T.ELL.E-gram

This month's highlights

Featured Articles

Informal assessments allow teachers to track the ongoing progress of their students regularly and often. While standardized tests measure students at a particular point in the year, ongoing assessments provide continual snapshots of where students are throughout the school year. See Using Informal Assessments for English Language Learners for tips that will help you target students' specific problem areas, adapt instruction, and design interventions.

The purpose of assessment for program placement is to identify those English language learners (ELLs) who need specialized instruction (available in such programs as sheltered English, ESL, or bilingual education.) This assessment then becomes the basis for the development of an appropriate program of instruction. If a school does not offer any specialized instructional programs, please consult with your principal or school district personnel about providing such instruction. Identifying Language and Academic Needs for Program Placement outlines a plan for gathering the necessary information for program placement through both formal and informal means.

Research and Resources

English Language Learners and NCLB Testing Requirements*, published by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is a very useful quick guide to policies on ELLs and NCLB testing. Updated in 2007, this report includes the latest information on such topics as required assessments for ELLs, accepted accommodations, and adequate yearly progress (AYP).

For a comprehensive discussion of issues related to ELLs and high-stakes assessments, see English Language Learners and High-Stakes Tests: An Overview of the Issues, published by the Center for Applied Linguistics. The article discusses the rationale for including ELLs in high-stakes testing, as well as the potential problems that may result. There are also recommendations on preparing ELLs for high-stakes testing and on interpreting test data realistically.

See the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) website for their Position Paper on Assessment and Accountability of English Language Learners Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110). This paper provides a useful overview of current requirements for ELLs under NCLB, along with specific recommendations for changes in the areas of accommodations, indicators of language proficiency, and test norming.

ELL Assessment Webcast

Colorín Colorado's Assessment of English Language Learners webcast includes recommended readings, suggested discussion questions, sample assessment tools and a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the main points of the discussion with Dr. Lorraine Valdez Pierce.

National Assessment Resources

The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition & Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA) collects, analyzes, synthesizes and disseminates information about language instruction educational programs for English language learners and related programs. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement & Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) under Title III of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.

The Assessments and Accountability section provides links to NCELA's resources about the assessment of English Language Learners.

In the Classroom

ELL Starter Kit for Educators

Tools for Monitoring Language Skills

Provisions in the No Child Left Behind legislation require that schools be held accountable for adequate yearly progress for English language learners as a subgroup. Having the following materials handy may make it easier for you to respond when questions arise about a student's placement, instruction, special services, and grading.

Inside the ELL Starter Kit for Educators, you'll find the following downloadable monitoring forms, which you can feel free to print and share:

• Overall Language Performance
• Oral Communication Skills
• Reading Skills
• Fluency Skills: Expressive Reading
• Use of Comprehension Strategies

You'll also find the following helpful resources:

• Common Classroom Phrases: Spanish
• Cognates: Similar Spanish-English Words
• Recommended Spanish-English Bilingual Books

Bright Ideas that Work

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Assessment of English Language Learners

This month's Bright Ideas article focuses on the provisions that the No Child Left Behind Act includes on testing English language learners. It also offers suggestions for helping students prepare for standardized tests, and provides some strategies for communicating effectively with parents about testing. The related Hot links include information about a number of states' ELL assessment guidelines and standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Providing a strong academic foundation for our English language learners requires effective collaboration between all of the staff members who work with ELLs on an ongoing basis. For ideas on how to achieve effective school-wide collaboration, see:

• How can I encourage effective collaboration between the ELL staff and other professional and paraprofessional staff members?

Find the answers to these and many other Frequently Asked Questions about Teaching ELLs.

April Celebrations

El día de los niños/El día de los libros
(Children's Day/Book Day)

Don't miss our El día de los niños page featuring booklists, an interview with the celebration's founder, Pat Mora, and lots of fun activities!

Also be sure to visit the home of El día de los niños, the Association for Library Services to Children! The site also features a free downloadable bilingual brochure and booklist.*

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month! We've collected some wonderful poetry resources to help your ELL students read and write all kinds of poetry, including:

• A video author interview with Francisco X. Alarcón, featuring a booklist of his bilingual poetry collections and his biography
• Reading Rockets: Poetry for All Ages Booklist
• PBS Media Infusion Blog: Catapulting Poetry off the Page, with Ian Ruderman (Reading & Language Arts, 6-12)
• Education World^®: Poetry resources for teachers, including lesson plans, projects, and articles
• ReadWriteThink: Poetry resources for teachers, including classroom and web activities

Achieving Success: From the Heart

Dr. Cynthia Lundgren is an assistant professor at The Center for Second Language Teaching and Learning at Hamline University's Graduate School of Education in St. Paul, MN. Dr. Lundgren teaches future ESL and Bilingual teachers. Her current courses include ESL Methods and Development of Second Language Literacy. Her special interests are reflective practice and the development of cultural sensitivity. In this exclusive interview with Colorín Colorado, Dr. Lundgren shares her objectives as a mentor who is preparing teachers for the many challenges they will face in the classroom, as well as her perspective on current education practices in U.S. schools. You can also watch a Colorín Colorado professional development webcast featuring Dr. Lundgren, Comprehension: Helping ELLs Grasp the Full Picture.

Beyond the Classroom

Book of the Month

¡Yummm! ¡Mmm! ¡Qué Rico!

By Pat Mora

¡Yummm! ¡Mmm! ¡Qué Rico! Americas' Sproutings, written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael López, celebrates the native foods of the Americas — peanuts, blueberries, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and more — through haiku poetry and stunning artwork. A perfect selection for April, celebrating El día de los niños (a reading celebration created by Pat Mora) and National Poetry Month!

In a Word: Norm-referenced Assessment

This month's glossary term refers to a type of assessment that compares an individual child's score against the scores of other children who have previously taken the same assessment. With a norm-referenced assessment, the child's raw score can be converted into a comparative score such as a percentile rank or a stanine.

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