BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1108
AUTHOR: Padilla
AMENDED: March 29, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 11, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
SUBJECT : English learner reclassification.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1) Requires school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools, as a condition of the
receipt of funds for the administration of the
California English Language Development Test (CELDT)
for 2013-14, to report the criteria it uses to
determine whether or not to reclassify an English
learner student to the California Department of
Education (CDE) by July 1, 2013.
2) Requires the CDE, in consultation with specified
groups, to analyze the reported information,
determine, and report to the Legislature, which
criteria represent the best practices for
reclassification by January 1, 2014.
3) Beginning with the 2015-16 school year, requires the
CDE to use this information on reclassification
criteria provided by school districts to determine and
recommend to the State Board of Education, proficiency
levels, academic performance levels and best practices
for teacher evaluation and review for
reclassification.
BACKGROUND
Both federal and State law require that each school
district with English language learners annually assess
these students' English language development until they are
redesignated as English proficient. The assessment, the
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California English Language Development Test (CELDT), must
be administered to all students whose primary language is
not English within 30 calendar days after they are enrolled
in a California public school for the first time, and
annually thereafter during a period of time determined by
the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State
Board of Education (SBE) until they are reclassified as
fluent English proficient.
Current law requires the CDE, with the approval of the SBE,
to establish procedures for conducting the CELDT and for
the reclassification of a pupil from English learner to
English proficient. Current law requires the
reclassification procedures developed by the CDE to use
multiple criteria, including, but not limited to, all of
the following:
1) An assessment of language proficiency.
2) Teacher evaluation, including, but not limited to, a
review of the pupil's curriculum mastery.
3) Parental opinion and consultation.
4) Comparison of the student's performance in basic
skills against an empirically established range of
performance in basic skills based upon the performance
of English proficient pupils of the same age, that
demonstrates whether the pupil is sufficiently
proficient in English to participate effectively in a
curriculum designed for pupils of the same age whose
native language is English. (Education Code � 313)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools, as a condition of the
receipt of funds for the administration of the
California English Language Development Test (CELDT)
for 2013-14, to report the criteria it uses to
determine whether or not to reclassify an English
learner student to the California Department of
Education (CDE) by July 1, 2013.
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2) Requires the CDE, in consultation with the state
board, experts in the field of English learners,
teachers of English learners, and local educational
agencies, to analyze the reclassification criteria
reported and determine which criteria represent the
best practices in reclassifying pupils as English
proficient.
3) Requires the CDE to report to the Legislature by
January 1, 2014, the best practices for:
a) Objectively assessing language
proficiency.
b) A teacher evaluating the academic
performance of an English learner.
c) Comparing the performance of an
English learner in basic skill to that of English
proficient pupils of the same age, as specified.
4) Sunsets these reporting requirements on January 1,
2017.
5) Requires, beginning in the 2015-16 school year, the
CDE to use the information provided on
reclassification criteria to determine and recommend
to the State Board:
a) A level of English language
proficiency that demonstrates whether an English
learner's English proficiency is equivalent to
that of same age pupils who are native English
speakers.
b) Best practices for teacher
evaluation and review of the ability of an
English learner to participate in curriculum
designed for same age pupils who are native
English speakers.
c) The level of academic performance
that demonstrates an ability to participate
effectively in a curriculum designed for same age
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pupils who are native English speakers.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, the
current statutory reclassification criteria are vague
and open ended, and have resulted in a
reclassification process that is inconsistent from
school to school and district to district. According
to the author, creating consistency in the State's
system of reclassification is a key step in improving
educational outcomes. This bill proposes that the CDE
recommend best practices with regards to
reclassification to the State Board based upon
information provided by school districts, county
offices, and charter schools.
2) English learners . The CDE provides the following
information on English learners in California's public
schools:
a) In the 2010-11 school year, there were
approximately 1.4 million English learners in
California public schools, constituting 23.2
percent of the total enrollment.
b) Seventy one percent of English learners are
enrolled in the elementary grades (K-6) with the
remaining 29 percent enrolled in grades 7-12.
c) Although English learner data are collected
for 59 language groups, 94 percent speak one of
the top ten languages in the state, which include
Spanish (82.7 percent), Vietnamese, Cantonese,
Pilipino (Filipino or Tagalog), Hmong, Mandarin,
Korean, Arabic, Punjabi, and Russian.
d) During 20010-2011 the CDE administered the
California English Language Development Test
(CELDT) to 1.57 million students, 1.25 million of
whom were tested under the annual assessment
window.
e) Since 2008-09, approximately 11% of English
learners have annually been reclassified as
English proficient.
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3) Current guidelines . As required under current law, the
State Board of Education has issued guidelines for
districts' use in determining reclassification. Below
is a summary of these guidelines as outlined in the
2011-12 CELDT Information Guide prepared by CDE:
a) CELDT. It is recommended that the CELDT be
used as the primary criterion and that
reclassification be considered for students whose
overall performance is Early Advanced or higher
and for whom performance in listening, speaking,
reading and writing is intermediate or higher.
According to this guideline, generally, a score
of level 4 or 5 in each of the four domains of
the CELDT signals a student's English skills are
sufficient to be considered for reclassification
b) Teacher Evaluation. It is recommended that
the students' academic performance be used. The
guideline notes that incurred deficits in
motivation and academic success unrelated to
English language proficiency do not preclude a
student from reclassification.
c) Parental Opinion/Consultation. Districts are
advised to provide notice to parents or guardians
of their rights and encourage them to participate
in the reclassification process. Districts are
also advised to provide an opportunity for a
face-to-face meeting with parents or guardians.
d) Comparison of Performance in Basic Skills.
It is recommended that a student's score on the
test of basic skills in the range from the
beginning of the Basic level up to the midpoint
of the Basic level suggests that the student may
be sufficiently prepare to participate
effectively in the curriculum and should be
considered for reclassification (basic is the
middle performance level out of five levels).
Staff notes that these guidelines are not mandatory
and that districts are authorized to adopt local
reclassification standards that differ from the State
Board's guidelines. Districts may set higher or lower
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minimum scores on assessments. In addition, districts
may, include other forms of evidence, such as grades
or scores on other tests, as part of the
reclassification decision.
4) What's the result ? No comprehensive information is
available on what criteria are currently utilized by
school districts, whether districts follow the
guidelines issued by the State Board, or whether the
reclassification criteria utilized have any
relationship to the successful transition of English
learners into classrooms and curricula that require
English proficiency. It appears that districts use a
variety of criteria for determining whether or not to
reclassify a student. According to information
provided by the author, each of the 22 individual
school districts in Riverside County have a unique set
of reclassification criteria that can include passage
of the California High School Exit Exam, varying
ranges of performance on the CELDT, scores ranging
from 319 to 325 or higher and no score to 325 or
higher on the California Standards Tests in English
and Math, respectively, a myriad of GPA requirements
in various subjects, and in one case, prohibitions on
reclassifying special education students before grade
six.
5) Need for clarification of the goal/purpose . It is the
intent of the author to require a review and analysis
of current district reclassification criteria,
policies and practices for the purpose of determining
whether, and identifying what, uniform statewide
criteria are appropriate and have some relationship to
the successful transition of English learners into
classrooms and curricula that require English
proficiency. It is also the intent that the
information and analysis be used by the department to
identify and recommend tools, practices, and policies
for this purpose. In order to more clearly articulate
and accomplish this goal:
Staff recommends the bill be amended to require that
the CDE examine and report what specific
reclassification practices/standards are being used
for each of the four criteria currently delineated in
statute, whether the SBE guidelines are being
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followed, and the range of district developed criteria
being utilized for reclassification.
Staff also recommends the bill be amended to require
an analysis of English language proficiency and
academic performance data, the reclassification
criteria used by districts and the relationship of
those criteria to reclassification rates and student
academic performance after reclassification, and to
require the CDE to identify any other student outcome
measures that indicate that English learner students
are prepared to successfully transition into
classrooms and curricula that require English
proficiency.
Staff further recommends the bill be amended to
require the CDE to recommend to the Legislature and
the State Board of Education what guideline,
regulatory, or statutory changes are necessary for
this purpose.
6) Who should be consulted ? This bill currently requires
that the CDE consult with the state board, experts in
the field of English learners, teachers of English
learners and local educational agencies, as they
analyze the reclassification criteria reported by
local districts.
Staff recommends that the bill be amended to require
the CDE to consult with "parents of English learners,
experts with demonstrated experience in developing and
administering assessments for English learners,
classroom and/or resource teachers, and school
district administrators with expertise in curriculum,
instruction, assessment and accountability."
7) Timing . This bill currently requires a report of its
findings and recommendations by January 1, 2014.The
information gathered and analyzed under this bill's
provisions would reflect data and information based
upon current academic and English language development
standards and assessments. Shouldn't the report also
reflect information and outcomes based upon any new
standards and assessments implemented as a result of
the common core standards adopted by the State Board
of Education in 2010, and the English language
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Development Standards to be adopted by 2012 (AB124,
Chapter 605, Statutes of 2011)?
Staff recommends the bill be amended to require that
the CDE issue an updated report by January 1, 2017,
that reflects any changes in analysis and
recommendations as a result of the adoption of the new
common core standards, English language development
standards and related assessments.
8) Fiscal impacts . Legislative counsel has identified
potential mandated costs. It is unclear whether
requiring districts to report information as a
condition of receiving CELDT administration funds
sufficiently addresses mandated costs. In addition,
it is unlikely, given the state's fiscal condition,
that the CDE has the resources to conduct the
extensive study called for by the bill. In light of
these concerns:
a) Should the CDE be required to collect
(rather than requiring districts to report) the
specified information?
b) Could the CDE conduct this work based upon a
sampling of districts?
c) Should the CDE be encouraged/authorized to
use federal funds or solicit private resources
for the purposes of conducting the study?
These issues may be more appropriately addressed in
the Appropriations Committee.
9) Related studies :
a) In 2005, the State Auditor issued a report,
Department of Education: School Districts'
Inconsistent Identification and Redesignation of
English Learners Cause Funding Variances and Make
Comparisons of Performance Outcomes Difficult.
Among its findings were the following:
i) Differences in school districts'
identification and redesignation criteria
cause funding variances and a lack of
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comparability in performance results.
ii) Sixty-two percent of 180 English
learners reviewed, who were candidates for
redesignation but had not been redesignated,
met school districts' criteria for fluent
status but were still counted as English
learners.
iii) School district and department
monitoring of schools' adherence to the
redesignation process is inadequate.
Among other things, the State Auditor recommended
that the CDE, in consultation with stakeholders,
establish required initial designation and
redesignation criteria related to statewide tests
that would provide greater consistency in the
English learner population across the State. In
addition, it was recommended that CDE pursue
legislative action, as necessary, to achieve this
goal and require school districts to document
redesignation decisions, including decisions
against redesignating students who are candidates
for fluent status.
b) In 2006, the LAO published its report, The
Progress of English Learner Students which, among
other things, noted that
i) There are no available data to
determine the effect of the state board's
guidelines on reclassification standards
statewide.
ii) The State Auditor's audit of 2005
indicates that districts have adopted
reclassification criteria that meet or
exceed the state's suggested criteria.
iii) Title III accountability measures
of annual progress of English learners are
difficult to compare and assess as this
measure will vary depending upon
reclassification criteria/practices.
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The LAO suggested that one option to address
these concerns could be to develop a statewide
reclassification standard, but noted that lacking
a research basis; any statewide standard would be
somewhat arbitrary.
SUPPORT
Education Trust-West
School Board Member for District 6, Los Angeles Unified
School District
Youth Policy Institute
OPPOSITION
None received.