Language Proficiency Standards and the Common Core

The Need for ELP Alignment

Many ELL educators have questions about the relationship of English language proficiency/development standards to the Common Core. When the standards were released, the authors indicated that states would be responsible for aligning their ELP standards to the Common Core. Since then, a number of initiatives have responded to the need for ELP alignment, which are documented in TESOL's Spring 2013 policy brief about the Common Core.

These initiatives include:

• WIDA 2012 Standards
• California's 2012 English Language Development (ELD) Standards
• New York's Bilingual Common Core Initiative

In addition, the Council of Chief State School Officers published an English language proficiency development framework, which outlines the language that ELLs must acquire to successfully meet the CCSS and the Next Generation Science Standards while offering states guidance for on ELP alignment.