Curricular Investigation 2

1. Curricular Investigation #2
Tina Pumo, Brianna Meyer, and Sarah Bilbao

2. How Oceanside Screens Students
To screen students Oceanside takes the following steps:
1. A home language survey is sent home for the parents to fill out
2. An ESL professional will then interview the student in their home
language.
3. The students then take the NYSITELL
4. The student is then placed in an ESL program based on their score on the
NYSITELL.

3. Criteria Oceanside uses to Classify a
Potential ELL Student
When placing an ELL student, Oceanside takes the findings from the
screening process and puts the ELL into 3 different categories.
Beginner Level (Student has little to no English proficiency)
Intermediate Level
Advanced Level
The frequency of services depend on the level of the ELL
A student can receive services once a week up to 5 times a week

4. How Lindenhurst Screens Students
Lindenhurst takes several steps in order to screen their students:
1. Parents are required to fill out a home language questionnaire (HLQ)
2. Individual interview- conducted in English and/or the student’s home language
3. Initial ELL Identification Assessment - NYSITELL
4. SIFE questionnaire if necessary
5. ELL program placement

5. NYC
DOE and
Charter
Schools
“Am I a
potential
ELL?”

7. Analyzing home language survey, testing,
and interview findings
● Once a school district has conducted the home language survey, testing,
and interview the next step is to analyze the information and choose
an appropriate ESL program for that student.
● Programming should be understood as an inclusive way for a school's
ELs to be active learners in and members of their school community
● Districts should also try to find commonalities in their data. For
example
○ First language
○ Country of origin
○ English proficiency level
○ Interrupted or limited school prior
○ Receiving free or reduced lunch
Tina

8. Including a parent and/or student interview
when an EL is identified
● In the screening process, neither the home language survey nor the EL
testing provide information about a student’s prior schooling. It is
imperative for school leaders to know such information.
○ This is especially true if the students has had interrupted schooling
in years prior
● To avoid this problem, an interview with the parents and/ or their child is
necessary
● Of course, parents and students should be provided with bilingual
translators to conduct the interview.
Tina

9. Home Language Survey or Questionnaire
A home language questionnaire is given to every student that registers at
Lindenhurst. It is the easiest tool to determine who might or might not be an English
learner.
If the answer to any questions on the home language questionnaire indicates that a
child uses a language other than English then the child must be assessed to
determine whether or not he or she is an EL.
However, this should not be your districts only means identifying non English
speaking students.
Brianna

10. Identification Testing
The federal definition of an EL is a student who is not yet able to do ordinary class
work in English. The capacity to do ordinary work requires English proficiency in all
four areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
The purpose of a district assessments:
● Identify a student’s need for EL services
● Establish an EL’s English proficiency level
● Determine the number of ELs in a district and their English language and
learning needs.

11. Identification Testing - Continued
Most commonly used tests for determining English language proficiency:
● Bilingual Syntax Measure (BSM) of listening and speaking
● IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT)
● Language Assessment Scales (LAS)
● WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test
● Woodcock-Munoz Language Survey -Revised (WMLS-R)

12. Assessment in the Primary Language
Student Oral Language Observation Matrix (SOLOM) must be administered by
someone who is fluent with the student’s native language
- Administer would assess fluency, comprehension,
pronunciation,vocabulary and grammar
Provides key information about a student’s ability to read, write, speak and
listen in both languages, therefore could let administrators know whether the
student is a
- SLIFE
- LTEL
- AFS
What are the Benefits?

13. Identification Testings
When and Why?
Identification testing should be done immediately for all potential English
Learners
- Preferably the first five days of enrollment, depending on the school
district
Why complete the testing so quickly?
- Allows the schools to determine programming needs as soon as possible
(dual programs, bilingual programs, pull-out, push-in, etc)
- Enables students to be identified as EL’s as soon as possible in order to
receive appropriate services

14. Discussion
Questions
Let’s think about…
1. Have you ever encountered a
situation in your school where
you think a student might be an
EL, however they were never
assessed? Explain.
2. “Some districts use the listening
and speaking components of
one test in combination with the
reading and writing
components of another,”
referring to state administered
identification tests. Do you
agree or disagree with this
formality?

15. Discussion
Questions
Cont.
3. Do you agree with districts having
bilingual classrooms starting from
Kindergarten? Do you think this will limit
the number of ELLs in middle and high
school?