BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 812
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 812
Weber - As Amended April 27, 2015
SUBJECT: Pupils of limited English proficiency: assessments
SUMMARY: Requires that students of "limited academic English
proficiency," as defined, be identified and annually assessed
for academic English proficiency, and requires a study on best
instructional practices for these students. Requires the
development of an assessment tool and procedures for
reclassification of these students. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines "pupils of limited academic English proficiency" as
students who do not have the clearly developed academic
English language skills of comprehension, speaking, reading,
and writing necessary to receive instruction in English at a
level substantially equivalent to pupils of the same age or
grade whose primary language is also English.
2)Defines Academic English and Academic Language as the oral,
written, auditory, and visual language proficiency required to
learn effectively in schools and academic programs.
Specifically, Academic English and academic language is
defined as the language which:
a) is used in classroom lessons, books, tests, and
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assignments
b) pupils are expected to learn and the language in which
they are to achieve fluency
c) includes a variety of formal-language skills such as
vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, syntax,
discipline-specific terminology, or rhetorical conventions,
that allow students to acquire knowledge and academic
skills while also successfully navigating school policies,
assignments, expectations, and cultural norms
1)Requires that, by September 1, 2016, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI), in consultation with the California
Department of Education (CDE) and local educational agencies
(LEAs) develop a formal process to identify pupils of limited
academic English proficiency.
2)Requires that the identification process provide special
consideration to students who:
a) score in the lowest achievement levels on the Smarter
Balanced Assessment System summative and interim
assessments
b) receive less than a passing grade on one or more
consecutive progress and report cards in English language
arts
c) are identified by teachers or faculty members as meeting
the above criteria
1)Requires, by January 1, 2017, the CDE, in consultation with
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LEAs, to develop a study on best practices for providing
instruction to pupils of limited academic English proficiency,
and provide this study to members of the Legislature, the
Office of the Legislative Analyst, and the Governor.
Requires that this study include information on:
a) existing state and local programs
b) effective pedagogical and instructional methods for
pupils of limited English proficiency
c) professional development and training needs for teachers
who would be likely to provide instruction to pupils of
limited English proficiency
1)Requires the CDE to develop an assessment tool to determine
the proficiency level of pupils of limited academic English
proficiency.
2)Requires the CDE, with the approval of the State Board of
Education (SBE) to establish procedures for conducting the
assessment and for the designation of a pupil of limited
academic English proficiency to English proficient.
3)Beginning in the 2018-19 school year, requires the assessment
to be conducted upon initial enrollment or as early as
possible, and annually thereafter during a period of time
determined by the SPI and the SBE.
4)Requires that the annual assessments to continue until a
student is designated as academic English proficient. States
that LEAs may use a score at the highest achievement level of
3 or higher on the Smarter Balance formative and summative
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assessments to designate a pupil as academic English
proficient.
5)Requires that, if a student is still performing at a level of
limited academic English proficiency after the 8th grade
Smarter Balance formative and summative assessment, school
districts must provide targeted resources with the goal of the
pupil scoring at the level of 3 or higher on the 11th grade
Smarter Balance formative and summative assessment
6)States that the assessments conducted pursuant to this section
shall be conducted in a manner consistent with federal
statutes and regulations.
7)Requires the SPI to develop a procedure to designate a pupil
of limited academic English proficiency as academic English
proficient using multiple criteria, including all of the
following:
a) an assessment of language proficiency using an objective
assessment instrument
b) teacher evaluation, including a review of the student's
curriculum mastery
c) parent opinion and consultation
d) comparison of the performance of the student in basic
skills relative to his or peers
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1)States that this chapter does not prohibit an LEA from testing
pupils of limited English proficiency more than once in a
school year if the school district or county office of
education chooses to do so.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Defines "English learner" or "pupil of limited English
proficiency," and requires each school district to assess the
English language development of each of those students within
30 days of initial enrollment and annually thereafter to
assess until the students are redesignated as fluent English
proficient.
2)Requires the CDE, with the approval of the SBE, to establish
procedures for the reclassification of a student from English
learner to English proficient.
3)Requires that the reclassification procedures developed by the
CDE use multiple criteria in determining whether to reclassify
a student, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
a) assessment of language proficiency using an objective
assessment instrument, including, but not limited to, the
California English Language Development Test (CELDT)
b) teacher evaluation, including, but not limited to, a
review of the student's curriculum mastery
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c) parent opinion and consultation
d) comparison of the performance of the student in basic
skills with those of his or her peers
1)Establishes an English Language Development assessment to
identify students who are limited English proficient, to
determine the level of English proficiency of students, and to
assess the progress of English learners in acquiring the
skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in
English.
2)Requires the CDE, by January 1, 2015, to recommend to the SBE
any modifications to the ELD standards to link them with the
Common Core mathematics standards and the Next Generation
Science Standards.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has been keyed a state-mandated local
program by the Office of Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. The author's office states, "Although there
is a general consensus among academic researchers that all
pupils must be proficient in academic English to thrive in
professional or academic settings, a large portion of students
still struggle to develop proficiency.
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According to research from California State University,
Northridge, "Academic language is the language used in
instruction, textbooks and exams. Academic language differs in
structure and vocabulary from language used in daily social
interactions. Academic language includes 1) a common vocabulary
used in all disciplines, as well as 2) a technical vocabulary
inherent to each individual discipline. Academic English is
based more upon Latin and Greek roots than is common spoken
English. In addition, academic language features more complex
language and precise syntax than common English. Low academic
language skills are associated with low performance in school.
The issue transcends race but it certainly disproportionately
impacts low-income and pupils of color. As indicated previously,
data suggests that pupils who have limited academic English
proficiency are generally "underprepared," and that there is a
direct correlation between low performance and not being
proficient in academic English. Specifically, one extensive
field-test conducted over a ten year period based on student's
performance on "assessment tasks" concluded that "students who
are underprepared in academic language are less able to
distinguish between important and unimportant information in
lectures and text, are less able to recognize or produce
correct affixes, are misled by text cues such as bolding, are
less able to restate and summarize information, are less able to
summarize text, are more likely to misunderstand lecture and
text meaning, and take fewer lecture and reading notes."
Currently, there are small programs such as the Academic English
Mastery Program in Los Angeles Unified School District, but no
formal or large scale efforts to funnel pupils into these types
of programs that have been shown to be successful.
Additionally, there is no formal state definition of Academic
English, nor is there a description of the type of pupil would
benefit from academic English instruction."
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Standard English learners discussed in 2014 English Language
Arts Framework. The 2014 California English Language Arts
Framework chapter on Access and Equity defines standard English
learners as "native speakers of English who are ethnic minority
students (e.g., African-American, American Indian Southeast
Asian-American, Mexican-American, Native Pacific Islander) and
whose mastery of the standard English language that is
privileged in schools is limited because they use an ethnic
-specific nonstandard dialect of English in their homes and
communities and use standard English (SE) in limited ways in
those communities."
The Framework discusses African American English and Chicano/a
English and notes: "Non-standard varieties of English are
sometimes erroneously considered to be "ungrammatical" or
"improper English," whereas these varieties are, in fact,
systematic and rule governed dialects. Instead of taking a
subtractive approach, teachers should give clear messages that
non-standards varieties of English that students may speak or
hear in their home communities are equally as valid as standard
English." The Framework also shares a recommendation from a
researcher in this field: "teachers should?make the linguistic
features of school language, or SE, explicit to students in
order to provide them with extended linguistic resources they
can draw upon, depending upon the social context in which they
find themselves."
State once had a Standard English Proficiency program. The CDE
once had a program specifically to support school districts in
helping students achieve standard English proficiency. In a
Senate Education Committee analysis of SB 205 (Haynes) of the
1997-98 Session, the program was described as follows:
The California Department of Education (CDE) is responsible
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for the distribution of the Standard English Proficiency
(SEP) handbook, which is based on a 1981 State Board of
Education policy that directs the CDE to provide direction and
leadership to local school districts to improve the standard
English proficiency of speakers of Black language. The
handbook is presently being revised to complement the English
Language Arts Materials adopted by the State Board in
December, 1996. The SEP is also known as the Proficiency in
Standard English for Speakers of Black Language Program.
This program appears to have been eliminated near the time the
analysis written, a period during which the issue of standard
English was widely debated in the media following the adoption
of a controversial resolution by the governing board of the
Oakland Unified School District. Committee staff was unable to
locate any staff who worked in this program to provide further
information.
LAUSD Academic English Mastery Program and SEL policies. The
Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Academic English
Mastery Program (AEMP) is a program designed to address the
language needs of African American, Mexican American, Hawai'ian
American, and Native American students for whom Standard English
is not native. The program incorporates into the curriculum
instructional strategies that facilitate the acquisition of
standard and academic English in classroom environments that
validate, value, and build upon the language and culture of
students. It may be the only such program in the country.
The AEMP promotes proficiency in academic English by working
with school staff and parents. The program is currently working
with 61 schools, providing training to teams of teachers,
administrators, and parents from school sites which volunteer
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for this training. Over the summer they provide training to
approximately 300 teams. In some cases participating schools
provide instruction to SELs at the same time as English learners
receive English Language Development instruction: students are
split into groups according to their language need.
The AEMP uses brief screening tools for the identification of
the use of different language features, with a tool for African
American, Mexican American, and Hawai'ian American students.
The program also uses the LAS Links assessment to determine
students' levels of language proficiency. The program uses
curriculum materials available generally, such as California
Treasures, Words their Way, and Lucy Calkins Units of Study.
The AEMP emphasizes the use of culturally relevant materials,
contrastive analysis, and an "additive" approach to teaching
standard English.
LAUSD English Learner Master Plan and Board Resolution. The
2012 LAUSD English Learner Master Plan includes a chapter on the
education of SELs. It identifies Mainstream English Language
Development (MELD) as a responsive instructional intervention
that develops listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills
in standard and academic English. The plan states:
The purpose of MELD is to assure that SELs will have
meaningful access to the core curriculum, post-secondary
educational opportunities, and career options. The MELD
approach is linguistically responsive, in that it seeks to add
Standard and academic English to the students' existing
language repertoire. MELD accomplishes this additive approach
by engaging in dual grammar study of the student's home
language variety and target language (Standard English). This
dual grammar study is referred to as contrastive analysis and
has been shown by research to be effective in teaching
Standard English.
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In May, 2014, the LAUSD governing board passed a resolution in
support of standard English instruction. It calls for:
appropriate assessment of the academic language needs of
SELs
professional development for teachers and administrators
regarding best practices
targeted resources to support SELs in all schools
research and evaluation
support for a SEL teacher advisor in each Educational
Service Center
parent education/engagement
establishment of a model school in every Educational
Service Center
an annual count of SEL students beginning in the 2016-17
school year
AEMP has formed a partnership with UCLA's Center X for the
purpose of data collection and analysis, related in part to the
above resolution. This collaboration is intended to provide
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more information on the need for this instruction among students
in the district.
Bill raises questions about what improves mastery of academic
English. This bill proposes to create a system of
identification, assessment, instruction, and reclassification of
pupils of limited academic English proficiency which largely
mirrors the system used for English learners.
In proposing this system, this bill raises many policy and
practice questions. Among them:
How should LEAs identify students who are in need of
explicit instruction in standard English?
What assessments exist that could be used to measure
proficiency in academic English?
How should the target level of proficiency in academic
English be defined?
What curricula are available for explicit instruction in
academic English?
What are effective instructional methods for teaching
academic English?
What kinds of professional development improves mastery
of academic English?
What is the role of culturally relevant curricula in
supporting mastery of academic English?
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To what extent should proficiency be measured by
performance on assessments of core content area skills?
And perhaps the most significant question raised by this
bill: to what extent is it appropriate to use a system
designed for English learners with students who already
proficient in one form of English?
It is not clear whether there are evidence-based answers to all
of these questions at this time. But to the extent that mastery
of academic English affects overall student academic
performance, there may be a state interest in answering them.
To that end, staff recommends that this bill be amended to
delete its current contents and instead require, contingent upon
an appropriation provided for this purpose, an evaluation of the
LAUSD Mastery of Academic English program, through a partnership
with the University of California, Los Angeles Center X. This
evaluation would support data collection and analysis, focused
around policy questions regarding identification, assessment,
curriculum, instruction, professional development, and
definitions of proficiency, with a specified timeline for
completion.
Prior legislation. AB 1249 (Davis) of the 2011-12 Session would
have expanded the definition of "English learner" to include
pupils whose native language is English and whose mastery of the
standard English language or academic English is limited due to
their use of nonstandard English. This bill died in the
Assembly Education Committee.
AB 1988 (Davis) of the 2011-12 Session would have required that
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the SBE policies ensure that the English language arts
curriculum framework and instructional materials include
strategies to address the language and literacy needs of pupils
who use African American vernacular English. This bill died in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 205 (Haynes) of the 1997-98 Session, as heard in the Senate
Education Committee, would have required the CDE to terminate
the Proficiency in Standard English for Speakers of Black
Language program, and would have prohibited the teaching of
non-standard English.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
California Teachers Association
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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