THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	James A. Kadamus
COMMITTEE:	EMSC-VESID
TITLE OF ITEM:	Report on Building Capacity to Improve the Performance of Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	February 27, 2004
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Review of Regents policy
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

The attached report was submitted to the Committee for discussion in February.  Since time constraints prevented adequate discussion time, the Co-Chairs have requested that the report be resubmitted for continued discussion in March.  In follow-up to the Committee's request in February, staff are gathering additional information on students from English-speaking Caribbean countries and students with disabilities.  We will report on these issues at a future time once data is available.  In March, the Committee will also discuss a schedule for discussion of policy recommendations.

 

 

 

Attachment

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	James A. Kadamus
COMMITTEE:	EMSC-VESID
TITLE OF ITEM:	Report on Building Capacity to Improve the Performance of Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	January 28, 2004
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Review of Regents policy
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

            The Regents and the Department are committed to raising the academic achievement of all students and, at the same time, closing the gaps in student academic performance.  Building the capacity of school districts to strengthen educational services to limited English proficient /English language learners (LEP/ELL) is a key strategy to reducing these gaps.

 

            The attached report provides an update of Department activities and initiatives to improve and expand educational services to LEP/ELL students, including:

 

q       Providing background on the characteristics and demographics of LEP/ELL students.   LEP/ELL students represent diverse economic, experiential, educational and linguistic backgrounds. Many of these students enter New York schools with well-developed literacy skills in their primary languages, while for others education may have been temporarily suspended or unavailable in their native countries due to political, social or economic problems.  It is this latter population that enters the State educational system with less than an age-appropriate level of native language literacy and other academic development.  With the implementation of the new New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), we anticipate a more comprehensive profile of these students and their remediation needs to emerge.

 

q       Disseminating publications and information to support the instructional and program needs of LEP/ELL students.  In the past few years, the Department has

developed a series of publications focusing on assisting teachers and schools to address the instructional needs of LEP/ELL students.  Most prominent among these publications is the Trilogy of Language Arts which makes the connection between the State learning standards, assessments and instruction to help LEP/ELL students acquire English proficiency.

 

q       Developing strategies for improving the performance of students with interrupted formal education.  Those LEP/ELL students who enter the State educational system after grade 2 are often deprived of the benefits of prior schooling experienced by their peers. This population, students with interrupted formal education (SIFE), was the focus of a two-day symposium in December 2003. Educators from across the State discussed issues associated with educating these students and developed a series of recommendations that are included in the report.

 

q       Highlighting the need to get certified bilingual and ESL teachers to schools with LEP/ELL students.  Student achievement requires highly qualified, certified teachers.  A shortage of certified bilingual and ESL general education and special education teachers continues to be a problem in the large urban areas of the State, particularly Buffalo and New York City.  A range of programs and initiatives has been developed to increase the number of certified bilingual and ESL teachers in the large urban areas of the State.

 

q       Implementing a standardized system to assess the English language proficiency of ESL/ELL students.  Until recently, data collection for LEP/ELL students had been inconsistent and often inaccurate due to the range of assessments that school districts used both to identify LEP/ELL students when first enrolled and to measure their progress annually in English proficiency.  Many of these issues have been eliminated with the exclusive use of the LAB-R and the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test  (NYSESLAT).

 

While we have been working aggressively to improve the achievement of LEP/ELL students, challenges still remain. They include:

 

q       Improve the monitoring of LEP/ELL student progress, particularly in the Big Five city school districts.  The Department will use multiple strategies to ensure that LEP/ELL students receive the remediation they need, as required by State and federal statute.  These strategies are outlined in the report.

 

q       Ensure more accurate and consistent data collection for LEP/ELL students.  The current statewide use of LAB-R and the NYSESLAT as the only assessment instruments for LEP/ELL students should help. 

 

q       Recognize that the LEP/ELL population is moving beyond the Big Five city school districts.  More suburban and rural school districts must have programs to address the instructional needs of these students and the professional development of their teachers as the LEP/ELL population grows in these districts.

 

 

Attachment

REPORT TO THE NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF REGENTS

ON BUILDING CAPACITY TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT/ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

February 2004

 

In 1996, the Department developed a blueprint for a long-range plan designed to strengthen the education system’s capacity to help limited English proficient/English language learners (LEP/ELL) meet the standards and assessments and pass the Regents tests required to graduate from high school. 

 

            The long-range plan was developed in collaboration with local, State and national partners and advisors.  A statewide steering committee composed of practitioners, researchers, teachers and administrators, representing the linguistic geographical and grade levels reflective of the State LEP/ELL population, was formed.  The committee recommended the development of:

 

q       Standards in English as a Second Language, K-12, and native language arts, K-12, which are aligned with the State’s English language arts standards.

 

q       A statewide assessment program consisting of different instruments for initial identification of LEP/ELL students and measuring progress in English proficiency.

 

q       Guidance and training materials to ensure that LEP/ELL students meet all the standards and pass the assessments.

 

All the above activities have been completed, as recommended.  Also, the New York City Department of Education revised its Language Assessment Battery (LAB) and the Department developed a statewide ESL test, New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), and publications providing guidance to schools on improving instruction to LEP/ELL students.  These products were rolled-out each year, beginning in 2001, at regional teacher institutes followed by training by the Bilingual Education Technical Assistance Centers (BETACs).

 

In order to update the Regents on the key issues affecting the education of LEP/ ELL students, information will be provided within the following topical areas: characteristics and demographics of LEP/ELL; Department publications -- programs and curricula LEP/ELL; strategies for improving the performance of students with interrupted formal education (SIFE); bilingual and ESL teacher certification; and English language assessments of LEP/ELL.

 

I. CHARACTERISTICS AND DEMOGRAPHICS OF LEP/ ELL STUDENTS

 

Definition of LEP/ELL. Part 154 of Commissioner’s Regulations defines limited English proficient students (LEP) as: pupils who, by reason of foreign birth or ancestry, speak a language other than English, and either understand and speak little or no English; or score below a designated level of proficiency on the Language Assessment Battery-Revised (LAB-R) or NYSESLAT. 

 

Starting in 2002-2003, new procedures and instruments were introduced statewide for uniform initial identification, continued eligibility and measurement of annual growth in English proficiency for LEP students.  The revised LAB-R is used statewide to identify, upon enrollment, students who are LEP/ELL and the NYSESLAT is used to measure achievement in English proficiency, on an annual basis, and to determine continued status as LEP/ELL.  (The attached graphic outlines the steps that are followed to identify LEP/ELL students.)

 

Characteristics of Students who are LEP/ELL. LEP/ELL students represent diverse economic, experiential, educational, and linguistic backgrounds.  Many students enter New York schools with well-developed literacy skills in their primary language.  For others, education was temporarily suspended or unavailable in their native countries due to political, social or economic problems, and they enter the State educational system with less than age-appropriate levels of native language literacy and other academic development.  Research and experience show that LEP/ELL students with strong literacy skills in their native language will be able to make a smoother and more rapid transition to English proficiency, while those with weak or no literacy skills in their native language will encounter difficulties and take longer to meet academic standards and acquire English proficiency. 

Late-arriving immigrant students with interrupted formal education in their native countries have limited literacy and academic development, and are at greater risk of not meeting the standards and graduation requirements before 21 years of age.  In December 2003, a statewide symposium was held to discern the issues and identify recommendations for policy and programs for students with interrupted formal education (SIFE).  (This issue is discussed further in the report.)

 

Data on LEP/ELL Students.  Refining the statewide process for identification of LEP/ELL students shown in the Attachment to this report will make great progress in resolving the past issues and problems in the collection of accurate data.  Until now, data reported on the number of LEP/ELL students has been inconsistent primarily because it is collected by different offices in the Department, at different times for different purposes.  Furthermore, until the 2002-2003 school year, school districts were allowed to select among a range of assessments both to identify LEP/ELLs when first enrolled and to measure their annual progress in English proficiency.  The implementation of the uniform statewide process for the identification, and the second administration of the NYSESLAT in May 2004, should yield much more accurate data for 2004. 

 

The 2002-3003 data continues to reflect the inconsistencies created by the old system and also serves as a transition to the new system being phased in.  Following is a description of the various mechanisms and purposes for the collection of data on LEP/ELL students.

 

 

CR Part 154	In August, districts submit in their CR Part 154 plans the number of LEP students identified and the number of students served based on the regulations.  This data is used to calculate the State LEP Aid.   Not all districts reporting LEP/ELL students in BEDS have traditionally submitted the CR Part 154 plans.  Delinquent districts recently received notices asking for the information and corrections and adjustments are being made.    In addition, until this year, CR Part 154 districts reported only those LEP/ELL students identified and in programs for up to six years as required in State Education Law.  Such time limitations were imposed for the BEDS data reports.  Consistent with the requirements of federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, LEP/ELL students are now counted on the basis of the scores on the NYSESLAT regardless of length of time in the New York State educational system.  However, districts will not generate State LEP aid for students counted beyond six years.
NYSESLAT	Starting in May 2003, and every spring thereafter, districts are required to administer the test to all LEP/ELLs.  LEP/ELLs will be identified according to the cut scores on the test.
LAB-R	Districts must administer this instrument to all “possible LEP/ELLs” at the time of enrollment.  This data has not been collected, although the Department is working on the mechanism to do so.  LEP/ELLs will be identified according to the cut scores on the test.

 

Consistent with the information above, Table 1 provides the most current information on the number of LEP/ELL students identified by school districts.

 

Table 1

LEP/ELL Students Reported by School Districts

 

 

As the new strategies continue to be phased in, the initial identification and determination of continued eligibility of all LEP/ELL students will be resolved.  As per the 2002 CR Part 154 amendments, only two instruments will be used to identify students with limited English proficiency in New York State.  Further, information on all LEP/ELL students will be collected and reported, regardless of the number of years in the system.

Dropouts.  National and State studies and audits of district-reported dropout data have shown that those data are historically inaccurate in many high-need districts. Three State audits of New York City and audits of other districts, such as Rochester, show a much higher dropout rate historically than the ones reflected in the data because of inaccurate reporting and the lack of documentation of students.

 

Table 2

Hispanic Dropout Rates*

 

									New STEP Data System/ New Rules For Reporting Dropouts
	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-00	2000-01	2001-02
NYC	8.0	8.1	7.1	6.5	6.7	8.6	8.8	7.9	13.6
Big 4	7.9	6.0	4.9	5.2	4.5	3.6	4.1	5.2	5.7
ROS	4.9	4.4	3.7	3.6	3.8	4.1	4.2	4.1	4.4

* Reported dropout rates are historically inaccurate in many districts.  See accom-panying narrative.

 

As indicated in Table 2, in the 2001-02 school year, the dropout rate for Hispanic students increased slightly from the previous school year in the Big Four city school districts (5.2 percent vs. 5.7 percent) and for the Rest of State (4.4 percent vs. 4.1 percent).   However, the increase in annual New York City dropouts reported for the 2001-2002 school year for Hispanic students is due to a change in the way that New York City counts dropouts, not an increase in the actual number of dropouts. There were two major changes in the rules. New York City had previously not counted students who dropped out (1) over the summer, or (2) during the school year if they returned the following September. (In New York City, students frequently leave school for a time and then return the following year.) Beginning with 2001-2002, New York City began to count those students as dropouts, even if they returned to school the following year. In addition, all New York City schools, including junior high schools and middle schools, are now reporting dropouts. Prior to the 2001-02 school year, only the high school division reported dropouts.  Further evidence that there was no increase in dropouts is clear from a comparison of New York City's four-year cohort dropout rate for the students who began grade 9 in 1998 versus the previous cohort.  The four-year dropout rate for the City remained the same in the two cohorts--24 percent.

 

Effective in the 2001-2002 school year, the Department significantly tightened the rules for the reporting of dropouts. The major change is a new requirement that each school have documentation if a student is classified as a transfer to another school or district. The purpose of this change was to ensure more accurate reporting. This step was taken both as a result of a move to a new student record system and because several school district audits showed poor recordkeeping in high-need districts. Prior to this time, districts reported aggregate numbers of students as dropouts (for example, X district reported 122 dropouts). Now districts report data for each individual student, who has an identifying number, rather than an aggregate total of students. If the district does not have documentation that a student has transferred, then that student is counted as a dropout by the Department, even if the district had not considered the student as a dropout. This is a major change in the rules for reporting dropouts.

 

It should be noted that in New York City, with the largest LEP/ELL student population in the State, there were 8,361 LEP/ELL students in the class of 2002, as shown in Tables 3 and 4.  Of these students, 30 percent graduated in four years, 38 percent were still enrolled after four years, and 31 percent had dropped out.  Of the LEP/ELL students who dropped out, 92 percent had not taken the Regents English examination. 

 

Table 3

New York City Class of 2002

Student Performance in Regents English

by Limited English Proficient Status

 

Table 4

Student Performance in Regents English by Limited

English Proficient Status and Enrollment/Graduation Status

 
 

Languages of LEP/ELL Students.  LEP/ELL students represent over 176 languages, with 81 percent speaking only 5 of those languages and 88 percent speaking the top 9.  There have been some changes and ranking shifts in the top five languages spoken by LEP/ELL between 1995 and 2002, as shown in Table 5.  Spanish (64 percent) continues to be the dominant language by a large margin; Chinese (8 percent), Russian (3 percent) and Haitian (3 percent) retain their position in the top five; and Urdu has steadily moved to the third place in the last three years.

 

 

Table 5

Top Five Languages Spoken by LEP/ELL

Enrolled in CR Part 154 Bilingual Education and Free Standing ESL Programs

 

 

 

Monitoring.  As a consequence of the impact of reductions in staff, the Department is continuing to develop new and more effective strategies to monitor compliance with State and federal laws and regulations.  These approaches are less reliant on site visits and more focused on the review of plans of what is to be accomplished and the resultant student achievement data.  However, on-site monitoring will be used when triggered by patterns of non-compliance.

 

The Department conducts extensive reviews of Part 154/NCLB Title III applications submitted by school districts and follows up with one or all of the following:

 

q       Every effort is made to try to resolve issues, concerns, or non-compliance matters by requesting additional information or correction by fax or telephone.  This also incorporates needed and/or requested technical assistance.

 

q       When issues cannot be resolved in a timely manner, districts are sent a letter with extensive descriptions of the non-compliance issues and a request for additional information and/or calling for the immediate correction of the problems.

 

q       Letters of disapproval, with corrective action requirements, are issued to school districts failing to make the correction or provide requested information in a timely manner.

 

q       Warning letters were recently issued to all districts that reported LEP/ELL students in their BEDS report, but failed to submit their Part 154 applications. This has not only served to identify delinquent districts, but also to clarify procedures for other districts that had completed the BEDS reports incorrectly.

 

Additional monitoring strategies are being explored, including:

 

·        Telephone interviews with key school district personnel will be used to monitor compliance. To ensure that a uniform and standardized review occurs, staff is developing a telephone interview protocol. This will also serve as a mechanism to provide technical assistance.  The telephone interview monitoring approach will be pilot tested in spring 2004.

 

·        Teachers, administrators and other key school district personnel will be requested to complete a questionnaire regarding the district’s implementation of the Part 154 and NCLB Title III programs.  This approach is being considered for collecting information and data on programs for LEP/ELL students.  It will be pilot tested in spring 2004.

 

·        NYSESLAT data will be used to assess the progress in the achievement of LEP/ELL students over time.

 

 

II. DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS – PROGRAMS AND CURRICULA FOR

LEP/ELL STUDENTS

            A series of Department publications have become powerful tools in developing the system’s capacity to improve the performance of LEP/ELL.  Each has been developed with extensive consultation with researchers and practitioners of diverse linguistic, academic and geographic backgrounds.  To maximize consultation with practitioners, the publications are initially issued in draft form and subsequently modified based on reviews from the field.  A professional development plan based on a turnkey training approach is designed and implemented for each to enable the field to understand and use the documents effectively.

            It should be noted that each publication has been disseminated widely within the State, including the Department's regional bilingual/ESL teacher institutes, as well as nationally.  The publications are also available for sale through the Department's Publications Sales Desk and are available on the Department’s website.

 

      Trilogy of Language Arts.    The Trilogy of Language Arts makes the connection between the New York State standards, assessments and instruction to help LEP/ELL students acquire English proficiency.  They are grounded in the concept of building on what is known, the student’s native language skills, and moving toward the new, English language arts skills, by using the bridge of English as a second language.

 

Trilogy 1:  The Teaching of Language Arts to Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners: A Resource Guide for All Teachers is the first of the three documents designed to raise the level of instruction for students for whom English is a new language.  The purpose of this publication is to enable all teachers of LEP/ELL students to understand the complexities of their adjusting to a new culture and learning a second language.  It establishes the foundation for language development and discusses State and federal requirements in the context of education reform and standards-based education.

 

The publication presents descriptions of current research studies, identifies strategies and techniques, and lists resources to enable school personnel to support the development of proficiency in English, while at the same time maintaining the first languages.  It also serves as a valuable resource guide to help all teachers of English language learners incorporate effective language teaching/learning strategies through interdisciplinary study.  This publication provides information on the needs of LEP/ELL students and suggests additional resources that may be investigated.  In summary, it is a valuable tool for the development of the system’s capacity to make changes needed to challenge the LEP/ELL students to meet the State standards and graduate from high school.

Trilogy 2:  The Teaching of Language Arts to Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners:  Learning Standards for English as a Second Language serves as the foundation for English as a second language (ESL) curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the State.  It provides the framework for interweaving teaching, learning, assessment, and student work.  The ESL standards also serve as the framework for the New York State ESL Achievement Test (NYSESLAT).

 

The ESL standards are based on an alignment between the New York State English language arts (ELA) learning standards and the ESL standards developed by the National Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).  The New York State ESL standards reflect the standards-based curriculum and assessment initiatives in New York State.  With the assistance of the Center for Applied Linguistics, the ESL Standards Committee aligned the TESOL standards with the ELA standards for each grade level cluster, and developed new performance indicators for each standard as needed.  Simultaneously, teams of teachers around the State identified and developed sample classroom tasks that addressed the standards and performance indicators that illustrated standards-based ESL instruction.

 

There are five NYS ESL standards.  While the first four resemble the four State ELA standards, there are significant differences in the performance indicators that distinguish the ESL standards from those in ELA.  The five ESL standards are: 1. English for information and understanding; 2. English for literary response, enjoyment, and expression; 3. English for critical analysis and evaluation; 4. English for social and classroom interaction; and 5. English for cross-cultural knowledge and understanding. The fifth standard, English for cross-cultural knowledge and understanding, articulates the components of acquiring a “second culture” in both a social and academic context.  Interactions and knowledge that are subsumed under Standard 5 are designed to help LEP/ELL students entering the United States to be successful in their new host culture. 

 

The sample classroom tasks outlined in this document provide educators of LEP/ ELL students with suggested tasks that address one or more performance indicators within a particular standard.  The tasks describe instructional practices that are designed for authentic, meaningful, and purposeful learning and student engagement.  The draft publication has been disseminated extensively statewide and professional development has been conducted.  The final draft was just printed and is being disseminated to schools.

 

Trilogy 3: The Teaching of Language Arts to Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners:  Learning Standards for Native Language Arts is a required component of the bilingual program in instruction in native language arts (NLA).  Research has shown that students with strong skills in their native language acquire English proficiency through skills transference much faster than those with no or limited native language skills.  Furthermore, study of the native language while learning English has the added value of developing bilingual and bi-literate students.  It is urgent, therefore, to continue to identify strategies to strengthen the native language arts program.  Towards that goal, draft standards in native language arts are parallel to the ESL standards and are aligned with the ELA standards.  They are being printed and will be disseminated to schools in spring 2004.

The NLA standards document presents a description of the languages spoken by LEP/ELL students and each is contrasted with basic characteristics of English.  It provides the framework for teaching the native language arts and guidance on how the language impacts on learning English.  The NLA standards have been rolled out this year by way of a series of regional teacher institutes throughout the State.

 

Other Publications. The Department continues to develop and disseminate publications to enhance the capacity of the State’s educational system in order to improve achievement of LEP/ELL students.

 

Guidelines for Services to Students with Limited English Proficiency and Special Education Needs in New York State. This document was originally issued in 1990 to bring together two regulations, Part 200 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and Part 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. It helps clarify the responsibilities of school districts in providing appropriate services to students who have or are suspected of having a disability.

 

The purposes of this document are to ensure that nonbiased procedures are used to identify and assess students of limited English proficiency being considered for referral to a Committee on Special Education (CSE) for an evaluation; assist in the appropriate placements of LEP students with special education needs in settings which address their cultural and linguistic as well as special education needs; and assure that both parents and students are afforded their due process rights.  The document also incorporates all new requirements in State and federal legislation, especially under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  The revised publication will be ready for dissemination in fall 2004.

           

Guidelines for Programs for Limited English Proficient Students: Bilingual Education/English as a Second Language.  The Guidelines are being revised to reflect the new changes in Part 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, approved by the Board of Regents in July 2003.  The adoption of the LAB-R and the NYSESLAT has also made revisions to this document necessary. Sections of the document, however, are being posted on the Department’s web site and draft portions of the document have been disseminated to the field upon request.  It is expected that the revised version of the Guidelines will be available for dissemination in fall 2004.

 

Bilingual Glossaries.  Bilingual glossaries have been developed in each of the following subjects:  Mathematics; U.S. History and Government; Global History and Geography; Living Environment; and Earth Science. 

 

A total of 46 different publications are available in 5 subjects and 13 languages.  The Urdu language version is under development.  The glossaries may be used by teachers and students for instruction in preparing for the State tests and by the translators who prepare the native language version of the tests.  This also has the important side effect of standardizing the technical terms in each of the subjects for each of the languages.  Students may also use the glossaries while taking the examination.  The glossaries may be purchased from the State Education Department, and many may be downloaded from the Bilingual Education web page (http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/nysben.html).

The following table shows the subjects and languages in which the glossaries have been developed.

 

Table 6

Subjects and Languages of Glossaries

 

Bilingual Glossaries Developed by SED
Languages	Subjects
	Mathematics	U.S. History and Government	Global History and Geography	Living Environment	Earth Science
Arabic	X	X	X	X	X
Bengali	X
Bosnian	X	X	X	X	X
Burmese	X
Chinese (Simplified)	X	X	X
Chinese (Traditional)	X	X	X	X	X
Haitian-Creole	X	X	X	X	X
Korean	X	X	X		X
Polish	X	X	X		X
Russian	X	X	X	X	X
Serbo-Croatian		X	X
Spanish	X	X	X	X	X
Vietnamese	X
TOTAL	12	10	10	6	8

 

 

III. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH INTERRUPTED FORMAL EDUCATION (SIFE)

 

            On December 15-16, 2003, the State Education Department and the New York City Department of Education, in collaboration with the Nassau BETAC and the Equity Assistance Center at the New York University, convened a statewide symposium to identify successful programs and instructional practices as well as to explore innovations and interventions which can improve the educational performance of limited English proficient students with interrupted formal education (LEP/SIFE).  The two-day meeting was attended by 125 participants and endeavored to continue the inquiry initiated seven years ago by the Department at the first statewide symposium on this topic.  The overarching purpose of this activity was to articulate the continuing concerns and issues identified by educators to enhance knowledge about these students and to promote challenging, rigorous, culturally relevant and linguistically sensitive educational programs for SIFE. 

 

            The prominent issues that surfaced revolved around accurately identifying and placing SIFE students, broadening the definition to include additional language groups; finding dedicated funding sources; assisting students in meeting the adequate yearly progress (AYP) criteria, under Title III of the NCLB, and developing research-derived, content-based literacy designs; and promoting innovative staff development approaches.  Following are the key recommendations that emerged:

 

q       Definition:  Broaden the definition of SIFE to include all newly arrived immigrant students with interrupted formal education (English spoken as well as limited English proficient) who enter a school in the United States after grade 2.

q       Diagnostic: Identify uniform diagnostic tests in English and procedures to accurately identify the literacy and academic needs of SIFE students, including provisions for testing in the native language.

q       Data:  Report disaggregated data on the performance of SIFE students.

q       Funding:  Identify categorical funding for SIFE for accelerated interdisciplinary, content-based English native language literacy programs, and channel State funding to districts with concentrations of SIFE for the development of pilot programs.

q Accountability:  Do not include statistics on SIFE achievement in AYP benchmarks until they reach a sixth grade reading level and adjust the four-year graduation requirement for SIFE students entering middle school or later.

q       Research:  Conduct longitudinal studies on the academic progress of SIFEs.    

q    Identification:  Design programs to meet the needs of SIFE students which include clear entry and exit criteria, and promote collaboration among districts and universities to develop research designs and studies to identify educational trends and effective interventions.

q      Professional Development:  Conduct innovative staff development approaches to help districts to work effectively with SIFE students;

q       Parental Involvement:  Expand parent collaboration by coordinating private and public resources as well as partnering with family and literacy programs. 

 

The recommendations are being reviewed by the Department to determine the feasibility of their implementation.  While some of the recommendations are within the Department’s responsibility, others can be implemented immediately by the school districts and still others will require changes in federal statutes.

As another follow-up to the symposium, the New York City Department of Education  invited community school districts to write proposals for funding for pilot programs and activities specifically focused on this population.  The districts’ proposals are being reviewed by the New York City Department of Education and those selected will implement the program in the spring and summer of 2004.  The results of the pilot programs will be reviewed by the Department in order to identify the most successful for possible replication in other areas of the State.

 

IV. BILINGUAL AND ESL TEACHER CERTIFICATION

 

An essential element necessary for successful programs for LEP/ELL students, as well as a requirement of the NCLB, is the presence of highly qualified bilingual and ESL teachers. A shortage of properly certified bilingual and ESL general education and special education teachers continues to be a challenge in New York State, particularly in New York City and the other Big Four school districts.  The situation became even more acute in the 2003-2004 school year with the elimination of temporary licenses.  Approval of the modified temporary licenses did provide a degree of relief for the bilingual and ESL teachers in general and special education. 

            Appropriate offices in the Department continue to collaborate on the review of the certification information provided by school districts.  The following is the certification status of bilingual and ESL teachers reported by the Big Five city school districts:

 

Yonkers.  No uncertified bilingual or ESL teachers were reported.

 

Syracuse.  Thirteen uncertified individuals were reported. Certification applications have been submitted to the Department for these individuals.  The Department is reviewing the applications and has notified the district that uncertified individuals cannot remain in these assignments.

 

Rochester.  Four uncertified individuals were reported.  The Department has asked the district to provide information on the action that it has taken regarding these individuals. In addition, the Department has notified the district that uncertified individuals cannot remain in these assignments.

Buffalo and New York City.  With Buffalo and New York City reporting the largest number of uncertified teachers, the majority of the Department’s efforts have been focused on these districts.

 

Buffalo has experienced persistent difficulty in recruiting bilingual and ESL teachers sufficient to meet the needs of its students.  However, with the help of the Department and the Erie Bilingual Technical Assistance Center (Erie BETAC), the district has made strides in increasing the number of properly certified teachers in the last several years.  For the 2003-2004 school year, all ESL teachers were properly certified; however, 30 uncertified individuals were assigned to bilingual classes.  To address this situation, the Department, the Erie BETAC and the Buffalo City School District continue to work together in determining the exact status of each of the 30 individuals and identify viable solutions. The Department coordinated a thorough review of the records for each individual in question.  The Buffalo City School District also engaged the assistance of the State University at Buffalo which has an approved bilingual certification program to design an Internship Certificate Program for those teachers to become qualified for certification.  Of the 30 individuals who were initially reported as uncertified, six have applied for modified temporary licenses and three more have passed the LAST and appear to meet all requirements for certification.  At the time of this report, three uncertified individuals have been relieved of their assignments and two others have been offered reassignments to teacher assistant positions.

The Buffalo City School District recognizes that more still has to be done to address the need for certified bilingual and ESL teachers.  However, the pool of certified candidates remains small in the Western New York region, and Buffalo, in particular, continuously loses certified teachers to other districts in addition to attrition due to retirements.  Long-term solutions, such as aggressive recruitment efforts and motivating bilingual undergraduate students to go into teaching, must continue to be pursued.

New York City.  The shortage of appropriately certified/licensed bilingual/ESL teachers in New York City has historically been a serious challenge. Initial reports at the school building level, in connection with CR 154 and NCLB Title III data collection, indicated that the New York City school district may have begun the 2003-2004 school year with as many as 298 uncertified bilingual and 190 uncertified ESL teachers.  The Department is working with the New York City Department of Education to verify the certification status of these individuals.  Thus far, some of the school-level reports have proven inaccurate.  However, further and more in-depth review is being conducted to ascertain the exact status of these individuals.

At the time of this report, the Department had issued 59 bilingual and three ESL modified temporary licenses to New York City for the 2003-2004 school year. Another 12 bilingual modified temporary license applications are pending and may be issued for the 2003-2004 school year.

Please Note: After all necessary actions have been taken to secure properly certified teachers, any uncertified individuals remaining will no longer be permitted to provide instruction.

 

Strategies to Increase the Pool of Certified Bilingual and ESL Teachers.  Following are focused programs to increase the pool of certified bilingual  and ESL teachers:

 

Intensive Teacher Institute, Bilingual/ESL Teacher, Alternative Teacher Certification Program (ITI-BE Transition B).  In an effort to increase the bilingual/ESL teacher pool in general and special education, the Intensive Teacher Institutes in Bilingual Education, ESL and Special Education (ITI-BE) and (ITI-BSE) were created as a short-term solution.  They provided tuition assistance to bilingual and ESL general education and special education teachers and pupil personnel professionals working in a PreK-12 program while holding a Temporary Provisional Certificate.  It continues to be a short-term solution to an ever-increasing long-term problem.
 

Since their inception, the ITI-BE and ITI-BSE programs have helped over 3,000 uncertified bilingual general education and special education teachers and pupil personnel professionals with New York State temporary licenses.  Of those, 2,353 obtained bilingual education certification extensions in Arabic, Chinese, Haitian-Creole, Hebrew, Italian, Russian and Spanish and 662 obtained certification in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). 

 

The original ITI model will be phased-out this year with 243 employed certified bilingual/ESL teachers in general and special education who will complete certification requirements by June 2004.

 

The Intensive Teacher Institute (ITI) funding (if available) will be redirected to support Transitional B Bilingual/ESL certificate programs for bilingual or ESL general education and special education teachers who have passed the LAST and CST until 2005.  The ITI will shift its focus to undergraduate programs.

 

Bilingual Education Teacher Leadership Academy (BETLA). The Bilingual Education Teacher Leadership Academy (BETLA) was created to develop leadership skills in exemplary bilingual and ESL teachers who might become effective trainers, leaders and mentors of other teachers in their schools.  The program was initiated with a cohort of 30 outstanding bilingual/ESL teachers from the Bronx followed by a second cohort in 2003.  Bank Street College, following a competitive RFP, was selected to continue the implementation of the project.

Each cohort of teachers has participated in an intensive three-week summer  professional development program designed to provide information on State, federal and local regulations and requirements; State standards and assessments; and content area instruction for LEP/ELL students.  A particular feature of the summer program was Pathwise Training tied to research-based standards to help teachers improve their teaching practices.  The second phase of the program continues during the school year when the BETLA teachers are provided the resources and support to implement model classrooms to work with other selected colleagues.  Participants also continue to take leadership courses at Bank Street.  Some are registered in the school administration program.  In addition, each teacher is assigned a mentor who provides a location support to the teacher leader.

V. ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT OF LEP/ELL STUDENTS

Two instruments have been developed/revised to assess the English proficiency of LEP/ELL students – Language Assessment Battery-Revised (LAB-R) and the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT).

Language Assessment Battery-Revised (LAB-R).  The LAB-R, developed by the New York City Department of Education, is used statewide to identify limited English proficient students at the time of enrollment.  It consists of four subtests in listening, speaking, reading and writing in five grade level groupings (K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12).  The LAB-R was administered for the first time in the 2002-2003 school year and the results are under review.

 

New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT). The NYSESLAT is a rigorous assessment designed to evaluate the English language proficiency of LEP students, K-12, in listening, speaking, reading and writing.  The test is based on the State’s English as a second language standards, which are aligned with the State standards for English language arts (ELA).  One of the overarching priorities in developing the NYSESLAT was to construct an assessment that would ensure the academic success of students in exiting from bilingual/English as a second language programs to the general education English environment.

 

The NYSESLAT, developed by the Educational Testing Service, the Department and practitioners, was first administered on a statewide basis in May 2003.  Districts reported valid data on the NYSESLAT for approximately 138,000 students in grades K-12.  Due to the inclusiveness of the development process, the test has been well received and supported by the field.

Since the NYSESLAT is not a pass/fail assessment, but a measure of the English proficiency level of LEP/ELL students, care was exercised in establishing cut scores which would not exit students prematurely or, on the other hand, retain students in ESL programs beyond their need.  In order for a student to meet the criteria for exiting LEP status, a student is required to demonstrate proficiency (the highest level) on the subtests measuring each of the four assessed modalities.  Thus, unlike other State assessments, a student’s strengths in one of the areas assessed cannot be used to compensate for a weakness in another area. 

 

With the first administration of the NYSESLAT in the 2002-2003 school year, only three percent of students scored at the level of proficiency required to make them eligible to exit from programs under CR Part 154. This was a marked decrease from the previous year.  For example, in New York City in the 2001-02 school year, using the prior assessment and exit criteria, approximately 22 percent of students were able to achieve the score necessary to exit from LEP status.  As a result of the first administration of the NYSESLAT, three issues have emerged:

 

·        Some students who were able to pass the Regents Comprehensive examination in English or achieve Level 3 on the 4^th or 8^th grade ELA examination were unable to score at a proficient level on all parts of the NYSESLAT.  This is not unique to the NYSESLAT; it also occurred under the former assessment program for LEP students.

 

·        ESL and bilingual education teachers were generally not as familiar with the new assessment as they had been with the former ones.  Therefore, in some instances test familiarity or test preparation efforts were inadequate.  As a result, some students who scored just below the criteria for proficiency may have done so not because of a deficiency in one of the modalities, but because of lack of familiarity with or preparation for the test.  On the other hand, both students and teachers were overly familiar with the former assessment that may have been the cause for the higher exit rate.

 

·        Some school districts were not prepared to provide services for the increased number of students identified as LEP.

 

In an effort to address these issues and to support a smooth transition to the NYSESLAT testing program, school districts, at their discretion, may use for the 2003-2004 school year ONLY, the following options:

 

·        A grade of 55 on the Regents Comprehensive Examination in English, together with a total raw score of 37 on the combined listening and speaking sections of the 2003 NYSESLAT, constitutes meeting the exit criteria. 

 

·        Students who on the 4^th and 8^th grade ELA examinations reach Level 3 or 4, and score at a specified proficiency level of the combined listening and speaking sections of the 2003 NYSESLAT, may be considered as having met the exit criteria. 

 

·        Students with a specified aggregate score on the four modalities of the NYSESLAT, listening, speaking, reading and writing, at each of the five grade range levels (K-1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12), may be considered as having met the exit criteria.  Students who achieve this aggregate score will in almost all cases have scored at the proficient level in at least two of the four modalities.

 

Implementation of these options will increase by three to six percent the number of students meeting the exit criteria.  This change will ensure that students are not retained in LEP status because of the transition to the new assessment.  In addition, it will also partially ameliorate challenges faced by New York City and some other school districts that did not anticipate that the exit rate on the NYSESLAT would be so low and are now struggling to provide programs and services to these students. 

 

Continuation of any of these options for subsequent administrations will require a technical amendment to CR Part 154.  However, beginning in the 2004-2005 school year, the field should be better prepared to assist students to meet the proficiency standards on the NYSESLAT and it is anticipated that the exit rate will increase significantly.  In the interim, the options create an appropriate transition between the former and current systems to exiting LEP students.

 

Assessment data on the NYSESLAT were received for about 138,000 LEP/ELL students.  For a small percent of cases, some of the data were not complete.  For example, since the test was administered over a number of days, some pupils did not take all the subtests due to absences, and some districts did not correctly report all their LEP pupils in the prescribed format.  This is not unusual for a new assessment and a first-time reporting procedure.

 

The Department continues to work with school districts to address any testing problems and to provide the technical assistance needed to ensure a smooth administration of the

NYSESLAT April–May 2004.  The following is being planned:

 

·        Weekly meetings are held including all offices in the Department that have responsibilities for any step in the production, printing and mailing of the test to ensure that the test will get to the schools in time for the spring 2004 administration.

 

·        A NYSESLAT test sampler is being prepared and will be disseminated to schools with LEP/ELL students.

 

·        The BETACs and representatives from the Big Five city school districts will participate in a one-day orientation on the use of the sampler and any revised procedures for the administration of the NYSESLAT.

 

·        The BETACs will turnkey the information through workshops from the districts in their region.

 

·        Information on the test, including a Q & A, will be provided on the SED website.  The Q & A will be updated regularly to reflect key questions as they are addressed.

 

·        A Request for Proposal (RFP) is being prepared and will be issued in the spring to identify outside vendors to prepare the NYSESLAT for 2005 to 2009.

 

·        The Language Assessment Battery will continue to be reviewed with the New York City Department of Education.  A more detailed report on their test will be provided at a future meeting.

 

When the NYSESLAT is administered for the second time in April to May 2004, the results will be analyzed on a student, school and district level with the 2003 baseline data.  This information will be used to identify students who are not making the annual achievement objectives in acquiring English proficiency and who may be in need of remediation.  It will also be used to identify schools that are meeting the annual progress and those that are not.  The technical assistance will be focused on those schools in greatest need.

 

Furthermore, the technical assistance plan for schools with LEP students will be developed around those schools identified as failing to meet the standards.  In addition, schools that meet the standards will be awarded a special certificate of merit for their accomplishments.