IDENTIFYING ELLS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
WHAT IS RTI?
Tier Three:
A referral for
Special
Education
Tier Two: Intensive assistance within the
general education classroom. This is needsbased support which comes from frequent
progress monitoring. Assistance at this tier
should continue to be culturally responsive.
Tier One: This is researched based, high quality instruction in the ESL and
mainstream classrooms. The instruction takes into account culture, prior
schooling, English proficiency, and other unique needs of ELLs. Assessment
procedures should be in place to monitor progress in language and literacy.
IDENTIFYING ELLS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
CONSIDERATIONS FOR RTI REFERRAL
A. It is critical that high quality, culturally responsive instruction be
implemented at Tier One.
B. The referral should be based on comparisons of academic progress
among ELL peers. Data from standardized assessments needs to inform
any such decision. A key question to consider: Are all of the ELLs
struggling, or only a handful, on these assessments?
C. For Tier One and Tier Two interventions, the instruction should be
explicit and provide structured opportunities to practice English in all
domains.
D. Incorporating language acquisition theory and ESL instructional
strategies are essential at every tier of RTI or any data could be
invalidated.
E. ESL teachers should be consulted on any decision to refer an ESL
student. Please notify the ESL office when referring students to various
tiers.
F. All procedures, notices, and explanations to parents must be
translated. Please contact the ESL Office for an interpreter or to assist
with a document translation.
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CONSIDERATIONS FOR RTI REFERRAL
Characteristics
When attempting to distinguish the difference between an ESL student and an ESL
student with a disability, the following facts should be considered:
1. the degree of disability present can vary depending on the student’s processing
skills and cognitive level;
2. many children stop speaking their first language when they begin speaking
English. When this happens, lack of further development in the first language
should not be considered a language learning problem. It is symptomatic of the
system’s effect on the student, not due to a physiological state within the
student;
3. the student with a disability may learn English at a much slower rate than a
non-disabled student;
4. students with language disorders tend to exhibit the same kinds of problems in
their native language.
Characteristics of ESL Students With and Without a Disability
Characteristics
ESL Student
ESL Student with a Disability
Cause of Perceived
Problem

Extrinsic. Adaptation process to
environment
 Intrinsic. Physiological in
nature
 Social
Abilities/Affective
Factors

Demonstrates appropriate
social skills for home country.
May have some social
problems due to lack of
familiarity with American
customs, language, and
expected behaviors. May
experience social isolation and
is likely to be a follower rather
than a leader in an English
speaking group. Student may
tend to interact with more pupils
from own cultural group.
 May exhibit behavioral
problems not
attributable to
adjustment and
acculturation; may have
difficulty forming
appropriate social
relationships; may have
frequent fights or
arguments.
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Characteristics
ESL Student
ESL Student with a Disability
 Communication
Skills

Normal language learning
potential. Demonstrates
ability to achieve
communicative competence
in first language. Initially, the
communicative use of
English is less than native
speaker’s ability and native
speakers easily note this.
Errors are not attributed to a
speech/language disability,
but rather to lack of ability in
the second language.
Eventually, the student
communicates proficiently in
the second language.
 May not achieve communicative
competence in either first or
second language. Speech
language disorders exhibited in
the areas of articulation, voice,
fluency, or receptive and
expressive language.
 Language Skills

First language is appropriate
for age level. Nonverbal
communications skills (such
as eye contact, response to
speaker, clarification or
response, turn taking, etc.)
are appropriate for age
level. Student may not know
specific vocabulary, but he
or she may be familiar with
item or concept. Sentence
structure and grammar are
appropriate for age. English
language acquisition
corresponds to that
expected based on the
student’s length of time in
English speaking schools.
Student may demonstrate a
loss of receptive and
expressive language skills in
first language when exposed
to second language.
 First language is not appropriate
for age level in one or more of
the following areas: vocabulary,
word finding, following
directions, sentence
formulation, and/or pragmatics.
Student will not learn English at
the same rate as student
without disability. Nonverbal
communications skills are not
appropriate for age level.
Student may not know specific
vocabulary, but he or she may
be familiar with item or concept.
Sentence structure is shorter or
disordered, and grammar is
incorrect for age. English
language acquisition does not
correspond to that expected
based on the student’s length of
time in English speaking
schools. Subtle signs of a
language disorder:
disorganization, difficulty with
spatial and temporal concepts
and language, disorganized
thoughts, poor sequencing of
stories.
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Characteristics
ESL Student
ESL Student with a Disability
 Academic
Functions

Normal language potential.
Apparent problems due to
culturally determined life
style or lack of schooling in
home country.
 Significantly below grade
level performance may be
due to inability to make
progress in second language
acquisition or difficulty
retaining academic
information despite a variety
of interventions; history of
academic difficulties in home
country or first language.
 Cognitive Abilities

Cognitive abilities are
usually normal. Students
usually score better on
nonverbal sections of
cognitive tests and their
scores on the verbal portion
of the tests increase over
the years.
 Verbal and nonverbal
abilities are inconsistent or
significantly low. Students
score better on nonverbal
sections of cognitive tests
and their scores on the
verbal sections of cognitive
tests and their scores on the
verbal sections of the tests
do not increase steadily over
the years. English-normed
tests must be interpreted
with caution. Nonverbal
performance should be
conducted.
 Progress

Progress in home language
is contingent upon adequacy
and continuation of first
language instruction.
(During the language
transition period, first
language skills may
decrease due to lack of
continued instruction in first
language.) Academic
progress in English is
dependent upon the quality
and quantity of English
instruction. English progress
should continue steadily
even if slowly.
 May show less than
expected progress in English
acquisition and development
of academic skills. May
show a marked discrepancy
between different areas
(such as oral and writing
skills) which cannot be
attributed to lack of sufficient
time or appropriate
interventions.
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Characteristics
ESL Student
ESL Student with a Disability
 Health

No significant health
characteristics. Consider
developmental factors with
regard to cultural context.
 History of risk infancy, ear
infections, or hearing
problems, sleep or eating
disturbances, incontinence,
and family incidence of health
disability may have influence
on learning.
 Sensory
Functioning

May exhibit periodic
“overload” response such as
gazing off and blanking out
what is heard for short periods
of time during an initial
adjustment to new setting.
 Auditory or visual processing
difficulties exhibited over
period of time without signs of
improvement.
 Motor Skills

Normal
 Exhibits physical impairments.
 Productivity

May have difficulty with verbal
and written directions or
beginning/switching tasks due
to insufficient English
development but often finds
strategies or techniques for
coping.
 May have difficulty with verbal
and written directions or
beginning/switching tasks for
a variety of reasons and may
not acquire strategies for
coping; has difficulty
completing tasks following
explicit instructions.
These are characteristics that might be shared by an ESL student with a disability
and one without a disability; however, there are different causal variables that
determine whether the ESL student has a disability or not. In this initial stage of
investigation the concern about a student’s learning is to ascertain whether the
causal variables are ESL related. The needs of an ESL student focus on learning
another language for social and academic purposes. ESL/SPED students need to
learn how to learn and learn how to learn a language at the same time. ESL
students need access to English-speaking peers, interactive activities, and
challenging content (Rojas, 1998).
Courtesy of DODEA
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IDENTIFYING ELLS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
CONSIDERATIONS FOR GIFTED EVALUATION REFERRAL
It is important that English Language Learners should have equal access
to gifted programs in the District. ESL teachers, in collaboration with
classroom teachers, should refer English language learners to participate
in the evaluation for Gifted Programs.
22 PA Code Chapter 342 defines a student who is mentally gifted as an
“outstanding intellectual and creative ability the development of which
requires special activities or services not ordinarily provided by the regular
programs. The term includes a person that has an IQ of 130 or higher and
when multiple criteria as set forth in the Pennsylvania Department of
Education Guidelines indicate gifted ability.”
Kaplan (1982) suggests that students with limited English proficiency who
are mentally gifted show their giftedness in ways different from the majority
of the student population of the United States. According to Valencia, the
characteristics of gifted students with limited English proficiency are as
follows:

While highly articulate in their native language or dialect, they may be
unable to clearly reveal this capability in English;

They may be more inhibited in articulating and expressing ideas in the
monolingual English setting as compared to situations in their own
cultural environment.
Perrone and Aleman (1983) suggest four areas for observing students with
limited English proficiency:
a) Rapid accumulation and assimilation of knowledge in English and the
native language;
b) Leadership abilities;
c) Interpersonal sensitivity, the understanding of verbal (English and the
native language) and non-verbal (cultural factors) communications
with others;
d) Performance in the arts, music, drama and athletics
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e)
Additional considerations that should be made when evaluating
whether an ESL student could potentially qualify for the District’s
Gifted and Talented program are:
 Academic skills not dependent on English language (e.g.,
mathematics calculations, problem solving using visual-spatial
reasoning)
 Review of prior school record and performance including scores on
tests in the heritage language
 Work samples in the heritage language
 Successful performance and achievement in advanced level work
 Ability to extend knowledge to new situations or unique applications
 Aptitude at learning independently, particularly in areas of strong
interest
LEP students, like non-LEP students, should be considered potential
candidates for gifted program and services from the beginning of their
school attendance, regardless of their English proficiency. It is not
appropriate to wait until the student has mastered or even begun to master
English before considering him or her as a possible gifted student.
English-language acquisition or proficiency may not be deemed a
prerequisite to consideration of gifted programming.
The following characteristics often are seen among students in Englishdominant settings who have not mastered the English language yet are
intellectually advanced:
 Successful history in previous school settings in the united States in
which instruction was conducted in the student’s heritage (otherwise
referred to as “native,” “home,” “dominant,” or “preferred”) language
 Advanced developmental history based on information provided
through parent interview
 Rapidity of learning
 Ability to solve problems that are not dependent on English (e.g.,
putting complex pieces together to make a whole, matching or
sorting according to complex attributes, doing mathematical
calculations, acquiring non-verbal social cues in the heritage and
other cultures to guide behaviors)
 High academic performance in tasks using heritage language
 Successful history in environments where heritage language is
required
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Remember that all communication with parents may require a translator to
remain in compliance with state and federal guidelines. Assistance with
securing a translator can be handled through the ESL Administrative
Office.
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