California English Proficiency Test 'Almost Guarantees' English Learner Classification, Study Shows

Most four- and five-year-olds who take an English proficiency exam before kindergarten are bound to fail the test, according to a new study.

Taking the California English Language Development Test "almost guarantees" a student will be classified as an English learner, the University of California, Berekely's Center for Latino Policy Research, study reports. Just 12 percent of kindergarten students who took the CELDT in the 2009-2010 school year were considered English language proficient, misidentifying the many others as English learners, according to the study.

When the Los Angeles Unified School District is removed from the sample, the English language proficiency rate falls to just 6 percent. LAUSD tested "an exceptionally large" number of students -- 30,774, and carried one of the higher proficiency rates, according to the research.

The CELDT serves to identify students who need help with English, determine how much assistance they need and evaluate their progress in acquiring the skills necessary to be English-proficient. Almost 1.3 million children in California take the exam annually.

The CELDT is the second of a two-part English-learner idenficiation process. The first, which most California school districts employ, is a four-question survey for parents:

1. Which language did your child learn when he/she first began to talk?


2. Which language does your child most frequently speak at home?


3. Which language do you (the parents or guardians) most frequently use when speaking with your child?


4. Which language is most often spoken by adults in the home? (parents, guardians, grandparents, or any other adults)

The study found that in most surveyed districts, a child is administered the CELDT if their parent or guardian included any language other than English -- and in some cases, a foreign language in addition to English.

The research was led by Lisa García Bedolla, an associate professor at Berkeley's Graduate School of Education, and Rosaisela Rodriguez, an academic coordinator there and a research specialist.

Bedolla and Rodriguez also found that the proportion of incoming English learner kindergarteners was much higher than the proportion of incoming kindergarteners in the entire district. They also questioned the validity and ethicality of offering a two-hour exam to young children without a parent present and almost entirely in English -- when they are considered not yet proficient in the language.

The researchers report children crying or hiding under chairs and tables under pressure from the exam.

"We conclude that this likely over-classification of [English learner] students by the CELDT compromises California public schools’ ability to serve the language development needs of its [English learner] students," the researchers write.

Bedolla notes that schools have incentives to consider students English learners -- like receiving $5 from the state for each test administered, recognition for improving students' English abilities and receiving extra federal funding.

Bedolla said in a statement last week that if the trend continues, the number of young children classified as English learners in California "may grow exponentially." The researchers' suggestions include reassessing the classification survey, considering bilingualism a benefit to students and providing a means for families to address potential English learner misidentification.

Recent studies have also shown that children from bilingual families reap several benefits, including being more flexible thinkers in the long-run.

Comments

[22Keys]

06:33 PM on 09/21/2011

If I moved to Germany I would not ask them to learn English, I would learn German.

[Just a passerby]

11:59 AM on 09/22/2011

Sigh. Research shows that kids learn a new language much faster if they have some help, including transitional classes.

[22Keys]

12:41 PM on 09/22/2011

I think you are a bit confused. The ultimate goal from many of these people is to allow a society to be structured so that English is completely unnecessary.

[Consequence]

10:55 AM on 09/21/2011

The first part of the test should be to determine whether the child is in the country legally or not.

Because if the answer is 'no' then they shouldn't be taking this test in the first place.

[duel1980]

10:03 AM on 09/22/2011

Eyerolls...most kids in schools here were born here, so they are here legally.

[Ladder 1]

07:52 PM on 09/22/2011

based on what exactly? Something you heard? Do you have any Idea what it costs to provide bilingual schooling? Any idea? Now in a failing education system, why are we spending so much on those who should not be here when it should be spent on LEGAL CITIZENS and not citizens who are her because their parents broke the law to birth them here.

[mikey09]

09:31 AM on 09/21/2011

The identifying questions seem reasonable to me....how would a 4-5 yr old learn english if another language has always been spoken to them? So the critics of this testing want what....and end to the testing? Won't they then be upset if a child is in a class were English is spoken and they don't understand or learn anything?

[methnkng]

08:23 PM on 09/20/2011

Sounds like another "Education Inc" scam, meant to line the pockets of the school administrators and make sure ESL teachers have lots of work.

No kindergarten kid shoule be sititng for a 2 hour exam. That is looney.

The teacher should just evaluate each child by speaking with them.

[hossrocks42]

09:24 PM on 09/20/2011

i read an article about bullying that said one possible cause for more bullying nowadays is because lack of interaction at a young age. in other words, kids have to take 2 hour exams in kindergarten when they should be learning how to share and treat others.

[Just a passerby]

12:00 PM on 09/22/2011

I rather doubt that. After all, bullying has been a problem for a very long time, much before these new exams.

[sivachok]

09:39 PM on 09/22/2011

Exactly. Learning school subjects is, in the initial school years, is less important than training the kids to mingle gradually naturally with one another irrespective of their race and complexion and hair color or the way they talk English. As a high school teacher for nine years in a big city, I have felt desolate when I noticed that students clustered on the basis of their races, especially minorities; this happens ignoring the teacher's arranging the seating in the order of their names, in about a month. That is anti-American. This tendency must he eradicated at the early stages of schooling.

[Ladder 1]

07:54 PM on 09/22/2011

Unfortunately, people would be accused of profiling if it were a teachers evaluation...

[methnkng]

09:17 PM on 09/22/2011

Sad society we live in isn't it. Actually it would be better for the kids if they just dropped ESL and just mainlined the kids.

[Dennis Engish]

07:09 PM on 09/20/2011

It is another way to justify Spending More $ for hiring More teachers, which creates More Jobs which also creates ? More Dem votes..
Did Berkely just get some Fed. $ Recently to Fund this?
You have to hand it to them Teachers.. they can come up with Alot of ways to justify Why they Either need More $ or We need to hire More Teachers..

They are just supporting their own Livelyhood/Industry like annyone else would.
I have to agree that Both The Latino's and the Black kids , as well as All other Immigrants Need alot more help with their Language, if they are ever going to have a Chance to Be an Asset to Society..

I would Like to know how amny of these Kids Were Verified to be LEGAL Aliens? And If any were Illegals? Why they were even allowed into Our Schools in the 1st place?
If it's ok for These Illegal Mexicans to Go to our schools and we have to pay for them? Then what's to keep Illegal Muslim Kids from going to our Schools? and then? Teaching The Muslim Religion to all the other kids? And then What's next? Aren't they Entitled to Freedom of speech as well then? And then Our Police and Even Our Military have to Protect them?

[brendaa08]

07:55 PM on 09/20/2011

You have got to stop classifing all illegal immigrants as being Mexican as it is not true. Also, you mentioned that minorities need more help in learning English to be able to be an asset to this country whereas, your English isn't all that great...making you a liability? Furthermore, I've met many Americans whose sole language is English and yet they can barely speak, write, or read the language themselves.

[methnkng]

08:24 PM on 09/20/2011

Per the DHS, 70% of illegals are Mexican, and almost all illegals are Hisapnic.

[mspender]

08:30 PM on 09/20/2011

If you had really read the article and paid attention, you would know that this is not about the students' citizenship status, but about their language skills and about the methods some schools are using to identify problems. Again, this is NOT about immigration - legal or illegal - but about language proficiency testing in California schools.

I'm thinking that you might, too, have benefited from some testing in that area, at least in the comprehension area.

[eric14]

06:04 PM on 09/20/2011

Recent studies have also shown that children from bilingual families reap several benefits, including being more flexible thinkers in the long-run.
-----------------------------------------------------
Research into bilingualism has been going on for decades. One finding from more than 20 years ago (in Australia I think) was that children should be spoken to consistently in one language by parents or they may develop structurally fragment syntax - bad grammar - in both languages.

Interference leading to systemic error (both ways to both tongues) can become fossilized - ie very difficult to remedy.

Therefore encouraging parents who speak poor English to use English with their children may be to the disadvantage of the child. Especially under eight years old.

Hispanic parents wishing to improve life chances of their children by way of language improvement might consider improving their own (the parents!) command of correct standard Latin-American Spanish so that their children acquire a correctly spoken language in the home.

The acquisition of correct English at school is made easier by the absence of poor English communication in the home.

[methnkng]

08:25 PM on 09/20/2011

We should have across the board bilingual education for all, but not just Spanish, but also with other languages.

[AJH]

07:39 PM on 09/21/2011

California doesn't do bilingual education. It classifies english deficiency based on this test segregates those students and transitions them into english classrooms on a grade schedule that will vary district to district and even school to school.

[mspender]

09:40 PM on 09/20/2011

"One finding from more than 20 years ago (in Australia I think) ....

That's the problem with relying on studies done long ago, you never know what new ones show.

There's tons of research in the area of bilingualism - much of it done in Canada and Europe, where speaking more than one language is actually considered an asset, not a deficit - so no need for you to rely on one study done 20 years ago. Go to a library and check out the new research . Or what with the internet and such, you could do it all from home.

[eric14]

06:26 AM on 09/21/2011

Research I was concerned with noted that parents who speak incorrect English should speak mother tongue to children. I was concerned with that specific aspect of bilingualism.

[mikey09]

09:36 AM on 09/21/2011

Having a bilingual home is great. But the problem is when a child is not exposed to English in the home growing up.

[SF TKF]

02:54 PM on 09/20/2011

I’m sure bilingual students are more flexible learners, but that’s not what we’re talking about here (and we all know it). Nobody accessed my friend’s kid before kindergarten, even though he’s bilingual in Mandarin and English (as are his parents). Because when he showed up, he clearly understood and spoke English.

[methnkng]

08:27 PM on 09/20/2011

There always seems to be a disconnect between how Hispanics are treated and how Asians and Europeans and Africans are treated.

The Vietnamese arrived, spoke no English, went to the same ghetto schools as the Hispanic kids but in 2 years were at the top of their class and on to top universities. They had no extra language or other help.

[mspender]

09:45 PM on 09/20/2011

So how are Hispanics treated versus Asians and Africans? (no need to explain the difference with Europeans).

Strangely, what you seem to imply about Hispanics is very similar to what was once said - and is still said, in some places - about Italian immigrants and their descendants.

[mspender]

08:53 PM on 09/20/2011

Did he attend schools in California? And did you notice that the study mentioned in the article reports that the CELDT could have been administered to you friend's child regardless of his language skills? That, I think, is the point of the article

It may be that what you're trying to say is that the students mentioned in this article (whom everyone presumes to Hispanic, Spanish-speaking kids), or their parents, are not as clever or even responsible as you friend's child or his parents (whom taught him to speak English fluently before he started school). Point taken.

But how is that more relevant than talking about whether bilingual children are more flexible learners or enjoy any other advantage?

[inthedesert]

02:20 PM on 09/20/2011

OH GOD..here we go again with something that is "unfair" to Hispanics!! LOL. Geesh....do these people just want to NOT have to do ANYTHING to come and live in America?? And yet still get all the goodies that the taxpayers pay for? AMAZING STUFF. It's no wonder America is almost in as bad a shape a Mexico. And it's only going to get worse the more we cater to Mexicans.

[Nuyorican21]

09:43 PM on 09/20/2011

It's unfair to everybody, especially the teachers and their classes who get kids who are misclassified.

[Just a passerby]

12:01 PM on 09/22/2011

b1got.

[LindaRetiredTeacher]

01:10 PM on 09/20/2011

I'm glad someone finally caught on to this scam. As a first-grade teacher to many Spanish speaking children, I was always proud of the progress they made in learning English each year. In September, many students could barely speak English, but at the end of the year, almost everyone could speak, read and write to a good extent. In fact, many of them sounded like me, which amused the adults. The first-grade test was for listening and speaking only.

However, as soon as my students got into second grade, they were given a test that required them to speak, read and write English at grade level, even though it is widely known that it takes second language learners at least six years to come up to the level of native speakers. The only children who did well on this test were the ones who were close to fluency at the beginning of first-grade. The others got low scores that made it look as though they had made little or no progress. I have long suspected this was done on purpose in order to keep the ELL funds flowing. This is a great disservice to the children and their teachers and it's a perfect example of how inaccurate a lot of the testing is. Hopefully your article will lead to badly needed changes. Thank you.

[methnkng]

08:32 PM on 09/20/2011

Sorry, it does NOT take six years to get up to speed on a language. That is another scam to keep ESL teachers employed.

My son particpated in a progrom that has been created and run by language teachers world wide for over 35 years. Students go to another country and are expected in 2 months to be passing their courses at grade level. My son did it for his freshman year in high school and he went from nothing to proficient enought to pass his courses at grade level in 6 weeks.

[LindaRetiredTeacher]

11:44 PM on 09/20/2011

Wow, your son must be so gifted! My son studied Spanish for seven years and didn't become fluent until his second year at Harvard.

[MzSally]

12:23 PM on 09/20/2011

Somebody must be making a bundle of money administering these tests and then administering the resulting system.

Kids will learn whatever language the other kids speak. There is no need to label them & track them like cattle.

[inthedesert]

02:21 PM on 09/20/2011

Hispanic kids tend to hang around other Hispanic kids who also speak only Spanish most of the time so your comment is meaningless.

[methnkng]

08:33 PM on 09/20/2011

That is part of the problem. When he was Governor, Schwarzenegger told Hispanics that they should do as he did to learn English, hang out with Engish speakers and listen to English radio and TV.

[SF TKF]

02:55 PM on 09/20/2011

You clearly don't live in a Western state where kids can make it all the way through high school without learning English.

[methnkng]

08:33 PM on 09/20/2011

Yep, that is what happened to my friend's maid. And that is why she is a maid.

[blakewelding]

08:36 PM on 09/20/2011

Heck, in America,you can be born in Kenya and become President!

[Djay0252]

12:02 PM on 09/20/2011

In schools today it is not about learning anything as long as you can pass the test.

[StJames]

11:56 AM on 09/20/2011

Considering how few native born Americans speak English these days, I think this whole issue is bogus.

[Dennis Engish]

07:16 PM on 09/20/2011

Think of this> 15 MILLION ILLEGALS ! Now imagine Them having 10% Kids every yr?
= 1.5 million Kids and in a few more yrs? Going to YOUR Local Schools!
Then say in 20 yrs? All those Illegal Kids are now Adults and Now? They Need Food Stamps, Pubic Aid & Welfare and > Free Health Care!

And since they are Cathoilic? And Don't use Contraceptives? having More Kids?
And If they do get Public Aid/Food Stamps? They can have 5-6 kids, then Give them up to have their Grandparents Foster Them and then the Foster -Grandparent Gets Paid to be a Foster Parent and They get say $600/mo for each child = $3,000-$3,600 mo to take care of their Grandkids...! Pretty Slick Isn't it? Can you blame them, how they circumvent the System?


All On your Dime!

[StJames]

08:43 AM on 09/21/2011

Ever been to Miami, FL?  If you are not familiar with the city, you need a GPS to navigate through it because you can be hard pressed to find anyone who speaks English.  Cubans took it over decades ago and now Marco Rubio is the darling of the Tea Party...This year the Dolphins didn't sell out their season tickets... The Palm Beach Post ran an article about it saying one reason given by many former season ticket holders, including my former husband, is that the stadium has become a Latin American block party.  Fifty years from now English will not be the language of government....

[navigio]

11:18 AM on 09/20/2011

i wonder whether its necessarily a bad thing for kids to be classified ell. they generally receive targeted instruction including in smaller groups or even one-on-one. perhaps this is simply a way that districts are attempting to counter other funding reductions.

[Dennis Engish]

07:18 PM on 09/20/2011

Yes, and If we just had the Upper 50% of class, be mentors for the other lower 50%? Imagine what would happen?
Those Upper 50% would gain valuable Experience dealing with The Minorities comming into this country for Knowing how to Work With them in the Working world
While those Minorities would end up staying In school and Graduating ..not over 33% or more Dropping out..

[SoCalifTeacher]

08:27 AM on 09/20/2011

This test was forced on schools by Latino politicans and activists.The purpose of this test is to label Latino students and give them lower standards for promotion. When a Latino student is designated ELL, it is next to impossible to retain the student in the primary grades. There is no accountibility/limit for how long a student has to be redesignated and meet the same standards as English only students. Middle school and high school students (who have only been to school in the US since kindergarten) are still low/middle level ELLs. By 4th grade, many ELLs figure out that they are held to lower standards and don't have to work as hard. Some are even vocal about it, "I'm an ELL. I only have to write 1 paragraph." "I'm an ELL. I don't have to read that book. You have to give me the easy one." And Latino leaders can't figure out why so many of these kids drop out of school. I can't get a student tested for Special Ed because he is an ELL and "still" learning English. ELLs also have to get 45 minutes of my time daily for ELL instruction while the rest of the class does seat work and gets no teacher-directed instruction.

[TINA ANDRES]

09:38 AM on 09/20/2011

I have had similar difficult getting my students tested for Special Education due to their ELL status, it might be a worthy topic for investigation. These are middle school kids who have been in school since Kindergarten.The excuse that they are ELL's is discriminatory in my opinion.

[dudervision]

04:43 AM on 09/20/2011

Schools are becoming test based at ever younger grades, not because these are necessarily the BEST way to evaluate children, but the EASIEST. Making early primary school (kindergarten through 1st grade) & preschool children take a 2 hour exam then base their school placement on this is ludicrous. Having taught High School & Middle School aged kids for over 7 years, I have seen the results of California's testing system. Kids that are good at taking tests, but unable to perform at a college level.