[lg policy] California study: Kindergartners may be wrongly identified as English learners

[Harold Schiffman]

California study: Kindergartners may be wrongly identified as English learners

By Donna Jones Santa Cruz Sentinel,


WATSONVILLE -- In 2010, more than 1,200 kindergartners in Pajaro
Valley schools were tested for their skills in English.
Nearly all were classified English learnersl  A new study by UC
Berkeley researchers calls the results into question. The
state-mandated California English Language Development Test is so
challenging, researchers say, that too many California children are
being labeled as English learners more because of a lack of maturity
than language skills.

"That's absolutely a concern of ours," said Susan Perez, director of
instruction and curriculum at Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
''What we're looking for is language proficiency and fluency. Our fear
is what we may be getting is a reflection on how far they are along in
development."

Researcher Lisa Garcia Bedolla, chairwoman of the Center for Latino
Policy Research at UC Berkeley, said the problem starts with screening
that uses four questions related to the child's first language and
parents' language to determine who gets tested. Once in the test pool,
designation as an English learner is almost guaranteed.

Only about 6 percent of California's kindergartners who took the test
in 2010 were designated English proficient, according to the study,
''Classifying California's English Learners: Is the CELDT too blunt an
instrument?"

2 PERCENT PROFICIENT

In the Pajaro Valley, where nearly half the district's 19,500 students
are English learners, more than 70 percent of kindergartners were
tested in 2010, and 2 percent of those -- 28 of 1,242 -- were
considered proficient, according to California Department of Education
data. About 28 percent of Santa Cruz County's 39,000 public school
students are labeled English learners, California has 1.6 million
English learners, about a quarter of its students.

Countywide, including Pajaro Valley, 1,580 kindergartners were tested
last year, and 65, or 4 percent, were considered proficient in
English. In Santa Cruz, where 145 kindergartners were tested, 28, or
15 percent, scored proficient on the test. Garcia Bedolla said the
test subjects young children to up to two hours of questioning, often
in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar adult. If the testing isn't
completed in one session, more are scheduled. Parents are not
permitted to be present.

"I don't understand how a 4- or 5-year-old can take a test that lasts
longer than 10 minutes," Garcia Bedolla said. ''It's not really what
you want your kid's first interaction with school to be." Sylvia
Mendez, principal of Ann Soldo Elementary School in Watsonville,
acknowledged the difficulty of the test, but doesn't believe children
have been wrongly identified at her school. Most tested as English
beginners, and teachers need that data so they can properly focus
resources and instruction, she said.

"The identification that this is a beginner tells you as a school, you
as a teacher, it's your responsibility to teach them that second
language," Mendez said.

LABELED, MISJUDGED

Garcia Bedolla said if students are misjudged, they can be
short-changed academically. In some schools, for example, students are
pulled from classrooms for targeted English language development.
During that time, they're miss out on other instruction. And once
designated, they're stuck with the label until third grade, when they
can provide otherwise on the annual California Standards Test.

Garcia Bedolla said multiple measures should be looked at to determine
a child's mastery of English. Preschool teachers could be consulted,
for example, and parents should have the chance to weigh in on their
child's skills and opt out of the CELDT if they choose. In a time of
diminishing resources, it's not just the students classified as
English learners that pay for mistakes, she said.

"From a resource standpoint, it could be a lot less expensive if the
people you classify are really the ones who need it," Garcia Bedolla
said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_19177420?nclick_check=1

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