The Gilroy Unified School District and the majority of its
schools boosted the number of students who are fluent English
speakers, according to state test results.
Gilroy
The Gilroy Unified School District and the majority of its schools boosted the number of students who are fluent English speakers, according to state test results.
Results of the California English Language Development Test – which measures how well students whose native language is not English are learning the language – were released Wednesday and show that 35 percent of Gilroy students who took the test performed at the advanced and early advanced levels – the top two performance bands. This is a five percentage point jump from last year’s scores. The district also managed to move 3 percent of its students out of the lowest two performance bands compared to last year.
“What I like is the fact that if you add up the number of children in advanced and early advanced, you have a higher percent than if you add up the number of children in beginning and early intermediate,” said Basha Millhollen, assistant superintendent of educational services. “Our biggest goal was to move every child one level per year.”
Only one school – Luigi Aprea Elementary – suffered a loss in performance percentage points in the upper two bands.
The success was also seen at larger levels, with 42 percent of Santa Clara County students performing at the top two levels – three percentage points higher than countywide results last year – and 39 percent of California students scored at the top two performance levels on the CELDT – also three percentage points higher than statewide results last year.
Ascension Solorsano Middle School claimed the highest numbers of advanced and early advanced students in the district, with 58 percent of student performing in the highest bands.
Millhollen attributed Solorsano’s success to staff and high quality interventions.
If a student’s home language is not English, the student’s language proficiency is tested upon entering the district. The student then goes through a series of bilingual classes – with some taking years to complete – before taking the CELDT, which is only one of four criteria for determining whether or not students should be reclassified as fluent English proficient. Other criteria include comparison of performance in basic skills – for example, on the California Standards Test in English-language arts, which is part of the annual state testing cycle for all students – teacher evaluation, and parent opinion and consultation. Each school district establishes its own local reclassification procedures using these criteria.
The district expects to reclassify about 300 students at a ceremony to be held 6 p.m. May 12 at Gilroy High School, said Angelina Rojas, of the district’s specialized programs and accountability department.
To satisfy the CELDT criteria for English language proficiency, a student must have an overall scale score of early advanced or advanced, plus a score of intermediate or above for each of the domains tested, which include listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Compared to the rest of the nation, California has the greatest number of students whose primary language is not English. More than 100 languages are spoken by the state’s English learners, of which about 85 percent speak Spanish.
To view a full list of Gilroy’s scores, visit dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest
