Reclassification Data — What is it Good For?

How long does it take dual language learners (DLLs) to learn English? The general consensus is that it can take up to three to five years to develop oral proficiency in English and about four to seven years to achieve academic-level proficiency

https://static.newamerica.org/attachments/720-chaos-for-dual-language-learners/chaosfordlls-conorwilliams-20140925_v3.pdf

— under optimal circumstances. Additionally, research has documented that myriad factors influence how quickly any particular DLL student achieves proficiency in English. In other words, there is no neat answer to the question.

A new report by Regional Educational Laboratories Northwest aims to address this question through an examination of seven “Road Map” school districts in Seattle, Washington. These districts are part of the Road Map project launched in 2010, which creates a cradle-to-career pipeline for students in the poorest and lowest achieving schools in Washington state.

The study used data collected from the 2005-06 school year through the 2012-13 school year, and examined the average number of years it took elementary students to “exit” language learner status. In Washington, students are classified as DLLs based on their performance on the state’s English language proficiency assessment. ((During the data collection period, the state switched from administering the Washington Language Proficiency Test to the Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment — although the state claims the scores are comparable across assessments.)) Students are classified as beginning (level 1), intermediate (level 2), advanced (level 3), or transitional (level 4). Once DLLs reach level 4, they are reclassified as former DLLs. Importantly, the study also included a measure of the rate of reclassification — or the number of students that were reclassified during the study’s time frame.

So what did the study find? Younger DLLs learned English faster than older DLLs — meaning students who entered DLL status in kindergarten took the shortest amount of time to be reclassified, compared to students who entered in later grades. Naturally, those who entered DLL status in kindergarten with beginning levels of English proficiency took nearly twice as long to be reclassified than students who entered kindergarten at higher English proficiency levels (4.5 versus 2.5 years, respectively). Interestingly, this pattern was reversed for older DLLs. Students who were first classified as DLLs in grades 2–5 with beginning proficiency took an average of 3.1 years to be reclassified, whereas those who were first classified with more advanced English proficiency took an average of 4.4 years.

This delay in reclassification times for older DLLs is a counterintuitive — and troubling —  finding, since one would expect DLLs with more advanced levels of English proficiency to reclassify quickly, regardless of age. This delay could be due to the increasing demands of the Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment (WELPA) as students progress through the elementary grades. The skills the WELPA expects students to demonstrate at level 4 proficiency in the 3-5 grade band are much more demanding than the expectations for the K-2 grade band. For instance, students in grades 3-5 must demonstrate the ability to develop research skills, analyze literary elements, use comprehension and questioning strategies, and analyze and apply persuasive devices — just to name a few. In comparison, these skills are absent from the expectations defined for K-2 students to meet reclassification criteria.

Additionally, as students progress through the elementary grades, they face more demanding academic expectations, which also increase the language demands for DLLs. It may be more difficult for DLLs to demonstrate they can “comprehend grade-level text” and “use academic vocabulary across content areas,” on the WELPA if they struggle to develop the larger and more complex academic vocabulary the later elementary grades require. However, this is just speculation. The data are limited in providing much more than a red flag that some students are struggling to reach proficiency in English.

While the report gives us a good idea of the time it takes DLLs in Washington Road Map districts to become reclassified, it leaves out an important question: How are students faring in other subjects once they exit DLL services? In a 2011 state report on Washington’s DLL programs, data show that, of the DLLs who were reclassified, the percentages meeting grade level proficiency standards on state reading, writing, math, and science assessments were well below statewide percentages. For instance, while 72 percent of students in Washington met state reading proficiency targets, only 55 percent of former DLLs did. In math, 61 percent of students statewide scored proficient, while former DLLs lagged behind at 47 percent.

These low levels of academic proficiency bring up the question of whether DLLs were exited prematurely. Achieving a minimum cut score on an English proficiency assessment is a weak proxy for English mastery — especially for the type it takes to succeed academically in the major content areas. In fact, the National Literacy Panel’s investigation on DLLs’ literacy development, determined “most assessments cited in the research to gauge language minority students’ language proficiency and content knowledge in English were inadequate.” Given these findings and student proficiency data, it may not be enough to use English proficiency exam scores as the sole indicator of student readiness to exit DLL services.

If that’s the case, then we have a much more troubling question on our hands: what are English proficiency scores good for? When the data are used to complement other DLL performance indicators — such as teachers’ evaluations of DLLs’ progress and/or informal assessments —  they provide important insights into DLLs’ performance. But when viewed as sole indicators of DLLs’ performance, they can be misleading and of limited use.

—

This post is part of New America’s Dual Language Learner National Work Group. Click here for more information on this team’s work. To subscribe to the biweekly newsletter, click here, enter your contact information, and select “Education Policy.”"