Results of 2008-09 California English Language Development Test

 State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released the results of the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) that showed an increase in the percentage of English learner students scoring at the advanced and early advanced performance levels compared to last year. These results are used to calculate Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) for federal accountability.

"I'm pleased to report that this year marks another increase in the number of English learners who are scoring at the top-performance levels," O'Connell said. "Becoming proficient in English is vital to students' success in school and in life. As English learners achieve greater proficiency, they are more likely to reach higher academic levels in all their subjects. It is important that California schools help all students become fluent in English as quickly as possible."

The CELDT annually assesses listening and speaking skills of English learners in kindergarten and first grade, and listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in grades two through twelve. Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, students in kindergarten and first grade will also be assessed on their reading and writing skills.

Compared to the rest of the nation, California has the greatest number of students whose primary language is not English. More than 100 languages are spoken by the state's English learners, of which approximately 85 percent speak Spanish.

Overall, the number of English learners who took the CELDT this school year was virtually unchanged from last year (See Table 1). However, sizeable decreases in the number of English learners tested (See Table 2) were noted in grades five, six, and eight, while increases were seen in grades two, three, seven, nine, ten, and twelve.

The overall annual assessment results for 2008-09 show that nearly 39 percent of English learners who took the CELDT in California's public schools scored at the early advanced (29.7 percent) and advanced (9.5 percent) performance levels (See Table 3.) This represents a 3 percentage-point gain over last year. Results for 2007-08 showed that just over 36 percent of English learners scored at the early advanced and advanced (28.2 and 7.6 percent respectively) performance levels overall on the CELDT.

Although the percentage of English learners achieving at the higher levels of CELDT is increasing, there still is a significant gap in academic achievement between students learning English and their native English-speaking peers.

"If our state is to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy, we all must continue to focus on closing the achievement gap," O'Connell said.

The CELDT is one of four criteria to be used by schools in determining whether or not an English learner student should be reclassified as fluent English proficient. Other criteria include comparison of performance in basic skills (e.g., the California Standards Test in English-language arts, which is part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program), teacher evaluation, and parent opinion and consultation. Each school district establishes its own local reclassification procedures using these criteria.

To satisfy the CELDT criterion for English-language proficiency, a student must have an overall scale score of early advanced or advanced, plus a score of intermediate or above for each of the domains tested (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

Results for the 2008-09 CELDT show that 36.2 percent of English learners met the CELDT criterion for possible reclassification (See Table 4). This is about 3 percentage points higher than last year. The number of students who were reclassified by school districts this school year will be available this summer (See Table 5).

"The increase in the rate of reclassification since 2006 is a positive sign that more and more students are meeting all of the multiple measures used locally to reclassify English learners," O'Connell said. "I encourage schools to remain committed to reclassifying students who have demonstrated proficiency, which will allow those students to have greater access to the full educational experience and opportunities."

School, district, county, and state results of the 2008-09 CELDT Annual Assessment are available on the CDE DataQuest Web site at the CELDT reporting site at http://celdt.cde.ca.gov/.