By Mary Ann Zehr
The federal government plans to pay for states to work together to create English-language-proficiency tests for the Common Core State Standards Initiative, according to a notice for proposed grant priorities published in the Federal Register on Friday.
The plan calls for a minimum of 15 states to join together in each consortium that applies to create an English-proficiency test, prompting some observers to speculate that federal officials favor the idea of having a very limited number of such tests, if not one national test.
“It’s going to start looking like a single national assessment for English-language proficiency, which it should,” said Robert Linquanti, a senior research associate for WestEd, a San Francisco-based education research firm. “To the extent we have common standards and a common definition for [English-language learners], it’s only going to help.”
Currently, states can choose from a wide variety of English-proficiency tests that were developed by state consortia or commercial publishers for accountability purposes under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. States such as California, New York, and Texas even developed their own individual English-proficiency tests.
The U.S. Department of Education said in the Jan. 7 notice that it plans to add the development of English-proficiency tests based on the common-core standards as a priority to an existing competitive-grant program called the Enhanced Assessment Instruments Grant program. The notice proposes that members of any consortium getting a grant must agree to a common definition of ELLs and common criteria for such students to move out of that status.
The federal government has since 2008 strongly encouraged states to standardize their definitions for ELLs and criteria for such students to exit special programs within states, but it’s new for federal officials to push for such uniformity among states.
Grants for the English-proficiency tests based on the common-core standards would likely total about $10.3 million, Carlos Martinez, the group leader for standards and assessments for the Education Department, said in a phone interview. He said the department hopes to roll out the new grants, using funds from fiscal year 2010 to be spent in fiscal 2011, by the end of August. The deadline for comment on the notice is Feb. 7.
Students at Landmark academy at reunion celebrate first annual latin culture week
Landmark Academy at Reunion , a tuition-free public charter school, recently hosted their First Annual Latin Culture Week, a week focused on educating students on the various aspects of Latin culture, from music and art to sports and celebrities, through unique activities. During the week-long celebration, students were able to step into the lives of the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans with Latin culture lessons through piñata making, cultural crafts, songs, traditional foods and more. Students made maracas and learned a traditional Mexican Hat Dance; created Aztec suns working with metal tooling; and studied different countries in Mexico , Central America and South America . Aztec dancers from the Colorado Folk Arts Council also visited with students and educated them on the spiritual and traditional aspects of Aztec culture through dance. “We reside in a community with strong Latin and Hispanic roots,” said Matt Carlton, principal of Landmark Academy at Reunion . “Our community culture is important to us at Landmark. By providing unique ways for our students to learn the various backgrounds of our diverse community they are able to understand and appreciate different cultures.” For more information about Landmark Academy at Reunion , please visit www.landmarkacademy.org.
