ACTION, TO SHARE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL … · described in the Master Plan for English Learners, ... A. Grade 1 - 2 Reclassification Criteria: (Attachment A) 1. The student has

ACTION, TO SHARE

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Planning, Assessment and Research

DISTRIBUTION: All Schools with Grades 1-5/6 Students ROUTING and Local District Offices Local District Superintendents

Local District Directors SUBJECT: MEMORANDUM NO. 361 Local District English RECLASSIFICATION OF ENGLISH LEARNERS, Learner Program Staff ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Principals EL Program Coordinators DATE: August 5, 2003 Testing Coordinators UTLA Chapter Chairs DIVISION: Planning Assessment and Research APPROVED: ESTHER WONG, Assistant Superintendent For information regarding the CELDT, please call Eva Garcia, School Information Branch (213) 241- 2450. For information regarding reclassification criteria, please call your Local District EL Program Staff. For assistance with Elementary SIS, please call (213) 241-4617. This memorandum replaces Memorandum No. 150 dated July 1, 2003. The content has been updated to reflect changes in Section II, A, B and Attachments A, B and D regarding the reclassification criteria for grades 1-2.

I. INTRODUCTION

State law (Education Code sections 313, 60810, and 60812) requires districts to administer the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) to students whose home language is not English. The purpose of the CELDT is to identify new students who are English Learners (EL) and to assess their progress annually toward acquiring English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing until they reclassify as Fluent English Proficient.

The Annual CELDT is one of several criteria that the District must consider when determining if English learners, including students with IEPs, are ready for reclassification from Limited-English Proficient to Fluent English Proficient (LEP to FEP). Other factors include teacher evaluation, parent opinion and consultation and performance in basic grade-level skills. Beginning this school year, the District must use the English-Language Arts (ELA) section of the California Standards Test (CST) to determine performance in basic grade-level skills. Stanford 9 scores will no longer be used as criteria for reclassification. The Alternative Reclassification Criteria described in the Master Plan for English Learners, pages 38-39 are no longer applicable. An alternate reclassification process has been developed for English learners with severe to moderate disabilities receiving an alternative curriculum.

This memorandum outlines the criteria that school personnel must use in reclassifying English Learners, including ELs with disabilities, and the procedures for entering the information into your school’s Student Information System (SIS).

II. CRITERIA FOR RECLASSIFYING ENGLISH LEARNERS

A. Grade 1 - 2 Reclassification Criteria: (Attachment A)

1. The student has an Annual CELDT overall performance level of 4 or 5 based on the

listening-speaking skill area only, and

MEMORANDUM NO. 361 - 2 - Planning, Assessment August 5, 2003 and Research

has completed ELD 4 based on mastery scores of 3 or 4 on the ELD Assessment Portfolio for all listening-speaking, reading, and writing standards and is working towards mastery of ELD 5 standards.

2. The Language Appraisal Team judges the student will be successful in a mainstream

English program based on Elementary Progress Report marks of 3 or 4 in Language Arts and Math.

3. The student has met the grade level goals for each 6-8 week Language Arts benchmark

assessment (Open Court, Success for All or Reading Mastery).

4. The parent has been consulted and notified that the student is eligible for reclassification using the district’s Notification of Reclassification letter.

B. Grades 3 – 5/6 Reclassification Criteria: (Attachment B)

1. The student has demonstrated English proficiency on the Annual CELDT by achieving an

overall performance level of 4 or 5 and skill area scores of 3 or higher in listening-speaking, reading and writing, and

has completed ELD 4 based on mastery scores of 3 or 4 on the ELD Assessment Portfolio for all listening-speaking, reading, and writing standards and is working towards mastery of ELD 5 standards.

2. The teacher or Language Appraisal Team (LAT) has judged that the student will be

successful in a mainstream English program based on Elementary Progress Report marks of 3 or 4 in Language Arts and Math.

3. The student has demonstrated basic grade-level skills on the California Standards Test

(CST) by achieving scores in the Basic, Proficient or Advanced performance range on the English Language Arts (ELA) section of the test.

4. The parent has been consulted and notified that the student is eligible for reclassification

using the district’s Notification of Reclassification letter. III. ANNUAL CELDT SCORES

The Annual CELDT results do not automatically reclassify a student; however they serve as the primary criterion for identifying potential candidates for reclassification. When an English Learner receives an Annual CELDT overall performance level of 4 or 5 and requisite skill area scores of 3 or higher for the current year, the Annual CELDT results will be automatically downloaded into SIS Screen 5 in the following fields:

Field Description 315 English Post Test 320 English Post Date 321 English Post ID 317 Oral RS/Lvl 316 Read RS/Lvl 318 Wrtg RS/Lvl

Note: CELDT results will be deleted from the above mentioned fields if the CELDT scores from a more recent administration are too low for reclassification. Only current CELDT scores may be used for the purpose of reclassification.

Planning, Assessment - 3 - MEMORANDUM NO. 361 and Research August 5, 2003

IV. USING SIS TO IDENTIFY ENGLISH LEARNERS ELIGIBLE FOR RECLASSIFICATION

SIS may be used to assist in identifying English Learners who are eligible for reclassification based upon the criteria described in Section II and in notifying their parents.

A. Eligibility Roster for Reclassification: (Attachment C)

From the Main Menu, select Screen 14 (Report Menu), Option 25 Reclassification Eligibility. This option provides a roster of English Learners who are potentially eligible for reclassification based on CELDT and CST/ELA criteria.

The roster will list all eligible ELs, even if some of the reclassification criteria are missing in SIS, such as Elementary Progress Report Marks or ELD levels. However, the school must find the missing information and enter it into the appropriate fields in SIS in order to generate the parent notification letter.

B. Parent Notification Letter for Reclassification (Attachment D)

Once the student has met all the reclassification criteria, print the Notification of Reclassification letter (Screen 14, Option 26). The Notification of Reclassification letter will be generated in English, and if Field 39 on Screen 3 indicates that the parent’s primary language is Spanish, the letter will be printed in both English and Spanish. If parent’s primary language is other than Spanish or English, the letter in the appropriate language must be completed by hand, attached to the English letter, signed by the principal and sent home. Attachment D provides the Notification of Reclassification in Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

V. OFFICIALLY IDENTIFYING THE ENGLISH LEARNERS AS AN “RFEP” IN SIS

After completing the procedures described in Section IV and the decision is made to reclassify the student as Fluent-English Proficient, enter the information listed below in SIS. If schools do not enter this information, it will affect the school’s RFEP counts for various surveys and reports that are conducted throughout the school year.

A. Enter the appropriate dates in the following SIS fields:

Screen 5, Field 314 Teacher Recommend Date When the teacher/LAT judge the student is ready for the mainstream English program (ELD 5)

Screen 5, Field 322 Parent Inform Date When the school sends the reclassification parent notification letter home

Screen 5, Field 323 Reclass to FEP Date When the signed parent notification letter is returned and filed in the student’s cumulative record

Note: Once Field 323 is entered, the Field 162 Classification will automatically be updated from LEP to RFEP.

B. A reclassification label must be printed from SIS and affixed to the student’s cumulative record. To print a reclassification label, go to Screen 15, Option 14.

MEMORANDUM NO. 361 - 4 - Planning, Assessment August 5, 2003 and Research VI. ALTERNATE RECLASSIFICATION PROCESS FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES

In some cases, an English Learner receiving special education services may be reclassified using an Alternate Reclassification process. This would apply in cases where the student’s overall needs bear little resemblance to those of a typical English learner, the implementation of English Language Development (ELD) strategies would be inappropriate, and language development strategies using the Communicative Observation Matrix (COM) are a major part of the IEP. Note: For additional information regarding the COM please see Bulletin No. M-120, Guidelines for English Learners with Disabilities (K-12) dated April 3, 2000. A. Alternate Reclassification Criteria:

Alternate Reclassification primarily applies to English learners with severe disabilities who would never be able to meet standard reclassification requirements. In a limited number of cases, Alternate Reclassification may be applied to English learners with mild to moderate disabilities, including those identified as low-verbal/non-verbal. To be considered for reclassification under alternate criteria, these students must receive special education services through Special Day Class (SDC) and the IEP team must be convened to make a recommendation on the basis of the following alternate criteria:

1. Student is enrolled in a public school for at least five years. 2. Section M of the IEP reflects that the student participates in an Alternate District

Curriculum (AC) designed to prepare the student to access the district’s general education curriculum.

3. Student is unable to meet standard reclassification criteria due to documented disability. 4. Student demonstrates English proficiency comparable to that of peers classified as

English-Only (EO) with the same or similar disability. 5. Student shows progress toward meeting previous linguistically appropriate goals and

objectives commensurate with his/her ability (i.e., COM goals and objectives). 6. IEP goals and objectives reflect the communicative language development needs of the

student, and specific English Language Development strategies and supports are no longer beneficial or appropriate in meeting these goals.

B. Alternate Reclassification Form: (Attachment E)

The IEP Team would complete the Alternate Reclassification for English Learners with Disabilities tracking form, and include it as a numbered page of the IEP. The statement “Alternate Reclassification” should be written on the first page of the IEP along with the IEP recommendation date. Subsequent IEP’s would continue to document this IEP Team’s decision in the same fashion. An authorized (BCLAD/BCC or CLAD/LDS/SB1969/SB395) teacher/specialist must participate in the portion of the IEP meeting in which the Alternate Reclassification for English Learners with Disabilities is completed, and a copy of the completed form must be forwarded to the Local District’s Special Education Coordinator.

# # #


MEMORANDUM NO.361 ATTACHMENT A August 5, 2003

RECLASSIFICATION CRITERIA CHART

Grade 1 and 2

and

ELD Assessment Portfolio Completed level 4 or 5

with student work samples and mastery scores of 3 or 4 for all listening-speaking, reading,

and writing standards

Assessment of English Language Proficiency

Performance in Basic Grade-Level Skills

Grade-Level Benchmarks Met benchmark goals for each 6-8 week

English Language Arts assessment

Elementary Progress Report Marks of 3 or 4

in English Language Arts and Math

Parent Consultation and Notification

Annual CELDT Scores

Overall performance level of 4 or 5 based on the

listening-speaking skill area only

Teacher Evaluation Language Appraisal Team judges the student will be

successful in a mainstream English program based on a review of the following:


MEMORANDUM NO. 361 ATTACHMENT B August 5, 2003

RECLASSIFICATION CRITERIA CHART Grades 3 - 5/6

Assessment of English Language Proficiency

Annual CELDT Scores Overall performance level of 4 or 5 with scores of 3 or higher

in all skill areas: listening-speaking, reading and writing

ELD Assessment Portfolio Completed level 4 or 5

with student work samples and mastery scores of 3 or 4 forall listening-speaking, reading,

and writing standards

and

Teacher Evaluation Teacher or Language Appraisal Team judge the student

will be successful in a mainstream English program based on a review of the following:

Elementary Progress Report Marks of 3 or 4

in Language Arts and Math

Performance in Basic Grade-Level Skills

California Standards Test Results in English Language Arts

at the Basic, Proficient or Advanced level

Parent Consultation and Notification


MEMORANDUM NO. 361 ATTACHMENT C August 5, 2003

SAMPLE SIS ROSTER AND KEY

Reclassification Eligibility Roster RECLASSIFICATION ELIGIBILITY ROSTER 20 Mar 2003

ROOM ---- TEACHER ---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) ID # NAME GR ELD

LVL -------CELDT SCORES-------- CST ------ELA GRADES------

DATE OVER ORAL READ WRIT ELA READ WRIT LIST SPK MATH 1111 Dama,A 1 5 1-03 5 5 3 3 3 4 4 2222 Kim,S 2 5 1-03 4 4 4 3 B 3333 Taj,M 3 5 1-03 5 5 4 4 P 3 3 3 4 3

Reclassification Eligibility Roster Key COLUMN NUMBER COLUMN TITLE DESCRIPTION

1 ID # Student’s 4-digit school identification code

2 NAME Student’s last and first names

3 GRADE Grade level

4 ELD Level Current English Language Development level, from Screen 6.

5 DATE Date of most recent CELDT administration.

6 OVER Overall CELDT proficiency level (1-5), from Screen 29.

7 ORAL Listening and Speaking skill area score (1-5), from Screen 29.

8 READ Reading skill area score (1-5), from Screen 29.

9 CEL

DT

SCO

RES

WRIT Writing skill area score (1-5), from Screen 29.

10 CST

SC

OR

ES

ELA Most recent California Standards Test scores for English Language Arts.

11 READ Most recent report card mark (1-4) for reading, from Screen 27.

12 WRIT Most recent report card mark (1-4) for writing, from Screen 27.

13 LIST Most recent report card mark (1-4) for listening, from Screen 27.

14 SPK Most recent report card mark (1-4) for speaking, from Screen 27.

15

ELA

G

RA

DES

MATH Most recent report card mark (1-4) for math, from Screen 27.


MEMORANDUM NO.361 ATTACHMENT D August 5, 2003

Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (English)


MEMORANDUM NO. 361 ATTACHMENT D August 5, 2003

Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (English)




Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Spanish)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Spanish)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Armenian)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Armenian)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Chinese)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Chinese)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Farsi)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Farsi)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Korean)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Korean)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Russian)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Russian)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Tagalog)

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Planning, Assessment and Research MEMORANDUM NO. 361 ATTACHMENT D August 5, 2003

Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Tagalog)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grade 1-2 (Vietnamese)



Parent Notification for Reclassification, Grades 3-6 (Vietnamese)


MEMORANDUM NO. 361 ATTACHMENT E August 5, 2003

Alternate Reclassification Form

Page of

Alternate Reclassification for English Learners with Disabilities

Student Name: _________________________________ School: _____________________________________

Birth Date: _____________________________________ Student ID#: _________________ Date: ___________

Student is severely disabled

non-severely disabled [Note: Except for low-verbal/non-verbal English learners, these students must have received ELD services in a Special Day Class (SDC) for a minimum of four years before being considered for alternate reclassification.]

Home language (from Home Language Survey):

Prior COM assessment (for low-verbal/non-verbal ELs) is attached to this form.

Current CELDT date: _________ overall score: ELD 1 Beginning ELD 2 Early Intermediate ELD 3 Intermediate ELD 4 Early Advanced ELD 5 Advanced

The IEP Team recommends that this student be reclassified on the basis of meeting all of the following required alternate criteria: (Please mark the criteria supported by attached documentation.)

Student is enrolled in a public school for at least five years. Section M of the IEP reflects that the student participates in an Alternate District Curriculum (AC) designed to prepare the

student to access the district’s general education curriculum. Student is unable to meet standard reclassification criteria due to documented disability.

Student demonstrates English proficiency comparable to that of peers classified as English-Only (EO) with the same or similar

disability. Student shows progress toward meeting previous linguistically appropriate goals and objectives commensurate with his/her

ability (i.e., COM goals and objectives). IEP goals and objectives reflect the communicative language development needs of the student, and specific English Language

Development strategies and supports are no longer beneficial or appropriate in meeting these goals. Comments:

Signatures: Title: Date:

Principal/Assistant

Special Education Teacher/Specialist

Authorized (B/CLAD) Teacher/Specialist

Parent/Guardian

Elem Alt. Reclass Form Sp Ed 4-10-03 White – CUM Yellow – Teacher Pink – Parent Goldenrod – Local District Special Education

Coordinator

Documents

ACTION, TO SHARE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL … · described in the Master Plan for English Learners, ... A. Grade 1 - 2 Reclassification Criteria: (Attachment A) 1. The student has