Pathways for English Learners Giving Parents the Right Information

Commendations 1

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  C1. The Grand Jury congratulates all the Santa Cruz County English Learners who have persevered and successfully completed the uphill climb to English fluency. We also acknowledge all the teachers, staff, administrators, and parents who provided support along the way. C2. The State of California passed Assembly Bill 815 creating a State Seal of Biliteracy Award. As of January 1, 2012, graduating seniors who achieve the biliterate, bilingual standards will be honored with a gold insignia on their diplomas. County students in several school districts received the award this year, and PVUSD was ahead of its time presenting deserving seniors this award starting last year.

Observations 11

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  low-income students and mid-high income students by the second grade.[55] Every year California school children take STAR tests designed to assess their knowledge on English Language Arts, Mathematics, and a number of other subjects. To understand the extent of the gap across the three districts, we obtained student test results from the California Department of Education online database, which contains years of test results for all schools in California. Figure 3 shows district test results for both Mathematics and English Language Arts scores, for three student subgroups, in each of the three districts reviewed. For each subgroup (English Only, Reclassified, and English Learner) the height of the bar represents the percentage of each group that scored Proficient or above on the STAR test. For example, of the PVUSD fourth-graders who took the English Language Arts STAR test, 72% of the English Only group, 86% of the reclassified students, and 19% of the English Learners scored Proficient or above. Note that these tests are given in English, and, by definition, English Learners are not yet proficient in English. The scores for General Math, Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II are compiled at the end of the course and are not associated with a specific grade level, since they can be taken in different grades. The Grand Jury observed the reclassified group’s unexpectedly high scores. Their scores are initially higher than English Only scores and then taper off. One reason for this can be found in the state’s AYP Information Guide,[47] which states that reclassified student scores should continue to be included in the English Learner subgroup, until scoring proficient or above three times.
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  Tests are given in English only, and, by definition, English Learners are not yet proficient in English.
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  The achievement scores for English Learners tend to stay low, because as soon as those students become proficient in English, and their scores increase, they are reclassified and removed from the English Learner group.
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  Ceiba spends more classroom hours per day, and more school days, than any other middle school in the district.
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  No districts publish data on program effectiveness as measured by long term achievement levels and historical trends. Again, parents need this information to make informed decisions in selecting the right program for their child. Drop-out and Graduation Rates for English Learners In 2011, the California Department of Education did its first statewide annual report on dropouts in California for the class of 2010, using “longitudinal” data. Longitudinal studies follow the same group of students over a long period of time. One of the subgroups analyzed was English Learners. Studies have indicated that dropout rates are significantly higher for English Learners. The study began when this group started high school (9th grade) and followed them through their senior year. The data for
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  Head Start and Early Head Start[77] [78] ○ serves 625 children ○ part of the Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center
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  Migrant Head Start ○ serves 752 children ○ housed by PVUSD
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  Central California Migrant Head Start[79] ○ serves 112 children ○ coordinated by Santa Cruz County Office of Education The Head Start staff realize they have a responsibility to prepare their children for kindergarten. These new kindergarten students would benefit greatly if the public schools interacted more with the Head Start programs. Some collaboration has begun between Head Start and the Freedom and Starlight Elementary schools, but much more is needed. With more collaboration and relationship-sharing strategies, these organizations could better link student data, advise parents, and smoothly promote children into the public schools. In other counties, most early childhood education programs, such as Head Start, have formal agreements in place with school districts.[12] English Learner Program Funding Schools receive additional state and federal funding for each student classified as an English Learner. A recent newspaper article stated these extra funds averaged $448 annually per English Learner statewide.[3] The primary additional funding for English Learners comes from these funds:
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  Economic Impact Aid[82] ○ This state fund is for both English Learners and economically disadvantaged students, some of whom may not be English Learners.
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  No Child Left Behind - Title III Limited-English Proficient[83] ○ Federal funding to help students achieve grade level standards and learn English.
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  No Child Left Behind Title I - Part A[84] ○ This federal fund is for low-income students who are not achieving proficiency levels; many of these children are English Learners. The annual district apportionment for these and other funds are available online at the California Department of Education website. Each district was asked to provide the average amount of additional annual funding it receives per English Learner, which is shown in Table 7 below.

No Responses Found 3

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.