English-learners post testing gains

Statewide test results show Newport-Mesa students improving and scoring better than state average.English-learner students in Newport-Mesa Unified School District mastered the language more often than their average peers around the state this year, according to standardized test results released Wednesday.

On the California English Language Development Test, which nearly all English-learners around the state took in September and October, 49% of the 5,050 Newport-Mesa students who took the test scored as either “advanced” or “early advanced,” the two highest marks on the exam. Across California, 47% of students scored in those brackets.

The Newport-Mesa score also shows a sharp improvement over the last half-decade. In the 2001-02 school year, only 28% of students made the highest categories; every year since then, the district’s marks have either improved or stayed the same.

“We’ve been aggressive in helping nonnative students learn to speak English,” said Supt. Robert Barbot. “That’s necessary just for the economy and for everybody getting along.”

The California English Language Development Test is a four-part exam in which English-learners are tested on their ability to listen, speak, read and write. Parts of the test are conducted one-on-one with evaluators; others are done in a classroom setting. A student receives four sub-scores on the test, although to assess each student’s performance, the state looks at his or her overall mark.

The test is a key factor for districts in moving students out of English-learner classes. If a student passes the development test with no sub-score below “early advanced,” he or she may be moved to standard English classes, depending on grades, test scores and other factors.

This spring, Newport-Mesa will post its reclassification numbers for the current school year. In 2004-05, the district reclassified 369 students -- 60% more than the year before, according to English-learner programs director Karen Kendall.

Kendall, who called Wednesday’s test scores “a cause for great rejoicing,” said Newport-Mesa had increased its professional development and has monitored English-learner students more closely over the last five years.

English-learners take the development test at every grade level. Some disabled students are exempt. Students are graded in five categories: beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced and advanced.

Generally, fewer students take the test at each level as they are moved out of English-learner courses during their schooling.

Among the most successful Newport-Mesa campuses on the development test this year was Rea Elementary School, which has a student body composed of 80% English-learners and usually posts some of the district’s lowest standardized test scores. This year, 63% of Rea English-learners scored in the top two brackets.

“I think it’s a reflection of the dedication of the teachers toward helping the kids grow academically, personally and emotionally -- all those things that make up the whole person,” Rea Elementary Principal Gloria Hardy said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Percentages of English-learners posting “advanced” or “early advanced” scores on the English Language Development Test