Office of Shared Accountability Reports

Evaluation of English Language Proficiency and Progress: Students Receiving English for Speakers of Other Languages Services from 2012 to 2014

Description:

This study examined English proficiency levels and progress in English language acquisition for students eligible for ESOL services from 2012 to 2014. The distribution of ACCESS for ELLs scores (percentile ranks) among students and one-year or two-year gains on the ACCESS for ELL scores for elementary, middle, and high school students were examined. In addition, the study examined the progress for two groups of students: 1) students who stayed in ESOL for four or more years and were considered at risk of becoming long-term ESOL; and 2) long-term ESOL students who were enrolled in the ESOL program for six or more years.

Recommendations:

  • Use the ACCESS for ELLs data, particularly percentile rankings, to better understand ESOL students' performance and progress in English language acquisition in relationship to their ESOL peers, so intensive support may be provided to those who are not making sufficient progress.
  • Examine the structure and consistency of ESOL programs at the middle school level.
  • Systematically investigate why parents waive ESOL services, with full knowledge that their children do not meet the state criteria for exiting ESOL services.
  • Maintain a long-term tracking system for ESOL students' performance in order to better monitor their progress in academic English language acquisition.

    File Name: ELL student performance and growth on ACCESS_Final.pdf (1.2MB PDF)