English-language Learners and
the Common Core Standards
Diane August
Center for Applied Linguistics
Copyright © 2010 Center for Applied Linguistics
Acknowledgements
Jennifer O’Day
Managing Research
Scientist
American Institutes for
Research
Guadalupe Valdes
Professor of Education
Stanford University
Rod Ellis
Professor of Applied
Languages and Linguistics
University of Auckland
Margo Gottlieb
Lead Developer
World-Class Instructional
Design and Assessment
(WIDA) English language
proficiency standards
Demographics


There were approximately five million English-language
learners enrolled in public schools in the US in the 20032004 school year, an increase of 65% since 1994
(Batalova, 2006). This represents about 10.1 percent of
the total school enrollment.
Because immigrants have most of their children after
arriving in the US, about 75% of children of immigrant
parents are born in the US (Migration Policy Institute).
Demographics

The share of children who are first generation immigrants
increases in the upper grades
 In 2000, 16% of children in pre-k were children of
immigrants, with 2% foreign born; in grades 6-12, 19%
of children were children of immigrants, but the
foreign born population represented 7% of the school
age population
 Important to distinguish between these students and
‘long-term ELLs’.
Demographics


While most English-language learners are from Spanishspeaking backgrounds there are high concentrations of
other first language speakers in certain geographic regions
Although the foreign born remain concentrated in certain
states, such as California, Texas, and New York, the
foreign-born populations in "non-traditional" states, such
as North Carolina, Georgia, and Nevada, have
experienced considerable and rapid growth.
Diversity of the English-language
Learner Subgroup

ELLS are a heterogeneous group
 Ethnic background
 First language background
 Socio-economic status
 Quality of prior schooling
 Levels of English proficiency
Benefits of Bilingualism



Second- language learners bring many first language
resources to bear in learning a second language
 There are cross-language relationships in word reading,
spelling, vocabulary, reading comprehension and
writing
 Cross-language relationships are mediated by
developmental factors, proficiency levels, and the
actual or perceived differences of writing systems
between the languages
Children instructed bilingually acquire higher levels of
literacy in English
Bilingualism is a personal, economic and national security
asset
Challenges of Acquiring Content Knowledge
in a Second Language



The same factors related to reading
comprehension are prerequisites for both
English-language learners (ELLs) and English
monolinguals, including ability to read words
accurately and rapidly, good language skills,
and well-developed stores of world knowledge
ELLs need more support in some areas than
others, notably in the area of language skills
Lack of ability to comprehend grade-level talk
and text leads to deficits in world knowledge
Why Common Core Standards for
English-language Learners?



Prior to standards-based reform, the focus of instruction
for English language learners was on acquisition of English
language proficiency, not grade-appropriate content area
knowledge
Important to incorporate ELLs into a standards-based
accountability system where there are content standards,
aligned instruction and assessments that are the same for
all students
The codification of this system in NCLB, along with
disaggregated data and accountability for improving
educational outcomes for all students has led to
improved outcomes for ELLs
Why Common Core Standards for
English-language Learners?
Student achievement data from 50 states indicates that
gaps between subgroups has narrowed in most states at
the elementary, middle, and high school levels (Center
for Education Policy, 2009)
 Most often gaps narrowed because the achievement
of lower-performing subgroups went up rather than
because the achievement of higher-performing
subjects went down
 The Latino-White gap narrowed in 79% of instances
analyzed; African-American gap narrowed in 77% of
the instances
 Mean scores give a less rosy picture
 High drop out rates/rigor of state assessments are an g
issue
Cautions
Development of native-like proficiency in English takes
many years and will not be achieved by all ELLS,
particularly those that start schooling in the US in later
grades
Teachers need to recognize that it is possible to achieve
standards for reading, writing, speaking, listening, and
language without manifesting native-like control of
conventions and vocabulary
Because ELLs are acquiring language and content
concurrently, some students will require additional time
and all will require appropriate instructional support
and aligned assessments
Ensuring that Educational Systems Meet the
Needs of English-language Learners


Teachers and personnel at the school and district levels
who are well prepared and qualified to support ELLs and
also able to take advantage of the strengths and skills
they bring to the classroom
Coursework that prepares ELLs for postsecondary
education or the workplace yet that is made
comprehensible for students learning content in a second
language through specific pedagogical techniques and
additional resources
Ensuring that Educational Systems Meet the
Needs of English-language Learners




Instruction that develops foundational skills in English
that enable ELLs to participate fully in grade-level
coursework
Well-designed opportunities for classroom discourse and
interaction to enable ELLs to develop communicative
strengths in language arts
Speakers of English who know the language well enough
to provide the ELLs with models and support
 See next slide
Ongoing assessment and feedback to guide learning.
Ensuring that Educational Systems Meet the
Needs of English-language Learners
Ongoing residential and school segregation by race,
ethnicity, and income
53% or ELLs attend elementary and secondary schools
where over 30% of their classmates are ELLs
57 % of English proficient students attend schools with
less than 1%
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, Including ELLs

The ability of a student to monitor his or her
understanding and expression and to use appropriate
resources to enhance both is a critical part of
independence across all language domains.
Recommended Addition: They use a wide range of
resources and strategies to develop competence in
reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
Elaboration: Students monitor their comprehension and
communication and utilize appropriate resources to
enhance both. Resources might include reference
materials; peers; teachers; knowledge about English
language forms, functions, and genre structures--and for
ELLs, first language knowledge and skills.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, including ELLs

Monitoring and using appropriate resources is also
related to achieving precision in speaking and writing
Recommended addition: Students are mindful of the
impact of specific words, phrases, and details, and they
consider what would be achieved by different choices.
Students pay especially close attention when precision
matters most, such as in the case of reviewing significant
data, making important distinctions, or analyzing a key
moment in the action of a play or novel. Additionally,
they assess the degree to which their speaking and writing
differs from standard English and engage in activities to
improve their oral and written communication.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, including ELLs

Monitoring and using appropriate resources is also
related to developing full proficiency in speaking &
listening and language
Recommended addition: They negotiate meaning in an
interactive context, for example by requesting
clarification if something is confusing or asking for
confirmation that they have been understood.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, Including ELLs

Responding appropriately to text, task, purpose, and
audience is also important across all language domains.
The standards should consistently relate skill and
communication to context.
Recommended Addition: Align reading method with
reader’s purpose and nature of the text.
Recommended Addition: Adapt writing to a variety of
contexts and communicative tasks.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, Including ELLS

Reading literature representative of a variety of cultures is
very important, but it is important for students to have
the ability to communicate with people from diverse
backgrounds.
Recommended Addition: They come to understand and
are able to communicate effectively with people from
other perspectives and cultures.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, Including ELLS
Elaboration: Students appreciate that the twenty-first-
century classroom and workplace are diverse settings in
which people from often widely divergent backgrounds,
including different cultures, experiences, and perspectives
must learn and work together. They actively seek to
understand other perspectives and cultures through
reading and listening. They evaluate other points of view
critically and constructively. Through reading great classic
and contemporary works of literature representative of a
variety of cultures and world views, students can
vicariously inhabit worlds and experiences much different
than their own. They communicate effectively with
people of varied backgrounds.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, Including ELLs

It is important that the standards explicitly reference an
important aspects of language which has to do with
functions, particularly pragmatic and language functions
that are critical for academic success. For English learners
and many traditionally underserved students, these
aspects of language may need to be more explicitly
identified in the standards.
Suggested addition-Use pragmatic and linguistic
knowledge to meet the functional demands of writing
and speaking across the content areas.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, Including ELLs
Elaboration: Pragmatic knowledge is knowledge of
language use in context (e.g. knowledge about the status
and purpose of the speaker). Linguistic knowledge
includes among other things understanding how meaning
is expressed in clause structures and understanding the
functional demands of writing and speaking such as
formulating questions, comparing/contrasting,
classifying/categorizing, summarizing, drawing
conclusions, describing people, places, things and events,
sequencing events, explaining processes, identifying and
explaining cause-and-effect, making inferences and
predictions, taking a position and supporting it,
hypothesizing, and evaluating.
Ensuring the Common Core Standards Meet
the Needs of All Students, including ELLs

The standard for vocabulary should specify that the
vocabulary include general academic vocabulary that
appears frequently in grade-level texts as well as discipline
specific vocabulary which may be less frequent across
texts; include phrases as well as words; and be acquired
through direct instruction and oral communication as well
as reading and responding.
Recommended addition: Use grade-appropriate high
frequency general academic vocabulary and domainspecific words and phrases purposefully acquired as well
as gained through oral communication, reading and
responding to texts.
Next Steps In Creating Supportive Systems

ELL expertise represented at all levels of
governance (federal level, states, districts,
schools)




Collaboration across divisions (funding streams)
Valid and reliable assessments
Aligned, high quality instructional materials
Aligned, high quality professional development
Next Steps In Creating Supportive Systems

Ongoing research


Evaluation research that identifies obstacles and
promising practices
Research that supports standards-based reform
 Valid and reliable assessments
 Knowledge about the expected growth of different
subgroups of students in high-quality schools
 Research-based instructional practices and high
quality curriculum
51 experimental studies conducted between 1980
and 2009 compared with 450 that had been
conducted through 2000 for monolingual English
speakers
Next Steps In Creating Supportive Systems
Determining which policies would ensure that all
children meet high standards.
Determining how to get these policies put in
place.
Questions and Discussion