The state released the results of a recent language test and
scores are up this year.
The state released the results of a recent language test and scores are up this year.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced the results of the California English Language Development Test that showed increases in both the number of English learners participating in the annual assessment and the percentage of English learners scoring at the top performance levels.
In Gilroy, 30 percent of students who took the CELDT performed at the top two performance bands, a three point jump on last year’s scores.
The district also managed to move 6 percent of its students out of the lowest two performance bands. Santa Clara County scores showed 39 percent of students performing at the top two levels, five points higher than last year.
The overall state results for 2007-08 show that nearly 36 percent of English learners who took the CELDT in California’s public schools scored at the top two performance levels on the CELDT. These results are between 3 percent and 4 percent higher than those for last year.
“We’re moving kids out of the bottom,” said Basha Millhollen, assistant superintendent of educational services, “which is good. We’re doing better overall as a district.”
Only three schools – Gilroy High School, El Roble Elementary and Antonio Del Buono Elementary – suffered small losses in performance percentage points in the upper two bands.
Ascension Solorsano Middle School and Luigi Aprea Elementary claimed the highest numbers of advanced and early advanced students at the middle and elementary school levels, with 56 and 36 percents, respectively.
“There’s a couple things that Solorsano is doing that clearly contribute to their success,” Millhollen said. “They have consistently maintained a high quality reading intervention for English learners (Hampton-Brown High Point) and staff has worked together in a concerted way to address the needs of English learners, although they do have fewer in number.”
Millhollen pointed out that success on the CELDTs is a function of the school, intervention programs and the efforts of staff.
“We’re very happy with the results, but want to see more,” she concluded.
“Becoming fluent in English can open a world of new opportunities for every student. I am pleased to see that more English learners participating in the assessment are making good progress toward English language fluency,” O’Connell said.
While the percentage of English learners achieving at the higher levels of CELDT is increasing, O’Connell continues to be concerned about the significant gap in academic achievement between students learning English and their native English-speaking peers.
“If our state is to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy, we must all work together to close the achievement gap,” O’Connell said.
The CELDT is one of four criteria for determining whether or not students should be reclassified to fluent English proficient. Other criteria include comparison of performance in basic skills (e.g., the California Standards Test in English-language arts, which is part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program), teacher evaluation, and parent opinion and consultation. Each school district establishes its own local reclassification procedures using these criteria.
To satisfy criterion 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 (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.
