NCLB AND THE EDUCATION OF ELLS

By: Lauren MartinSEA Spring ForumSt. Mary’s College of Maryland

OPENING QUESTION

What educational challenges do you think the average ELL faces in the classroom?

What educational challenges do you think the average ELL faces in the classroom?

• Historically low ELL performance and very slow improvement

• Measurement accuracy• Instability of the ELL student subgroup• Varying background levels• Learning disability vs. linguistic challenges

HISTORICALLY LOW ELL PERFORMANCE AND SLOW IMPROVEMENT

• ELLs consistently perform lower than their peers and frequently lower than many other subgroups

• Assessment performance• Drop-out rates

MEASUREMENT ACCURACY

• The academic language on standardized tests negatively influences ELL performance

• Academic language refers to the system of words, conventions and discourse used in school to construct meaning and relate complex ideas and information in both oral and written form.

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE IN ACTION

Read this sentence from paragraph 2 of Deliverance.

I turned and forgot about it, pulling upward, kneeing and toeing into the cliff, kicking steps into the shaly rock wherever I could, trying to position both hands and one foot before moving to a new position.

Which of these is the best paraphrase for the sentence?

A. I focused on moving upward, pressing into the cliff, moving loose rock, placing hands, and one foot before continuing.

B. I moved around, punching knees and toes into the wall, forcing loose rock aside before holding on with hands and one foot until I moved to another location.

C. I wanted to move upward so I did by pushing my knees and toes into loose rock when I could and putting my hands and one foot on the cliff and lifting my other foot to a safe spot.

D. I did not think about the overhang but concentrated on going up by putting my knees and toes into available rock and laying my hands and one foot on the cliff before moving the other foot.

http://mdk12.org/assessments/k_8/items/sample_grade8_reading.html

INSTABILITY OF THE ELL SUBGROUP

• High-achieving ELLs are redesignated as fluent English proficient and exit the ELL subgroup

• Downward pressure on ELL test scores• Department of Education Reform

• Re-designated students in ELL subgroup for up to 2 years

VARYING BACKGROUND LEVELS

• Factors which are outside of a school’s control• Background knowledge• Social and cultural experiences• Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE)

LEARNING DISABILITY VS. LINGUISTIC CHALLENGES

• Disproportionate number of ELLs are represented in special education• Many current assessments do not differentiate between disability and linguistic challenges

• Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic factors• Intrinsic: Language and learning disabilities• Extrinsic: Second language learning difficulties

THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT (NCLB)

• One of the goals behind NCLB was to alleviate some of the challenges surrounding ESL education

• NCLB is most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

• Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT (NCLB)

• High Stakes Testing

• Annual Report CardsLimited English Proficient (LEP) Subgroup

DISCUSSION QUESTION

How would you define “Limited English Proficiency”?

HOW DOES NCLB DEFINE LEP?

• NCLB defines “LEP” as:

a. Being 3 to 21 years of age

b. Enrolled or preparing to enroll in public school

c. Either not born in the U.S or speaking a language other than English

d. Owing to difficulty in speaking, writing, or understanding English

• ELL students comprise the LEP subgroup

• Identification of LEP students • Home language survey

NCLB: TESTING ELLS

• All ELLs in grades 3-8 take state academic content assessments

• One-year testing exemption• Content assessments in the student’s native language• Appropriate testing accommodations

• All ELLs take an annual English Language Proficiency test • WIDA: ACCESS for ELLs

• LEP subgroup must meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets

DISCUSSION QUESTION

Based on the brief overview of NCLB and its testing requirements for ELLs, how has this law helped or

hindered ELL education?

NCLB: HELPING ELL EDUCATION

• Establishes high expectations for ELLs by setting ambitious AYP target goals

• Seeks to reduce the achievement gap between English proficient students and ELLs

• Focused national attention on ELL education

NCLB: HINDERING ELL EDUCATION

• Unstable ELL Subgroup Population

• Faulty Expectations

• “De Facto” Language Policy

• Lack of Properly Trained Teachers

DISCUSSION QUESTION

How can U.S policymakers reform NCLB in order to promote better ESL education

practices?

THE FUTURE OF NCLB AND ELL EDUCATION

• Waiver Program and the “Common Core”• College and career ready standards• Create new targets• Create evaluation systems• Award top-performing schools

• Innovative state programs• Arizona: Structured English immersion (SEI) model• English Language Support Division (CA)• WIDA Consortium: ACCESS for ELLs

WRAPPING IT UP

• ELLs face a variety of challenges in the classroom

• NCLB sought to close the achievement gap among low-performing subgroups• LEP Subgroup

• NCLB has encouraged a national dialogue on second language development and academic achievement

• Future Reform

REFERENCES

Abedi, J. (2004). The No Child Left Behind Act and English Language Learners: Assessment and accountability

issues. Educational Researcher, 33(1), 4-14.

Boyson, B., & Short, D. (2003). Secondary school newcomer programs in the United States. Research Report No.

12. Santa Cruz,

CA, & Washington, DC: Center for Research on Education, Diversity, & Excellence.

Department of Education, Public Law print of PL 107-110, the No Child Left Behind act of 2001

Menken, K. (2008). English learners left behind: standardized testing as language policy. Clevedon: Multilingual

Matters LTD.

No child left behind waivers: 11 states seek relief from federal education law. (2011, November 15). The Huffington

Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/no-child-left-behind-waiv_n_1095306.html

Short, D. J., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and

academic literacy for adolescent English language learners. Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. New

York: Alliance for Excellent Education

Teachers College Record, Volume 114 Number 9, 2012, p. 5-6

http://www.tcrecord.org

Working Group on ELL Policy (25 May 2010). Improving Educational Outcomes for English Language Learners:

Recommendations for the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. p. 1-11