Language
Proficiency

Sweetwater Union High School District — Case Study

Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista, California implements LAS Links® in its English Language Development (ELD) courses to measure English learners’ (ELs) progress and inform instructional decisions.

Using the integrated suite of English language proficiency assessments from CTB/McGraw-Hill, the district reports improved student performance across all language domains and ELD levels.

In addition, in 2010, the EL subgroup at every middle and high school achieved at least double its Academic Performance Index (API) target, surpassing state averages and the performance of comparable school districts in San Diego County.

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Filling in the Achievement Gaps for English Language Learners

A strategic and accurate decision-making plan is vital to filling in the achievement gaps for English language learners. To begin this planning process, educators need an English language proficiency assessment that pays special attention to the following:

• Identification and Placement
• Tracking Progress
• Curriculum Planning
• Program Entry/Exit

Identification and Placement
Accurate placement promotes quality instruction and helps students make progress rapidly. LAS Links evaluates students in listening, speaking, reading, and writing to accurately and reliably place them within the program that best meets their needs.

Tracking Progress
Benchmark Assessments provide information that helps teachers monitor students' progress toward achieving state English language proficiency standards. This feedback enables teachers to measure and report progress throughout the year to adjust the curriculum and target student learning.

Curriculum Planning
Once students have been identified at their appropriate level of English proficiency, teachers can augment instruction by using the lesson plans contained in the Instructional Guidance materials. These lessons are organized by content area and proficiency level, allowing ELL students to have success in academic subjects.

Program Entry/Exit
Enables accurate identification and placement of ELL's and annual evaluation of ELL students. Additionally, LAS Links can help determine whether students are ready to exit programs.

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English Language Development Model Using LAS Links

CTB provides high quality assessments for grades Pre-K–12, and has been involved in language proficiency for more than 30 years beginning with the development of the Language Assessment Scales (LAS®). LAS Links is based on the tenet that second-language acquisition occurs when students have multiple opportunities to process meaning with their fellow students, teachers, and other adults in the school and elsewhere. Students process information best when that information is systematically introduced, when it is engaging, and when it is accompanied by opportunities to practice the knowledge and skills required to learn the English they will need for academic, social, and test situations.

In creating the LAS Links family of assessments, CTB applied years of second language acquisition research. This research is reflected in the types of items, topics, language usage, linguistic expectations, and scoring that are utilized in these assessments. Careful consideration has been given to distinguish the content of LAS Links English language proficiency development from that included on English language arts achievement tests.

Throughout the lifecycle of a student's acquisition of English as a second language, from beginner to fluent, LAS Links provides a measure of growth that reflects the different rates of growth evident in the ELL population.

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Helping Mainstream Teachers Become More Effective in Meeting the Needs of All Their ELL Students

With classrooms more diverse than ever before, teachers throughout the country are facing new challenges — rapidly changing demographics colliding with federal civil rights requirements, politically charged debates on bilingual education, and limited school resources. Under federal law all English language learners (ELL) have the right to appropriate language support services until they achieve English proficiency. The most recent confusion seems to be on how to apply federal civil rights laws to the education of ELL students.

Districts can meet this federal obligation by tracking the educational progress of each student to help accelerate their English language development. LAS Links helps teachers develop appropriate lessons and instructional strategies to target students’ language needs.

For a minimal cost, schools across the country can better serve their ELL students with LAS Links. Now is the time to provide teachers with the immediate access to lesson plans that can be used to accelerate students' English language development and enable them to become more successful in academic classrooms.

Learn more about LAS Links Instructional Guidance Binders »

Placement and Progress Monitoring

Placement

Accurate placement promotes quality instruction and helps students make progress rapidly. LAS Links evaluates students in listening, speaking, reading and writing to accurately and reliably place them within a program the best meets their needs.

Learn more about the LAS Links Placement Test »

Progress Monitoring

LAS Links provides information that helps teachers monitor students' progress toward achieving state standards. The feedback enables teachers to measure and report progress throughout the school year to adjust the curriculum to target student learning.

Learn more about the LAS Links Benchmark Assessments and LAS Links K–12 Assessments, Forms A & B »

Application of Common Core State Standards for English Language Learners

The Common Core State Standards will provide a greater opportunity for states to share experiences and best practices within and across states. States will determine how the needs of ELLs will be addressed in relation to the new Common Core State Standards, and policies must address how ELLs are defined and discuss procedures for including and accommodating them in summative, benchmark, and classroom assessments. Under NCLB, states are required to develop English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards that are linked and aligned with their Reading/English Language Arts standards for use with their English language learner student population. Adoption by states of the Common Core State Standards will therefore necessitate changes and revisions to these ELP standards.

Common Core State Standards will include background knowledge and native-language literacy, time necessary for development and mastery of skills, and an examination of how these would impact English language learners in their progress towards attaining specific academic standards.

With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, new assessments will need to be developed to measure achievement. It is critical that these assessments be valid and reliable for use with all students, including English language learners. The accountability system for the standards must also include multiple forms of measurement for English language learners, including alternative forms of assessment that reflect growth and improvement over time.

The LAS Links suite of products expands CTB/McGraw-Hill's continuing commitment to connect Common Core State Standards with English language proficiency. CTB stands ready to assist states and districts in the advancement of their ELL students. CTB is studying these new Common Core State Standards, along with existing state standards, to make sure that the next generation of language proficiency assessments can meet the needs of ELL students, families, and educators.

For additional information on Common Core Standards, go to www.corestandards.org.

Grants & Funding for LAS Links

The CTB/McGraw-Hill Grant Services website can help you identify which grants are currently available, how CTB products meet requirements, and how to prepare for and apply for grants.

Learn which federal grants are available for LAS Links »