Local English learners becoming more fluent

Marisa O’Neil

Local students who are learning English in school are making strides

toward fluency, according to a report released Thursday.

The state published results from the California English Language

Development Test, which measures students’ English proficiency. The

number of English learners in the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District who tested at the advanced or early advanced level increased

from 37% last year to 51% this year.

“It’s good news for Newport-Mesa,” said Peggy Anatol, director of

curriculum and assessment for the district. “We want to see our

students in advanced and early advanced [levels].”

Statewide, 43% of English learners tested at those levels.

Whittier, Wilson and Pomona elementary schools, which have high

English learner populations and are listed as program improvement

schools under No Child Left Behind, all made significant gains. Twice

as many students at Whittier and Wilson tested at advanced and early

advanced levels this year than last year.

All kindergarten through 12th-grade students in

non-English-speaking homes must take the test when they enter the

school district, and they must retake it each year. Data from the

report was for the annual assessment and did not include students who

took the test for the first time.

Districtwide, 5,485 students were taking the test for at least the

second time in 2003-04, up from 5,381 the previous year. More than

6,000 total took the test, said Wendy Allee, assessment technician

for the district.

New textbooks and increased instruction time from after-school

programs are two factors that contributed to the increased

proficiency levels, Anatol said.

Teachers use data from the test to help determine the type of

instruction that will help a student achieve English proficiency,

Allee said. Testing at the advanced level is one criterion for being

reclassified out of the English learner subgroup into the general

student population, Anatol said.

The California English Language Development Test covers listening

and speaking skills for kindergarten and first grade, and listening,

speaking, reading and writing skills for grades two through 12.

“We’re really monitoring each child’s progress through the

[English language development] standards,” said Karen Kendall,

director of English learner programs for the district. “We spend a

lot of time and commitment focusing on English language development,

and it’s really paying off for the students.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.