52 percent tested in the top two rankings, up 12 percent
Brava! Fluency in the English language among students in the Morgan Hill School District for whom English is a second language is improving, according to the recently released results of the annual CELDT. CELDT is the California English Language Development Test that measures fluency.
The test rates the students at several levels, starting with “beginning,” then moving to “early intermediate,” then “intermediate,” “early advanced” and finally “advanced.”
Districtwide, 22 percent tested as advanced, 30 percent as early advanced, 29 percent as intermediate, 11 percent as early intermediate and 7 percent as beginning.
A total of 1,320 students were tested earlier this school year.
“These numbers indicate that the hard work of our staff to help all students learn English as quickly as possible is achieving results,” Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said Thursday. “As our English learners gain greater proficiency in English, they are more likely to improve their academic achievement in all subject areas. These students and their parents also deserve recognition for this achievement. We are very proud of their accomplishments.”
Over the past four years, the district has seen an increase in students testing at the early advanced and advanced levels.
During the 2001-2002 school year, 40 percent of students tested in the top two rankings; in 2002-2003, 46 percent of students were at these levels; last year, 51 percent of students ranked in the top two levels; and this year, 52 percent tested as early advanced or advanced.
“We know that we still need to continue our work in meeting the educational needs of our English learners,” McKennan said. “But we are pleased by the progress that has occurred over the past four years.”
Compared to state- and county-wide results over the past four years for advanced and early advanced, a higher percentage of MHSD students tested at these levels each year. Last year, 51 percent of MHSD tested at these levels compared to 43 percent in the state and 46 percent in the county. This year, 52 percent were advanced or early advanced, compared to 47 percent in the state and 50 percent in the county.
Depending on when they enter the district and their fluency at the time they enter, students in secondary schools should be more proficient than those at the elementary level.
CELDT tests students’ listening and speaking skills in kindergarten and first grade; in grades 2 through 12, students are also tested on their English writing skills.
English language learner (ELL) students at Live Oak High made gains this year, with 38 percent, or 78 students, testing as advanced and 32 percent, or 65 students, testing at the early advanced level, compared to last year’s 33 percent (69 students) advanced and 30 percent (63 students) early advanced.
A total of 206 students were tested this year and 212 last year.
Of course, as students become fluent and move out of the ELL program, others move in with varying levels of fluency, even at the secondary level.
The district’s two middle schools also saw an increase in students reaching advanced proficiency: Martin Murphy, which tested a total of 72 students this year, had 38 students, or 53 percent, that tested at the advanced level; and Britton, which tested 147 total students, had 60 students, or 41 percent, at the advanced level. Last year, 60 Martin Murphy students out of a total 152, or 39 percent, tested advanced, while 29 Britton students out of a total 223 students tested, or 13 percent, were at the advanced level.
The number of students testing early advanced at both middle schools dropped slightly from the year before. Martin Murphy had 19 students (26 percent) this year and 46 students (30 percent) the year before, while Britton had 45 students (31 percent) this year and 91 students (41 percent) last year.
Districts in California each establish their own “reclassification process” based on state guidelines for students who are deemed proficient and fluent. The CELDT is the primary measurement. Other methods include parent opinion and consultation, teacher evaluation and performance on the California Standards Test in English-language arts.
“Our next step will be to look at the percentage of English learners who will be reclassified this school year and compare this to the percentage of students who were reclassified last year,” McKennan said.
According to information from the district, California has the most students for whom English is a second language in the nation.
A district report on the number of students last year for whom English is a second language – though most of them have some English ability – shows the district had a total of 1,525 students out of 8,565 enrolled.
Thirty different languages were represented in the district last year, as diverse as Assyrian, Tigrinea, Urdu, Gujarati, Tagalog, Russian, Italian and Dutch. The largest number of ELL students last year spoke Spanish as their primary language: 1,307 out of a total 1,525 ELL students.
For complete CELDT reports on individual schools, log onto the California Department of Education website at www.cde.ca.gov/
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at md****@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 ext. 202.
