"We Leave It Up to the District": Meeting the Needs of English Learners in Standards-Based Reform

• In Event: 42.058 - Developing Linguistically Responsive Standards-Based Reform for English Learners

Abstract

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) currently in use by 42 states and the District of Columbia, which offers states little guidance in how to support ELLs in meeting the increased language demands of these standards (Flores & Schissel, 2014). Instead, efforts to meet the needs of ELs within the context of standards-based reform have primarily been left to consortia of English language development specialists charged with creating English language proficiency standards. One organization that has led these efforts is the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) consortium, which has created English Language Proficiency Standards and an English Proficiency Assessment aligned to the CCSS. Currently, 37 states and the District of Columbia are part of this consortium. Yet, despite this national-level support, states are essentially responsible for developing programming and support for ELLs in meeting the demands of the state standards.

This presentation examines how Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Texas officials address the needs of ELs within their current standards-based reform initiatives. Each of these states offers a different context for understanding the implementation of the standards for ELs. Kentucky is a CCSS State and a member of the WIDA consortium with relatively low numbers of ELs. Massachusetts is a CCSS and WIDA state with relatively high numbers of ELs. Ohio is a CCSS state but not a WIDA state with relatively low numbers of ELs. Texas is neither a CCSS nor a WIDA state and has high numbers of ELs. The different profiles of each of these states allows for the development of a better understanding of the different factors that contribute to the ways that states are currently working to meet the needs of ELs within the context of standards-based reform.

The data collection for this project occurred in 3 stages. The first stage included a comprehensive review of state-specific documents related to the education of ELs. This included an analysis of state legislation, content standards, English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards and any state education department guidance documents pertaining to ELs. The second stage included interviews with 20 state education department administrators across the 4 states, with at least one representative from each state being a specialist in EL education. The third stage included interviews with 60 administrators in 12 districts across the 4 states along with surveys from 70 district administrators, 280 principals, and 280 teachers per state.

Our findings indicate that all 4 states have decentralized systems in regards to instruction for ELs. The state education department focuses on global issues such as the development and alignment of ELP standards and their state standards and districts having primary responsibility for designing and implementing programs to support ELs in meeting the demands of the standards. Districts, on the other hand, report many challenges in meeting the needs of ELs and report that the demands being placed on them are unfair to both students and educators. These findings raise questions related to how we ensure that local districts have the necessary capacity to develop high-quality programming for ELs.

Author

• Nelson Flores, University of Pennsylvania