Working with ELLs in the School Setting

GRADING GUIDELINES

Please be aware that all ESL programs must follow the School District of Pittsburghs grading guidelines. Adaptations and modifications must be noted on the students report card. An ESL student may not fail a course or be forced to repeat a grade level if language is determined to have interfered with student achievement. Additional information about grading appears on the following pages.

GRADING GUIDELINES

The ESL grade replaces the ENGLISH grade on the report card at the high school level.

In accordance with state regulations, classroom teachers must adapt content-area courses of study to make the course content more easily understood by the ELL.

The teacher will have comments available for grade reporting purposes to indicate that course adaptations are taking place.

GRADING GUIDELINES GRADING RESPONSIBILITIES

In order to be in compliance with state ESL guidelines, each ESL student must be on record as receiving ESL instruction. This compliance directive is documented through the assigning of an ESL grade from a certified ESL teacher. In all instances, the best-case scenario for the ESL student will be to attend ESL instruction during the mainstream classrooms language arts period(s). On occasion, this may not be possible due to scheduling constraints. The ESL Curriculum Supervisor and the school administrator will review these scheduling conflicts as necessary. Across all grade levels, there will be a variety of grading scenarios that could be applicable. The information below describes several grading situations. It is possible that the classroom teacher may not be responsible to provide a
Portion of the Kindergarten report card

Grade Level

Student may be removed from

45 minutes from mainstream classroom

Proficiency Level

Kindergarten

Any student that cannot successfully complete screening instrument

Entering/Beginning

Reading grade Reading grade Reading grade Reading grade English grade Spelling grade Reading grade English grade Spelling grade Reading grade English grade Spelling grade

Grade 1

Reading block in mainstream classroom

Beginning/Developing Expanding/Bridging

Grades 2-5

Reading English Writing Spelling World language

Entering/Beginning Beginning/Developing

Expanding/Bridging

It is certainly possible and entirely probable that students will not completely miss any type of language arts instruction in the mainstream classroom. It is imperative that the ESL and classroom teachers thoroughly consult with each other regarding report card grades prior to the day that classroom grades are due in the office. Additional guidance may come from the ESL Office or the ELL Coach. At the middle and high school levels, ESL should replace certain classes everyday. In these cases, the following should apply:

Grade Level

Proficiency Level

Classes that ESL should replace

ESL should replace three (3) of the following: Language Arts Reading Communications World Language ESL should replace two (2) of the following: Language Arts Reading Communications World Language ESL should replace one (1) or two (2) of the following: Language Arts Reading Communications World Language

Entering/Beginning

Grades 6-8

Beginning/Developing

Expanding/Bridging

Entering/Beginning

Grade level appropriate English and two (2) electives

Grades 9-12
Beginning/Developing Grade level appropriate English and one (1) elective

Expanding/Bridging

Grade level appropriate English

As with the elementary recommendations, there is the potential for some slight shifts based on teachers schedules. When a schedule conflict does arise, the ESL Curriculum Supervisor, the ESL teacher and the school guidance counselor/administrator will participate in a consultation meeting to determine the best course of action. When students are enrolled in mainstream content area classes, the Pennsylvania Department of education requires that teachers adapt their instruction in order to meet the language needs of the ESL students. The purpose of these adaptations is to allow the student as much access to the content of the class as possible and reduce the amount of language interference for the student. In addition to the adaptation requirement, PDE also requires that teachers and school districts identify that the content curriculum has been adapted to meet student language needs. There are two report card comments that are available at each school in order to comply with state regulations.

ESL Comment #1: No grade given, enrolled in ESL This comment may be used by mainstream teachers in two situations: An ESL student will be pulled from mainstream classes in order to receive ESL instruction and there will be certain teachers who will have no grades for that particular student in that particular class. This comment will account for the lack of grade.

OR
This comment may also be used for ESL students who have very recently arrived in the US (less than 15 school days) and has been determined to have little or no English skills. The use of the comment in this circumstance must be cleared with the ESL teacher and ESL Curriculum Supervisor.

ESL Comment # 2: ESL Adapted Instruction Any teacher of any subject that has an ESL student enrolled in the class must use this comment. The ESL Department has arranged for specific course numbers to be created for the ESL program. In order to maintain accurate data and information, it is important that that these specific codes are used for grade reporting.

GRADING GUIDELINES PROGRESS REPORTING & GRADING STRATEGIES

Grading English Language Learners
Establishing a fair and reliable grading process for English language learners is somewhat difficult. The following factors should be considered when assigning grades or values to the work completed by English language learners:

Concentrate on what the student is trying to communicate and not on the errors. Ask yourself if they really understood the material and/or assignment. Grade not only what the student produces, but evaluate if they give good effort and follow the process you set out for them to achieve. Tell the class very early in the year or semester how you will grade them. Use rubrics, when appropriate. Make sure the grades reflect a variety of products such as participation, projects, presentations, etc. Allow more time for the student to take the test or read the test to them. Use of accommodations, adaptations and modifications during the instructional process is often helpful in creating understanding for the student. Train students to evaluate their own work before turning it in to the teacher. Use satisfactory/unsatisfactory scoring for beginning students. Put a note on the grade card describing how the student was evaluated. Use pictures to assess vocabulary. Draw the concept rather than write about it. Let students point to the correct answer. Let students explain or rephrase the concept in their own words. Let students give oral responses and oral reports instead of using the written word. Let students role-play. Use a graphic organizer. Use a limited word bank of new words for evaluation.

Let the student create a poster. Allow group reports. Use cooperative learning techniques. Review journals and notes to give grades. Keep a reading journal and review for evaluation. Allow use of bilingual dictionaries.