New English Language Development and Common

Core State Standards Institute

Long Term English Learners in the era of the Common Core

StandardsJune 28, 2013

English Learners“There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers and curriculum…for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education…” Lau v. Nichols, Supreme Court

State & FederalAccountability

Reforms

Research on EL

Civil Rights

CapacityProf. development, teacher placement,

credentialling,

Politics

Families, Communit

y

• Growing Gap• Declining progress towards English• New barriers to access

District Initiatives

The task: To get them to English proficiency

To ensure access to curriculum while learning English

_______________________________________________________________________

No English

Proficient for Academic work

A more rigorous target under the Common Core Standards

Current standards

Need for explicit attention to ELLs• English Learners face specific language

barriers to participation and access, and have special needs.

• Most general school improvement efforts in the past have inadequately addressed the achievement gap for English Learners.

• The California Common Core Standards (CCSS) are a major reform of public education that does not explicitly state how English Learners needs should be addressed.

• The CCCS roll-out is proceeding without adequate attention to the ELD standards or ELL needs

• Our ELL outcomes are inadequate even for current less rigorous standards

• The foundation of EL programs, capacity and practices to build upon is weak

• The promise is enormous; the dangers significant

Entering era of converging forces

Long Term English Learner Research

The Common Core Standards

English Learner Research

Starting Kindergarten

185,000 English Learners each year

Long Term English Learners are created…….. a K-12 issue

K/1 gr.5 gr.8 gr. 10 HS grad

Long Term EL

Struggling

Students

English Learner Typologies• Newly arrived with adequate

schooling (including literacy in L1)• Newly arrived with interrupted formal

schooling - “Underschooled” - “SIFE”• English Learners developing

normatively (1-5 years)• Long Term English Learner

Reparable Harm research:Californians Together Survey (2010)

• Data from 40 school districts• Data on 175,734 English Learners

in grades 6 - 12• This is 31% of California’s English

Learners in grades 6 – 12• Districts vary in EL enrollment,

size and context

Across all districts59% of secondary school ELs are long term

(103,635 in sample)

Differs significantly from district to district (21% - 96%)

Their double challenge – our legal responsibility

“English learners cannot be permitted to incur irreparable academic deficits during the time in which they are mastering English. School districts are obligated to address deficits as soon as possible, and to ensure that their schooling does not become a permanent deadend.”

Definition (AB 2193):An English Learner who…..Continuously or cumulatively enrolled in US schools for 6+ yearsNot met reclassification criteriaEvidence of inadequate progressIs struggling academically

Annual Expectations for English Learners

Years in US

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

CELDT BEG EI INT INT EA ADV

CST ELA

FBB FBB BB BB+ Basic+ Prof+

Indicators of Risk

• After 5 years – haven’t reached CELDT proficiency

• After 5 years – stalled at Intermediate Level III on CELDT for more than two years

• After 5 years – scoring at FBB or BB on CST-ELA

By fifth grade• Almost half of students who enrolled in

Kindergarten as English Learners are redesignated

• 52% are still English Learners • Half of those have not yet reached CELDT

proficiency• 1/3 have been stalled at Intermediate level

for MORE than two years• ½ are scoring at FBB or BB on CST-ELA

Action Items • Adopt a clear definition• Develop expectations for progress

based on number of years of enrollment

• Use those expectations to identify students at risk of becoming Long Term English Learners

• Disaggregate achievement data by number of years in U.S. schools

Pair-Share • Are Long Term English Learners an issue in

your school?• Do you see students at risk of becoming

LTELs in your school/district?• Any sense of the magnitude?• Do you currently have a way to identify

English Learners at risk of becoming LTELs? (definitions, benchmarks specific to ELs, typologies, etc.)

The voice of one LTEL…….

Typical behavioral profile• Learned passivity, non-engagement, • Don’t ask questions or ask for help• Tend not to complete homework or understand the

steps needed to complete assignments• Not readers• Typically desire to go to college – high hopes and

dreams but unaware of pathway to those dreams• Do not know they are doing poorly academically –

think they are English fluent

Distinct language issues• High functioning in social situations in

both languages – but limited vocabulary in both

• Prefer English – are increasingly weak in their home language

• Weak academic language – with gaps• Are stuck in progressing towards

English proficiency

The continuum: learning English as a second language

_______________________________________________________________________

No English Oral, social English

CELDT Proficient

CST Basic Proficient

for Academic work

1 – 3 years 5 - 7 years

I II III IV V

LTELs STUCK HERE

Big discrepancy between CELDT Proficiency and Basic on CST/ELA

Percent English Learners attaining these benchmarks statewide

Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives

• AMAO #1 – progress towards English proficiency measured by CELDT levels (target 56%)

• AMAO #2 – attainment of English proficiency which is defined as “CELDT proficient” (overall Early Advanced, no domain less than Intermediate) - (target: 45.1% those >5yrs)“MET” or “NOT MET” is not an adequate indicator of how well we are moving English Learners towards English proficiency

Which levels on CELDT are meeting growth target AMAO #1

(Santa Clara County)?% meeting growth target

of 1 level

Beginning (I) 72.2Early Intermediate (II)

70.2

Intermediate (III) 51.9Early Advanced (IV)

26.5

Advanced (V) 65.6

To get this data for your site….• www.cde.ca.gov• Dataquest• Level (county)• Subject: English Language

Development Test (CELDT)• Select county and submit• Click: CELDT results by prior proficiency• Select the district; and then the site

Santa Clara Co. selected K-12/high school districtsAMAO #1 AMAO #2B (5+

yrs)District A

met 58.4% Not met 39.5%

District B

met 62.1% Not met 44.5%

District C

Not met 55.4% Not met 39.7%

District D

met 68.3% met 47.3%

Action Items • Examine AMAOs for adequate growth

and patterns• Conduct walkthroughs and observations,

shadow students to monitor active participation and engagement

• Build staff understanding of CELDT and data and normative expectations

• Celebrate progress

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

No services - mainstream – for several years

• Three out of four spent at least two years in “no services” or mainstream

• This trend has increased in California schools in past decade

Trend: Towards the weakest EL Program Models

Other contributing factors• Inconsistent program placements• Inconsistent implementation within programs• Social segregation and linguistic isolation• Transnational moves – transnational

schooling• Unintended consequence of Corrective

Action: narrowed curriculum• Unintended consequence of RTI: placement

into interventions that aren’t adequate or appropriate for ELLs

CONFUSION

English Language Arts• Universal Access• Preview/Review

English Language Development (ELD)

Reading Support, English Intervention Classes

???

The National Literacy Panel“Instructional strategies effective with native English speakers do not have as positive a learning impact on language minority students….. Instruction in the key components of reading is necessary but not sufficient for teaching language minority students to read and write proficiently in English.”

In secondary schools….. (from the Californians Together survey)• 3 of 4 districts have no approach to

serving Long Term English Learners• Majority of CA districts place their

Long Term English Learners into mainstream

• Three CA districts place Long Term English Learners by English proficiency level with other English Learners (in NYC, this is the common placement)

Typical program placementsfor English Learners

_______________________________________________________________________

No EnglishOral, social English

CELDT Proficient

CST Basic

Proficient for Academic work

1 – 3 years

I II III IV V

Intensive or strategic interventions!Still English Learner, but in Mainstream

SDAIE

• Placed/kept in classes with newcomer and normatively developing English Learners – by CELDT level

• Unprepared teachers• No electives – and limited access to

the full curriculum• Over-assigned and inadequately

served in intervention and reading support classes

Placements NOT designed for them…..

Do these exist in your school?• Weaker forms of English Learner programs?• No ELD?• Just ELD and no other special instruction or

services?• Mainstream placement? • Reliance on core E.L.A. program for language • Supposed to be “SDAIE” but doesn’t really

happen?• Inconsistent program placements or

implementation?• Narrowed curriculum?• Use of interventions that aren’t designed for ELs

Agenda…from the LTEL research

• Clearly defined EL program models (ELD plus access), consistently implemented

• Consistency in placement and EL language approach (no ping-pong)

• Importance of full academic curriculum• Strategies that promote student

engagement as active learners• Importance of scaffolding instruction• Need for interventions designed for ELLs

Three converging forces

Long-term English Learner Research

The Common Core Standards

English Learner

Research

X

#1: Early childhood education makes a difference

• Early years of development (cognitive, linguistic, social) are crucial• Quality preschool lays the foundation for better outcomes• Preschool reduces disparities and longstanding achievement gaps between groups • Most powerful language policy/approach for preschool is primary focus on home language development

So…..• Begin with preschool programs• Active outreach/recruitment to English

Learner communities• Attention to supporting the transition

from preschool into kindergarten• Articulation, alignment between the

two systems (preschool and K-12)

#2.

Importance of rich oral language development

Importance of rich oral language development

• Producing language encourages learners to process language more deeply than when just listening or receptive.

• Verbal interaction is essential in the construction of knowledge

• Oral language is the bridge to academic language associated with school and the development of literacy --

National Literacy Panel finding• Oral language development and proficiency

is critical to literacy… and is often (increasingly) overlooked in instruction

• It is not enough to teach reading skills alone to language minority students; extensive oral English development must be incorporated into successful literacy instruction

• Oral proficiency and literacy in the first language facilitates literacy development in English

So……• Multiple and frequent structured

opportunities for students to be engaged in producing oral language should be features of classroom instruction

• The amount, type and quality of student talk that is generated is a mark of good instruction

• Emphasize complex vocabulary development• Model rich, expressive, amplified oral

language

#3:

Academic Language is essential – complex, precise

language is essential

• Social, oral fluency (BICS) takes less time to develop than academic proficiency (CALP)

• Academic language and literacy for ELs develop most powerfully where background knowledge is also being built – and in the context of engaging with academic content

• Learning a second language for academic success requires explicit language development across the curriculum - ELD alone is not sufficient

SOCIAL CONTEXT

S

ACADEMIC

CONTEXTS

SIMPLE, BASIC, FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE

RICH, COMPLEX, PRECISE LANGUAGE X X

So…….• Identify key academic vocabulary and

discourse patterns – and explicitly teach them

• Monitor the rigor and complexity of the language used in text and instruction

• Set a high bar for sophisticated, complex, precise language in both social and academic domains

#4.

Language develops in context

So……• Intentional language development

across the curriculum• Full curriculum – including rich science

and social studies

#5.

To access the curriculum, English Learners need specially

designed instruction

SDAIE works when……• Materials are designed for maximum

contextual cues, etc.• Teachers understand which strategies

are meant for which levels of proficiency

• Students are grouped by level• Instruction is paced appropriately -

key power standards focused upon• L1 is used as a support

So……• Language objectives for content lessons

based on analyzing the linguistic demands of the content

• Identify key academic vocabulary and discourse patterns and explicitly teach them

• Professional development related to making content accessible to English Learners

• Home language support• Home language instruction when possible

#6:

ELD instruction can advance knowledge and use of English – and they need ELD

through high levels of proficiency

Daily dedicated timeLeveled by proficiency

#7:

Development of the home language is important

The home language plays a significant role in development

• The best foundation for literacy is a rich foundation in language

• Children have more extended and complex vocabulary and language skills if their home language is developed

• English Learners make more academic progress when they have the opportunity to learn in both their L1 and English

• Systematic, deliberate exposure to English + ongoing development of L1 = highest achievement in both languages

Comparison between EL groups over time

And, there are benefits to bilingualism…… so…..

• Home language instruction and development whenever possible to high levels of proficiency

• Transfer focus and contrastive analysis

• Native speakers classes through to Advanced Placement

• Create a climate that honors and affirms the value of bilingualism

Yet, common belief system• Sooner and more fully immersed in

English, the better• Good teaching and standards-based

curriculum work for all students and are sufficient for ELLs

• English is the most important subject for ELLs – the more hours, the better

• Home language holds students back

Action Steps • Know the research• Determine which aspects of the

research are most important to make known at this point in to order to clarify myths/misconceptions that may be in the way of delivering a strong EL research-based program

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The Common Core standards, implemented on a foundation of myths and

misinformation about English Learner research,

will (as with most past reforms) leave English

Learners behind.

DISCUSSION• Do you see evidence that this research

is known and guides programs and services for English Learners?

• How strong are the myths and beliefs that run counter to the research?

• What aspect of the research is most needed to be understood?

• What practices do you see going on that seem most to fly in the face of research?

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The Common Core Standards:

New opportunity or new barriers for English

Learners?The answer lies, in part, in

the new ELD standards.

Common Core ELA: Four Shifts

1. Language development across the curriculum

Major Shift #1:From Old Paradigm

OR

Learn English

Academic content

then

LanguageAcademic Content

Academic vocabulary as overlap

To new CCS Paradigm: language is central to all academic areas

MATH SCIENCE

LANGUAGE ARTS

Language

*• instructional discourse• expressing and understanding reasoning

Social Studies

Shift 2: Increased focus on Speaking and Listening

Comprehension and CollaborationDay to day, purposeful academic talk one to one, small group and large group setting

Presentation of Knowledge and IdeasFormal sharing of information and concepts, including through the use of technologyfor all students, across the curriculum

Shift 3: Focus on more complex, rigorous text (+ incr. in informational)

• ELLs will need background knowledge to comprehend and critically engage with academic text in CCCS.

• Practices of a narrowed curriculum and years spent in English and math interventions, support classes and instruction (little or no science, social studies, arts) have resulted in gaps in ELL students’ essential academic background knowledge.

Shift 4: Active engagement in collaboration

• The CCSs recognize that students need to develop skills to collaborate in academic work – skills for teamwork, active and skillful participation in discussions, and inquiry-based collaboration.

(Anchor standard: Speaking and Listening #1)

CCSs alone do not address a pathway towards English proficiency for ELLs

• New English Language Development standards aligned to the CCSSs (adopted November 2012)

• New adoption of materials in 2016; new ELD assessment for 2015-16

• Implementation of CCSSs must be accompanied by full implementation of the new ELD standards

New ELD Standards – related to academic curriculum

Dedicated ELD + ELD across all academic areas

MATH SCIENCE

LANGUAGE ARTS

ELD*

SOCIAL STUDIES

New ELD StandardsDifferent Focus

• Language development focused on making meaning, collaboration, comprehension, communication – with content integral to language learning

Six Key Shifts• From lock-step linear spiraling,

dynamic and complex social process• From focus on accuracy

collaboration, comprehension, communication

• From simplified texts and activities separate from content use of complex texts and content integral to language learning

• From English as a set of rules From English as a set of rules to meaning-making and language choices

• From central focus on grammar, syntax to grammar and structure within meaningful context

• From Literacy Foundational skills as one size fits all to targeting varying profiles of ELs and tapping linguistic resources

THE ELD STANDARDS….• Guide for all teachers to support access to

academic content and participation in academic classes for diverse ELL students along continuum towards proficiency

• Guide for all teachers to focus on academic and discipline specific English – what it is, how it works

• Guide for dedicated ELD instruction• Guide for collaboration between ELD and

content teachers

ELD is no longer wholly disconnected from the

academic work students are doing in the rest of the

curriculum, but it remains the vehicle for English Learners to FOCUS on

learning English

LTEL needs, EL research and the Common Core

• More focus on structured, rich oral language• More focus on writing• More emphasis on academic language and

informational text• More emphasis on language in and through social

studies and science – a full academic curriculum• More focus on interaction, collaboration,

discussion• ELD, language development and academic

learning are understood as more connected than they have been

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Some gaps….• The new ELD standards do not

adequately describe or guide instruction or curriculum for newcomers

• The new ELD standards do not adequately focus on basic, foundational, communicative and expressive language development outside of academic language

OUR TASKBuild programs, curriculum and instruction that meet

the needs of LTELs and prevent the creation of new

LTELs

See to it that implementation of the CCCS goes hand-in-hand with the

new ELD standards – and are both implemented with an

eye to EL research

Three converging forces

Long Term English Learner Research

The Common Core Standards

English Learner Research

✖

Reparable Harm Recommendations• Specialized ELD or LTEL language class

(aligned to new ELD standards PLUS)• Clustered in heterogeneous classes

mainstream academic classes with differentiated SDAIE and scaffolding

• Explicit language/literacy development across the curriculum

• Emphasis on engagement, oral language, writing, academic language, study skills, rigor

• Native speakers classes (through AP)

To prevent the creation of LTELs

• Intentional, rich, rigorous, academic language development across a full science- and social studies-based curriculum plus high quality ELD

• Emphasis on active engagement• Coherent, articulated ELL program• Clear expectations & monitoring for progress

towards English proficiency, identify students and provide EL specific support

• Primary language development to degree possible

Make the promise of the Common Core a reality for English Learners, not a new

barrier to access and success!

An aligned approach!• Know the standards• Align LTEL work with Common Core work• Roll out initial implementation of CCCSs with focus

on high leverage areas that overlap (ELL research, LTEL research and CCCS mandates)- with speaking, listening and collaborative practices central

• Don’t forget the ELD standards• Continue to build the understanding, skills,

capacity and foundation for strong ELL programs

• Reinstate social studies, science, full curriculum to build background knowledge and as the context for academic language development

• This means changing the instructional minutes tyranny that divides academic subjects to thematic curriculum at elementary level

• Preparing curriculum for language development across academic areas

• Collaborative planning time, support for standards-based planning

Support professional development and appropriate materials….be the voice!

• Now ALL teachers will need to support language development

• The Common Core calls for a change in teaching pedagogy from teacher-directed and primarily teacher talk to student talk, discussion, inquiry, collaboration

• California teachers using existing adopted curriculum and pedagogies have not been using the strategies that are called for by the Common Core Standards

Three imperatives!Long Term English Learner Research

The Common Core Standards

English Learner Research

Realize the Promise; Guard against new barriers!

Prevent the harm! End the creation of LTELs Enact what we

know works!

Beyond the Common Corea California Vision requires Biliteracy

• Demographic reality of our state• Global opportunities of the 21st

century• Benefits for our English Learners• Benefits for all students

• Primary language assessments to support bilingual/biliteracy, dual-language programs

• Ensure materials for bilingual/biliteracy and dual language programs

• Policies to facilitate growth of dual language and bilingual/biliteracy programs

• Seal of Biliteracy and pathway awards

SEAL OF BILITERACY RECIPIENTSA vision of students prepared for the 21st

Century!

Because without education, they do not

have accessand without the power of

language, they do not have a voice!

Thank you

Laurie Olsenlolaurieo@gmail.com

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