Using Data to Support English Learners

There are various types of data we use in schools. The primary forms of data available are:

• Formative - an ongoing set of daily and weekly observations. Generally gathered in the classroom.
• Summative - tests such as ELPAC, CAASPP, placement tests, i-Ready, course grades
• Demographic - home language, classification (IFEP, RFEP, EL), socioeconomic data
• Educational History - prior schooling, primary language instruction

How do we use data to support our English Learners?

Classroom Teacher - Individualized support, in-class intervention
School - Student supports made available, scheduling, and programming
District - Allocation of resources, teachers to provide support where needed

Milpitas Unified School District has multiple ways of offering data to sites and teachers:

• Illuminate
• Aeries
• WIN Report
• California Dashboard
• i-Ready

Classroom-level assessments for English Learners that can be used to help with placement, modifications, and interventions:

• Gap Finder
• Express Placement

We need to look at multiple data points to figure out what's best for students. One test on one day is not enough to get a picture of the whole students' abilities, understanding, and learning. Decisions about students' placement and supports can not be made based on a single point of data.

Some questions to educators to consider:

• How are you utilizing data to support your students? 
• Are you looking at the whole student when planning instruction that will provide the greatest benefit to your English Learners? 
• Are your planned interventions and scaffolding helping your student move closer to a deeper understanding of how English works, rather than simply providing them a crutch to get a grade?
• What does each of your English Learners need help on? Are you using this information to design supports with purpose and intention? 
• Do you notice any trends in the data? What is your EL subset's greatest need(s)?

Data utilization is a critical component of curriculum planning which helps ensure that we are maximizing class time to provide our ELs with instruction that not only allows them to understand the content we are delivering, but to move them closer to proficiency and self-sufficiency in the American educational system.

Integrated ELD vs Designated ELD: What's the Difference?

Throughout the day, English learners (ELs) are required to learn English (both conversational and academic) and content knowledge simultaneously. Integrated and Designated ELD are both critical parts of an English Learner's daily instruction. They both involve direct language instruction and help students to make connections between ELD and content standards in every core subject. Both types of ELD provide scaffolds for students to meet academic and language needs, yet remain intellectually challenging, interactive, and engaging.

Language awareness (learning about English works, not simply how to translate their words) is the main focus of the CA ELD standards because when students become conscious of how particular language affects meaning, they are able to develop more advanced levels of English. For example, learning about shades of meaning and code switching can be ways in which ELs can extend their understanding of how English works. This gives them more resources to be able to fully express themselves, make meaning, and have full access to the curriculum and opportunities to achieve their dreams.

Integrated ELD happens DURING each core subject and Designated ELD happens on it's own time, with an ELD teacher. Whatever content area you teach in, you are responsible for providing integrated ELD throughout the course of the week.

As a comprehensive approach to ELD, the English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) Framework for California Public Schools states:

"ELs at all English proficiency levels and at all ages require both integrated ELD and specialized attention to their particular language learning needs, or designated ELD" (p 119).

Even English only (EO) students benefit from direct language instruction!

How is Designated ELD unique?

• Focus on ELD Standards and connect to content standards.
• It is a protected time to develop language skills, building into and from content instruction.
• Instruction focuses on meaning, forms, and functions of the English Language.
• Uses frequent formative and corrective feedback for language development, not content learning. Content is secondary, and supports the language, but is not the primary objective.
• Focus on providing extended opportunities for students to use English to interact in meaningful ways. The class should be full of opportunities for extended discourse.

How is Integrated ELD unique?

• Focus is on content standards. ELD standards are integrated and connected to content.
• ELD is provided throughout the day and through ALL diciplines (Humanities, STEAM, PE, etc.)
• Instruction focuses on content learning and the academic language necessary for successful learning of the content, as well as transmission of that learning to others.
• Focus on providing multiple opportunities to master the content learning.

Chapter 6 of the California ELA/ELD Framework provides "snapshots" of how Integrated and Designated ELD can work in the content areas in grades 6, 7, and 8, with a particular focus on ELA, science, and history/social science.

CLS Presentation: Organization and Mobility Within Your English Language Learner Program

Access this presentation on Google Slides: http://bit.ly/RanchoELD

What's ELPAC?

Guess who's back?

Hopefully it didn't take you too long to guess :)

I'm back with the freshest info on English Language Development and English Learners for you. It's ELD for You and Me!

Today's topic is California's ELPAC. What is it? What happened to CELDT? Why are they changing it? When are they going to start using it?

ELPAC stands for English Language Proficiency Assessments for California and it is replacing the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) as the new way of assessing English Learners' abilities in the domains of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

There are a couple of reasons that a change was necessary for this particular assessment.

• The California English Language Development (ELD) Standards were adopted back in November 2012, but the CELDT wasn't changed to reflect the proficiency level descriptors used in the new standards. Instead of five levels of proficiency  (beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, advanced) there are three: Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging. The new test will reflect this.
• The ELD Standards were changed to provide: fewer standards (those most necessary and essential), clearer standards, and higher standards (more closely alligned with CCSS)
• The CELDT test was administered at the beginning of the school year. By the time we received scores, they would often be almost half a school year old. This was a problem because at the beginning of the year, for placement purposes, we were using scores from the beginning of the previous school year. Scores would be over a year old and not an accurate reflection of a student's language ability. The ELPAC will be administered as a summative assessment (window from Feb-May) and we will be able to use more recent scores for placement purposes.

Basic administration facts about the ELPAC:

• Paper-pencil assessment
• Two separate assessments each year: Initial Assessment (IA) and Summative Assessment (SA)
• IA shorter than the SA
• Seven grades/grade spans: kindergarten (K), 1, 2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–10 and 11–12
• One-on-one administration for students in K and grade 1
• Four domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing
• Group administration for Listening, Reading and Writing at grades two through twelve (2–12)
• Read-aloud by test examiner in the Listening domain at K and grades 1 and 2; recorded audio in the Listeningdomain at grades 3–12
• One-on-one administration of Speaking items to all students; real-time scoring of Speaking items by a trained test examiner
• All constructed-response items in the Writing domain (no multiple-choice items)

For more information, visit the ELPAC website at http://www.elpac.org.

The "Turtle" Graphic

This graphic, which I have heard lovingly referred to as the "Turtle" graphic, is an excellent visualization of how the California English Language Development Standards and the California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy are integrated and interdependent.

Outer Ring	The outer ring of this graphic gives us the four overarching goals of ELA/Literacy and ELD instruction. California's goals for each student by the time they complete high school is to: have developed college and career readiness, attained the capacities of literate individuals, become broadly literate, and have acquired the skills for living and learning in the 21st century.
White Field	The white field surrounding the "turtle" is designed to represent the context in which high-quality instruction occurs. The ELA/ELD Framework states that the context in which students are learning should be motivating, engaging, respectful (so that students can take risks), integrated (across the disciplines), and intellectually challenging (regardless of language proficiency level).
Circling the Standards	The small blue circles surrounding the standards are are the 5 key themes of the standards: meaning making, language development, effective expression, content knowledge, and foundational skills. These five themes exist at every grade level and increase in rigor and complexity as the CCSS spirals progress.
Center	In the center of the graphic, at the heart of instruction are the CA CCSS for ELA and Literacy. The CA ELD standards are embedded in this center circle. The standards provide teachers with year-end outcome statements for a wide range of student knowledge and abilities. The standards guide instructional planning and observation of student progress. The CA ELD standards provide English Learners with full access to the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy as well as other content areas.

Academic Language Prezi

Here is the presentation I gave on Academic Language during our back-to-school staff development in August. Hope you enjoy! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!  

NEW FREE MOOCs from Stanford Online Learning

Hola Gente! I've been away, learning my new curriculum for a few weeks, but I'm back with a whole new series of blog posts for you over the next few weeks! Most urgently, I wanted to share with you some new MOOCs that are free to anyone from Stanford Online Learning. All of the MOOCs I have taken from them have been high-quality and extremely relevant. Please take a minute to look at what's available. If you plan on signing up for one, let me know in the comments! Late to the game? Don't fear, you can always sign up after the start date (though within the first two weeks is preferable). EDUCATION

CONSTRUCTIVE CLASSROOM CONVERSATIONS: MASTERING LANGUAGE FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS (ELEMENTARY) Starts October 1 This fourteen-week course looks closely at student-to-student conversations and addresses ways to improve students' abilities to engage in the types of interactions described in the new standards. It consists of four sessions with three weeks between each session. Learning in this course relies heavily on participant contributions and comments, especially in the team collaboration setting. Learn More >

CONSTRUCTIVE CLASSROOM CONVERSATIONS: MASTERING LANGUAGE FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS (SECONDARY) Starts October 1 This fourteen-week course is focused on the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards, which emphasize improving the quality of student-to-student discourse as a major feature of instruction. The sessions and assignments are designed for participants who teach or have access to classrooms in which they can gather samples of students’ conversation during lessons, and learn ways to improve students' abilities to engage in the types of interactions described in the new standards. The course includes resources and tasks for instructional coaches and others who support teachers and build school-wide capacity. Learn More >

SUPPORTING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS UNDER THE NEW STANDARDS Starts October 1 In this seven-week course, participants will use a range of practical tools for gathering and analyzing language samples that show how students currently construct claims supported by evidence and/or reasoning. Learn More >