D68 Bilingual Students Most Concentrated in Lower Grades

More students with limited English proficiency are entering

The percentage has jumped from 6.7 percent of the district’s 3,303 students in 2002 to 21.4 percent of the district’s 2,920 students in 2011. And ELL, or English Language Learners, are much more prevalent in pre-K through second grade classrooms than they are in grades 3-8. 

The district has 626 ELL students this year in pre-K through eighth grade; 83 are in the district’s pre-kindergarten program alone while most ELL students are in grades K-2.

Sherry Johnson, a bilingual consultant who performed an ELL audit for the district, presented her findings at Monday night’s board meeting and

While the district made AYP for its limited English proficiency group in 2010, ISAT scores for ELL students in reading slipped in 2011. In 2010, 66.4 percent of the district's LEP group met or exceeded state standards in reading. In 2011, 65.3 percent did. 

ISAT scores for ELL students in math remained consistent. 

To serve the pre-K ELL group, three of the district’s 15 ELL teachers work with the pre-K group. These students have self-contained classes in Spanish. 

A dozen other teachers are spread amongst the district's six elementary schools and . 

With 454 Spanish speakers, Spanish is the most common language for these students. The district’s Hispanic population has increased from 13 to 27 percent from 2002 to 2011.

However, 32 students speak Arabic, 23 speak Lithuanian and 17 speak Malayalam. Urdo, Ukrainian, Filipino, Akan, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Polish and Korean are also spoken, as well.

If a language other than English is spoken at home, the student is evaluated for English language proficiency. Those who are deemed to need more attention are place in the district’s English Language Learner program.

Each year, these students take the standardized ACCESS test to judge their proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and hearing in English. Once a student scores high enough on this test, he or she is deemed proficient at English and is no longer part of the program. 

Last year, the district made AMAO, or annual measurable achievement objectives, for its bilingual population by meeting the following criteria: 

• percentage of students who make progress on the ACCESS test from one year to another
• the percentage of students deemed English language proficient
• the district's ISAT scores for the LEP subgroup (limited English proficient

The state requires 91 percent of the district's ELL students to show progress on the ACCESS test to make AMAO -- 100 percent of District 68's ELL students did.

The state also requires 10 percent of the district's ELL students to score a 4.0 on the ACCESS test, which means the student is considered proficient at the English language and does not require further English Language Learning assistance. In 2010, 14.7 percent of the district's ELL students scored a 4.0 and will leave the ELL program.

The district also made AYP last year in its limited English proficiency group in 2010. 

But in 2011, ISAT scores for ELL students in reading slipped. In 2010, 66.4 percent of the district's LEP group met or exceeded state standards in reading. In 2011, 65.3 percent did. 

Students will take the ACCESS test next month. 

The district has an inconsistent record with making AMAO, Johnson said. The district did not make it in 2004, made it from 2005-2007, did not in 2008-2009 and made it in 2010. The district will not make it in 2011. 

This is significant because if a district does make AMAO two years in a row, the district must develop a plan to address the issue. The district developed such a plan in 2009 but has not implemented all it said it would, she said. That would cause the state to doubt whether District 68 would implement the plan it will develop now.