California's Newest English Speakers Test for Success

Summary

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California's Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell has called for school districts to reconsider their policies with the goal of increasing their reclassification rates. Studies by both the California State Auditor and the Legislative Analyst's Office have also found California's progress in this area too slow. The Auditor's report noted that only half of all English learners beginning California schools in kindergarten will be reclassified by the sixth grade.

Sacramento County's Elk Grove school district, the state's third largest, has consistently had among California's highest annual redesignation rates for English learners over the past several years. Elk Grove's R-FEP seventh graders have also regularly posted among the states' best CAT/6 test scores in reading, language arts, math and spelling. Elk Grove's student population includes slightly fewer English learners and students receiving free and reduced price lunches (a figure often used as a proxy for family income) than the rest of the state.

Long Beach and Glendale are two other large school districts that have been ahead of the state average for English learner reclassification rates. Long Beach's R-FEP students have tested slightly below state averages on the CAT/ 6 test. In Glendale, R-FEP scores have been just about on par with state averages, although consistently above average in Math.

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California's Newest English Speakers Test for Success

It is often said that if you want something done, ask a busy person. Like, for instance, children who began school with limited or no English language skills, yet who succeed in learning enough to be redesignat...

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