What measures do schools use to reclassify students as English proficient? | |
Federal Law | School districts must annually assess ELLs’ English proficiency. Federal law and policies allow states and districts to determine exit criteria for EL students, but the criteria must meet a few basic standards:
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Alabama | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Alaska | A pupil remains identified as an ELL until he or she obtains, on tier B or tier C of the approved assessment, a composite score of 5.0 or higher and score of 4.0 or higher in each of the tested domains of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Districts are required to monitor the academic progress of a pupil who has been identified as an ELL for two years after the pupil is no longer identified as an ELL. A former ELL is not required to participate in the annual English language proficiency assessment unless the district determines that a student's failure to make academic progress may be a result of a lack of English language proficiency and the pupil may need to be re-identified as an ELL. |
Arizona | School districts and charter schools use a board-approved English proficiency assessment at the end of every school year, but ELLs may be tested and reclassified at any time. Students in kindergarten or first grade receive a verbal assessment and schools may also consider other progress measures, including teacher evaluations. Districts and charter schools must notify parents in writing when their students are reclassified as English-proficient. |
Arkansas | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
California | The reclassification procedures include, but are not limited to, a responsible administrative mechanism for the effective and efficient conduct of the language reclassification process, which includes each of the following procedural components:
School districts are required to monitor the progress of pupils reclassified to ensure correct classification and placement.
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Colorado | A redesignated student is one who has achieved a level of “fluent” on a reliable, valid language proficiency assessment and has achieved a level of partially proficient or proficient on the standardized assessment. An exited student is a student that has been redesignated as fluent, has completed two consecutive monitoring years and is ready for formal exit into the mainstream.
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Connecticut | ELLs may only stay in a bilingual program for 30 months, consecutive or not, but not including time in summer school and two-way language programs. If an ELL does not meet the English mastery standard at the end of 30 months, the school district must provide language transition services to the student, including ESL programs, sheltered English and English immersion programs or tutoring or homework assistance. Families may also receive guidance from school professionals to help their children make progress in their native language.
According to the department of education, anything beyond that is governed by the department's ELL guidebook or federal law rather than regulatory provisions. The department also indicates that relevant policies codified in the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies pertain to a repealed statute and are not followed. |
Delaware | Every ELL student is administered an English language proficiency assessment annually. Students who achieve proficiency score higher than the department-established cut off score must be transitioned as fully English proficient and placed in a regular classroom. Districts and charter schools must monitor these students' academic performance for at least two school years after being identified as fully English proficient. Students who experience academic difficulty in the regular classroom during the transition period may be reassessed and, based on the results, reenter a bilingual or ESL program or be provided with additional instructional services.
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District of Columbia | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Florida | ELLs are considered English language proficient and exited from the ELL program after obtaining:
Depending on when the exam scores are received, schools must exit English-proficient students by the last school day of the school year or within two weeks of the beginning of the next school year.
Regardless of a student's English proficiency exam or state reading assessment scores, ELL students enrolled in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program may be re-evaluated for English language proficiency upon the request of a student's teacher, counselor, administrator, or parent. An ELL committee must be convened and must follow these procedures:
The student exits or remains in the program based on a majority decision of the ELL committee. The parents' preference about the student's English language proficiency determination must be considered in the final decision.
Former ELLs' performance must be reviewed periodically for two years after they are classified as English proficient. An ELL committee will be convened if a former ELL student shows consistent patterns of failing grades or under-performance on assessments, but only after the student's parents are notified and given the opportunity to participate. The committee will determine if the student needs additional services. Special consideration is given to parent preference and declines in grades or test performance.
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Georgia | Students who score at the proficient level on both the composite score and the literacy (reading and writing) sub-score of the state-adopted English proficiency measure are considered English proficient. Students who do not score at the proficient level may qualify to have their continued eligibility for language assistance determined through a Language Assessment Conference (LAC). The LAC is attended by the student's classroom teacher, the teacher providing language assistance services, and other relevant parties selected from the following: parent, principal or designee, counselor, school psychologist, or lead teacher. Students who are considered English proficient are not eligible for continued language assistance services and are exited from language assistance services. Districts must monitor students for two years after they exit language assistance services, and the monitoring process includes a documented review of report card grades, state assessment results, classroom performance and teacher observations.
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Hawaii | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Idaho | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Illinois | School districts must annually assess the English language proficiency, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, of all ELLs in kindergarten and grades 1-12 using the English language proficiency assessment prescribed by the state superintendent of education. The state superintendent is required to determine and post on the state board of education's website the composite score and the literacy score that will be used to determine whether a student is identified as “proficient”. Each student whose score on the English language proficiency assessment is identified as “proficient” must exit the program of bilingual education services and will no longer be identified as an ELL. Students who are not enrolled in a bilingual education program but who have been identified as ELLs are required to participate in the assessment each year until achieving a “proficient” score.
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Indiana | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Iowa | An individual student may exit from an ESL or transitional bilingual education program after an assessment has shown both that the student can function in English (in speaking, listening, reading, and writing) at a level commensurate with the student's grade or age peers and that the student can function academically at the same level as the English speaking grade level peers. These assessments must include state, local, or nationally recognized tests as well as teacher observations and recommendations.
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Kansas | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Kentucky | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Louisiana | To be considered English proficient and exit ELL status, an ELL student must score as follows:
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Maine | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Maryland | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Massachusetts | Each school district is required to establish criteria, in accordance with state department of education guidelines, to identify students who may no longer be ELLs.
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Michigan | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Minnesota | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Mississippi | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy.
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Missouri | Governed by the department of education administrative memo or federal law rather than state policy. |
Montana | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Nebraska | Students are reclassified if they test proficient on a language proficiency exam and meet or exceed standards on the state reading test. Students in grades K-2 must also have a teacher recommendation. |
Nevada | ELL students are reassessed for English proficiency at least every 2 years. A student is reclassified if:
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New Hampshire | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
New Jersey | Students in bilingual, ESL, and other ELL-related programs are moved to English-only classrooms based on proficiency exam scores and other indicators, including classroom performance, English reading skills, performance on achievement tests in English, and the judgement of the student's teacher. Students may be in bilingual programs for up to 3 years. Reclassified students who are not progressing in mainstream classrooms may be retested for reentry into bilingual and ESL programs if they are recommended by a teacher and administrator, and the standard timeline for reassessing reclassified ELLs may be waived if a student is experiencing extreme difficulty adjusting to an English-only classroom setting. |
New Mexico | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
New York | Students are reclassified when they score "proficient" on the English proficiency exam, administered yearly. Districts must provide transition services to students who have transitioned from ESL or bilingual programs to mainstream classrooms. |
North Carolina | School districts determine the content knowledge and language skills necessary to be successful in a mainstream classroom. ELLs' English speaking, listening, and literacy skills and content area knowledge are assessed using multiple instruments and teacher judgment. ELLs must not stay in alternative language programs longer than necessary. After leaving an alternative language program, students' progress is monitored for a minimum of six months and additional academic and English language support must be provided if the students begin to have difficulty. |
North Dakota | Not addressed in state policy. |
Ohio | An ELL is reclassified when he or she has met one of the following conditions:
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Oklahoma | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Oregon | The reclassification process is based on English proficiency assessment scores and evidence of student progress. Beyond that the process is governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Pennsylvania | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Rhode Island | Students are monitored for at least two years after reclassification and those who do not progress in their mainstream classroom placement will be reevaluated and may be placed back in an ELL program. Reclassification is governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
South Carolina | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
South Dakota | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Tennessee | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Texas | A district may transfer an ELL out of a bilingual education or special language program for the first time or a subsequent time if the student is able to participate equally in a regular all-English instructional program as determined by:
The language proficiency assessment committee may reenroll a student who has been transferred out of a bilingual education or special language program if the student has inadequate English proficiency and achievement. The committee is required to reevaluate a student who is transferred out of a bilingual education or special language program to determine whether the student should be reenrolled if the student earns a failing grade in a core subject during the first two school years. In addition, during the first two school years after a student is transferred out of an ELL program, the language proficiency assessment committee must review the student's performance and consider:
After this evaluation, the committee may require intensive instruction for the student or reenroll the student in a bilingual education or special language program.
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Utah | Local boards of education must establish student exit criteria from ELL programs. |
Vermont | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Virginia | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Washington | Students are reclassified after meeting the superintendent-established exit criteria on the state language proficiency exam. |
West Virginia | School districts reclassify ELLs based on criteria established by the department of education. |
Wisconsin | ELLs may stay in bilingual-bicultural programs only until they are able to perform ordinary classwork in English. Reclassification is governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
Wyoming | Governed by the department of education’s ELL guidebook or federal law rather than state policy. |
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