Do current English language development/proficiency standards reflect the English needed for success in school?

Abstract

English language development or proficiency (ELD/P) standards promise to play an important role in the instruction and assessment of the language development of English language learner (ELL) pre-K-12 students, but to do so effectively they must convey the progression of student language learning in authentic school contexts for authentic academic purposes. The construct of academic English is defined as the vocabulary, sentence structures, and discourse associated with language used to teach academic content as well as the language used to navigate the school setting more generally. The construct definition is informed by a relatively modest number of empirical studies of textbooks, content assessments, and observations of classroom discourse. The standards of a state with a large ELL population and a large multi-state consortium are then reviewed to illustrate the role of the academic English construct in the standards’ coverage of language modalities or domains, levels of attainment or proficiency, grade spans, and the needs of the large number of young English learners. Recommendations and potential strategies for validating, creating, and augmenting standards that reflect authentic uses of academic language in school settings are also made.

Building Teachers’ Assessment Capacity for Supporting English Language Learners Through the Implementation of the STEP Language Assessment in Ontario K-12 Schools

“…Development of language proficiency descriptor scales emerged both from a need to describe what students can do at various levels of proficiency development, and from the standards-based movement in the United States wherein standards articulate expectations of what students should know and be able to do (Bailey & Huang, 2011). Descriptors-based language proficiency scales are part of a global assessment movement, which use these frameworks to assess students' language proficiency development.…”

Secondary Biology Textbooks and National Standards for English Learners

“…The development of the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System () was intended to facilitate a link between language learning and state academic content standards, as well as to address educators’ needs in the areas of pedagogy, assessment, and educational policy relative to ELs (Anstrom et al., ; Cook & Zhao, ). Updated in 2007, the overarching goal of the standards is to make the task of developing language proficiency relevant to students' lives through contextually‐based language linkages (Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, ; Commins, ), specifically, the language used in the school context (Bailey & Huang, ), including general academic language and that specific to the disciplines, or disciplinary literacy (e.g., Moje, ). The WIDA standards are “Grounded in scientifically‐based research on best educational practices in general and English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education in particular” (Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, , p. RG‐5).…”

“…The WIDA standards are “Grounded in scientifically‐based research on best educational practices in general and English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education in particular” (Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, , p. RG‐5). Currently, they “serve as a blueprint for the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLS) assessment that states use for accountability under NCLB” (Bailey & Huang, , p. 357).…”

Creating a Next‐Generation System of K–12 English Learner Language Proficiency Assessments

“…Often, these initial and interim ELP assessments are not connected in any principled manner with the annual summative ELP assessments in terms of the constructs and score results, leaving the overall use of ELP assessments rather disjointed and sporadic. One specific concern is that the results from ELP assessments are not currently used to inform educators about students' academic achievement and are not linked to results from content assessments. The constructs underlying the ELP assessments used in different states are as varied as the states' ELP standards (Bailey & Huang, ; Wolf et al, ). At the time the current ELP assessments were designed and developed, the construct of academic language, or “the language of school” for this context, had not been effectively defined (Dicerbo, Anstrom, Baker, & Rivera, ).…”