(2008). Question: What Are the Performance Results of Former English Language Learners (ELL) or Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Subject Area Tests since the First Year That TAKS Was Implemented in Spring 2003 (School Year 2002-2003) through Spring 2006 (School Year 2005-2006)? Former ELL Students Series, Part 2. DPE Pub. No. 06.34 B. Online Submission The purpose of this report was to identify former English language learner (ELL) students and to know how they as a group had performed on 2006 TAKS. This is part 2 of a 2-report series. [For part 1, see ED619482.]… [PDF]
(1992). Enhancing Academic Success: A Bilingual Freshman Year. AIR 1992 Annual Forum Paper. This paper provides an assessment of the Inter-American Science and Humanities Program, a program of the University of Texas, El Paso, which allowed students from northern Mexico to take their freshman level courses in Spanish while receiving instruction designed to rapidly enhance English language skills. The paper assesses the effectiveness of this effort in successfully preparing 886 participants who entered the program between fall 1984 and spring 1991 to move into the regular university curriculum, complete their academic programs, and earn a baccalaureate degree. Outcomes examined included participants' retention and graduation rates, credit hours earned over time, grade point averages at each level, and grades in selected English and bilingual courses. These outcomes were measured against those for a comparison group of international students. As a result of the data analysis and interview, several program weaknesses surfaced. These included the finding that the program was… [PDF]
(1987). Helping Limited English Proficient Students Succeed. A group of three brief conference papers, all concerned with methods to help Limited English Proficient (LEP) students succeed, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Integrated Content Language Approach" (Jose Galvan), suggests that LEP students who are at the intermediate level or beyond will benefit from programs integrating content and language instruction because their transitional progress will have the added advantage of a strong affective element. Interest in the language being used will rise, and their progress in the subject matter will continue. The second paper, entitled "The Eastman Success Story for Helping Limited English Proficient Students Succeed" (Bonnie Rubio), describes the Eastman Curriculum Design Project implemented in seven schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District in California. The program focuses on language separation: subject matter is taught either in Spanish, sheltered English, or mainstream English. The goals of… [PDF]
(1980). Supplement to the Curriculum Guide for Social Studies: Vietnamese-Speaking Students. Kindergarten-Primary Two. Working Draft. This supplementary guide for use with K-2 Vietnamese-speaking students in Chicago public schools is keyed by page number to the standard social studies curriculum guides for these grades. The purpose of the activities in the guide, which are in Vietnamese, is to increase students' awareness and knowledge of the social environment in the United States through their active participation in the presentation of information concerning their own culture. Major concepts dealt with are the neighborhood and the community. Where appropriate, background information on the Vietnamese life style and culture that might prove useful to the teacher is given in English. (CMG)…
(1982). Assessment of Language Proficiency of Bilingual Persons (ALPBP) Project. Executive Summary. A history and overview is provided of the Assessment of Language Proficiency of Bilingual Persons (ALPBP) Project. First, the points of origin are summarized and the components of the project are noted. Subsequent sections are devoted to a summary of the activities of each component. The research component concerned basic research related to language proficiency assessment (LPA) issues and consisted of three proposals for each of two cycles. The second component dealing with teacher training was implemented over a period of 2 years in Tucson (Arizona) and Berkeley (California). This component intended to provide forums wherein teachers and administrators would explore the application of ethnographic/sociolinguistic theories and methodologies that are used in LPA practices. The final component, an LPA symposium, is described as a major effort toward integrating insights gained from the findings of the other components of the project and as a forum where participants could be… [PDF]
(1974). The Politics of Speaking. Notes From Workshop Center for Open Education, 3, 4, 9-15, W 74. If first language maintenance is considered to be a goal of bilingual-bicultural educational programs, then alternative evaluation strategies are called for that will examine the \politics of speaking\ in terms of determining the extent to which the informal or \hidden\ curriculum and social organization of the program was inadvertently discouraging students from using their first language despite the best intentions of staff and the students themselves. (EH)…
(1974). The Effects of i.t.a. on the Reading Achievement of Mexican-American Children. Reading World, 14, 2, 132-38, Dec 74. Confirms that i.t.a. can be an effective tool with which to teach beginning reading of English to Mexican-American children. (RB)…
(1974). Acoustic Scanning and Syntactic Processing, Three Reading Experiments–First and Second Language Learners. Journal of Reading Behavior, 6, 3, 275-85, Sep 74. Presents the results of three experiments designed to test the acoustic scanning hypothesis for reading in a number of ways and to look at the cross-out procedure as a test of syntactic processing. (RB)…
(1983). Increasing Self Concepts of Young Bilingual Children in Home Settings: Discovering the Role of Parents in Project P.I.A.G.E.T.–Title VII. Technical Paper 150. The purpose of Project P.I.A.G.E.T. (Promoting Intellectual Adaptation Given Experiential Transforming) is to provide plans and procedures to develop bilingual children's self-concepts. This Title VII project, judged successful after 1 year of implementation, works with bilingual families in both the home and school settings. Its objectives include enhancing self-concept, increasing learning achievement, and developing more positive communication and interaction between child and parent. Lower socioeconomic status and a high unemployment rate characterize the bilingual families in the project. The program operates on six basic aspects of learning and growth: (1) acquisition of intelligence, (2) specific linguistic/cognitive benchmarks crucial to growth, (3) experiences to expand language and cognitive growth, (4) self-regulation of learning, (5) social interaction, and (6) children's play. These aspects provide the baseline for self-concept development. Specific activities in the… [PDF]
(1986). The Transition Program for Refugee Children 1984-1985. In 1984-85, the third year of its operation, New York City's Transition Program for Refugee Children (T.P.R.C.) provided funds to 42 public and four non-public schools (each having five or more refugee students). T.P.R.C. provides classes in English as a second language (E.S.L.) and/or content-area instruction with the E.S.L. approach specifically designed to improve English language skills. The program also attempted to acclimate students to American life and culture. Student achievement test results based on Criterion Referenced English Syntax Test (CREST) scores for 1984-85 found that T.P.R.C. students are generally progressing in their knowledge of reading and in mathematics at the same rate as the national norms and exceeded the city-wide criteria of one CREST objective per month of instruction. Students are doing well despite the fact that, while funding for the 1984-85 academic year was decreased by 40 percent compared to the 1983-84 year, the number of participants nearly…
(1982). Considerations for Developing Language Assessment Procedures. A systematic approach for assessing language competencies of bilingual students is developed. Two issues are clarified. First, the issue of examining separately the four language skills is looked at, as well as the need to consider other related factors including cognitive functions operative in language processing, affective forces, and physiological and sociological factors. The second issue is the need to identify appropriate norm or criterion-referenced tests. In addition to the issues, the concepts of communicative competence and language dominance are clarified. Finally, guidelines are proposed for language proficiency screening and diagnostic assessment of bilingual students. These guidelines describe a multi-step process, involving the following steps: (1) a recommended screening process, (2) a diagnostic procedure, (3) identification and training of responsible personnel, (4) determination of requisite skills in first and second languages for academic achievement, (5)…
(1982). Learning a Third Language. English as a School Language for Bilingual and Multilingual Pupils: A Questionnaire Report. Research Bulletin No. 22. The educational status and English proficiency of immigrants to Sweden at the end of their compulsory schooling was investigated. Questionnaires were completed by 26 schools in 10 Swedish cities regarding the problems associated with the study of English as a third language by immigrant students in the comprehensive school. Schools in districts with high proportions of immigrant students were questioned about the optimal timing for introducing English instruction, remedial instruction outside of class hours, teaching methods used, teacher language backgrounds, and subjective evaluations of how immigrant students succeed in English. The reponses indicate that (1) proficiency in Swedish is viewed as a prerequisite to success in English, (2) immigrants should not receive English instruction until grade 4, (3) remedial instruction is the best approach for helping recent arrivals, (4) most immigrant students reach a proficiency level comparable to that of monolingual Swedish students if…
(1984). Walton High School Bilingual Language Arts Survival Training, 1983-1984. O.E.A. Evaluation Report. This evaluation report summarizes results of the Bilingual Language Arts Program (BLAST), Walton High School, Bronx, New York, 1983-1984. BLAST was designed as a transitional program emphasizing student integration into society. The program provided instruction in English as a second language and native language arts, as well as bilingual instruction in social studies, science, mathematics, typing, and career orientation. Quantitative analysis of student achievement data indicates that: (1) most program students manifested improved oral/aural English language skills on the New York City Fluency Scale; (2) the yearly average passing rate for students in E.S.L. classes was 72%; (3) students demonstrated overall passing rates of 95% (fall) and 98% (spring) on both the city-wide and Regents examinations in Spanish; (4) overall passing rates in mathematics, science, and social studies courses were quite similar for both program and mainstream students; (5) overall passing rates in… [PDF]
(1984). Project Assist: Counseling, Communication and Instruction. Placement Procedures Handbook. A Systematic Method Developed for Programming Recent Immigrants in a Linguistically Comprehensible Academic Program. Title VII Demonstration Project 1981-1984. This handbook outlines procedures for placing recent immigrants into linguistically comprehensible school programs at Ocean View Junior High School (Oxnard, California). First, a chart is presented which breaks down the placement process into three stages (identification, assessment, and placement) and identifies the site or person responsible at each stage. Next, the activities at each stage are outlined in greater detail, and a chart is provided which contrasts the different tracks taken by English-speaking and non-English-speaking students after taking a Home Language Questionnaire. Courses of study are then outlined for students at various levels of English proficiency. Criteria are listed for the transition of a Limited English Proficient (LEP) student to English Reading and for reclassification of the LEP as Fluent English Proficient. Finally, the placement interview form and the home language survey (English and Spanish versions) are provided. (KH)…
(1973). Advisory Council Issues Annual Report to Congress. Education Journal of the Institute for the Development of Indian Law, 2, 4, 18-23, Nov 73. The 6 main recommendations and the proposed budget for FY '75 that the National Advisory Council on Indian Education presented in its first Annual Report to Congress are explained. (KM)…