Resources

This resource supplements the Council of Chief State School Officers’ published framework and guidance documents designed to help individual states and multi-state assessment consortia move toward a more common definition of English learner.

Discerning — and Fostering — What English Learners Can Do With Language:

• Describes how states might develop standardized methods that local educators can use to gather and interpret evidence of English learner students’ classroom language uses
• Suggests how states might ensure this evidence targets more interactive, discipline-specific, and classroom-based language uses found in state ELP standards; is complementary to that of the state’s annual ELP assessment; and is appropriately used in decisions to reclassify English learners
• Offers an illustrative prototype of tools states might develop in collaboration with local educators to collect and evaluate English learners’ classroom language uses, including a sample observation sheet and sample rubrics

This paper was cowritten by Robert Linquanti, former Project Director for English Learner Evaluation and Accountability Support, and Senior Researcher for the California Comprehensive Center at WestEd.