate that teachers should assess those standards at the local classroom level

– RBH.1-2. 1 Demonstrate one-to-one correspondence of spoken and printed words with modeling and prompting (follow along when text is read aloud). (L)

Relationship to 2004 Standards

Same indicator on both ELP Standards

Connecting Standards & Assessment to Instruction

Student level reports will indicate proficiency level in each domain of speaking, listening, reading, and writing

Class & school reports will indicate # of students at each proficiency level and in each domain

Teachers use standards at each proficiency level to determine where to focus instruction to maximize learning for each student

Sample Student Level Report

Questions and

Discussion

Stakeholder Feedback

Public Comment– Online access

http://www.eed.state.ak.us/regs/comment.html

– Complete form; fax or give to an EED representative

Deadline February 10, 2006