Monitoring English Learners
Federal law requires that states ensure English learners participate meaningfully and equitably in school programs. Ohio schools and districts must identify English learners, offer language services, and monitor all current and recently reclassified English learners to ensure they have achieved language proficiency.
Requirement to Monitor Former English Learners for Two Years
Schools monitor former English learners for at least two years to confirm that language supports have not been removed too early and that students are meaningfully participating in educational programs comparable to peers who are not multilingual students who are English learners. This ensures effective instruction and progress towards school completion.
The exit criterion of a proficient score on the state’s annual language proficiency assessment is set with the anticipation that transitioning English learners are proficient enough in English to participate meaningfully in the general educational program. A former English learner is a student that demonstrated English language proficiency on the Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA) or the Alternate Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (Alt-OELPA), and is identified as a former English learner. Former English learners with disabilities are monitored according to the same local process or have Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) that specify parallel, and in some cases, alternate standards-related criteria. The obligation to monitor for two years after students have been reclassified from English learner status includes students who have opted out of the English learner programs, as described in the initial and annual parent notification of English learner identification.
Establishing Monitoring Teams and Providing Timely Assistance
Schools and districts can establish monitoring systems that support the transition and progress of former English learners into the general education program. A team collects and reviews eligible students’ performance on local and state assessments and determines that each student is succeeding based upon local proficiency standards and assessments. When progress monitoring and assessment indicate the need for additional supports, schools and districts offer interventions and assistance that may include reentry into language instruction services.
Selecting Data for Monitoring
The evidence gathered to monitor former English learners minimally includes demonstrations of student proficiency without the use of adapted or modified English materials or accommodations on standardized measures. The data may include the results of state assessments at applicable grade levels, standardized tests, locally developed benchmarks, teacher observations, and attendance data. Other types of data that are collected by districts include, but are not limited to:
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Student writing samples;
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Periodic benchmark assessments in multiple content areas;
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Performance assessments scores with formal standardized rubrics; and
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Academic records such as student report card grades.
Monitoring Considerations for School Administrators
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Promote understanding of the school and district processes related to supporting current and former English learner students. When the monitoring team and teachers of current and former English learners are knowledgeable of obligations to English learners, monitoring contributes to more effective student supports.
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Identify issues and challenges to implementation of monitoring. Provide school-wide professional learning activities to better identify and address barriers in implementing monitoring to support English learners’ language and academic development. Include discussions of monitoring in student support meetings, instructional coaching, and school-wide professional learning.
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Consider staffing needed to meet needs of reclassified English learners. Assure that the school’s English language development program is implemented with fidelity. Plan and make needed adjustments to support staff in dedicating sufficient time to student instruction and documentation related to monitoring.
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Promote structures for collaboration with Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Teachers of English learners, specialists, and general education teachers can benefit from shared planning time and teaming to include practical interventions related to student’s language, academic, and behavioral needs.
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Integrate Monitoring into Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS). Districts can integrate English learning into existing Multi-tiered System of Supports to monitor current and former English learners’ progress and to identify areas where instructional modifications and additional support might be needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some tools that schools use to monitor English learners?
Some schools and districts use online web applications to collect monitoring data. Others utilize paper or online forms to collect student grades in each subject, scores on district assessments and standardized tests, and data regarding each student’s observable skills using English across the four language domains.
What documentation is required for monitoring former English learners?
Districts can maintain monitoring documentation in each student’s cumulative file, along with the student language usage survey and Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener and Assessment results. A summary form may be developed and signed by the individual designated to oversee the monitoring team process.
May a student receive English language services after they have exited from English learner status?
Federal guidance affirms that a student may continue to receive English language services with local or state funds even after exiting from English learner status. However, if exited students need continued language support, the school or district should consider additional factors related to the student’s lack of progress in school.
During the monitoring process, how does a school determine that a persistent language barrier may be causing a student’s academic difficulty?
On rare occasions, a school or district’s monitoring of a student who has exited English learner status may indicate that a persistent language barrier is the cause of academic difficulty. In such instances, federal law obligates schools to examine the student’s general education and intervention services and determine whether they are adequate.
After a thorough examination of data and in-person consultation with the family, school districts can retest the student with the Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener or another English language proficiency assessment to determine that a persistent language barrier may be the cause of academic difficulty (because general education, remediation, and intervention services have proven inadequate).
During the monitoring process, what are school’s obligations to inform parents of their student’s progress and services?
Prior to retesting the student, school districts should document the basis for rescreening and discuss with the family to receive consent for rescreening. The parent must understand and provide consent to the retesting and English learner identification process. If the results of the rescreening qualify the student as an English learner, the school district must reenter the student into English learner status, offer English language development services, and send home the parent notification of student identification and placement into the English learner program.
Are former English learners who have demonstrated English language proficiency in another state retested for their English language proficiency when they enroll in an Ohio school?
No. When a former English learner enrolls in an Ohio school or district, it is first necessary to determine the student’s date of reclassification in their previous school district. The Ohio school or district enrolling the transfer student is responsible to continue the monitoring process of former English learners for two years after the student’s previous reclassification from English learner status. Newly enrolled former English learners are not screened using the Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener before being monitored by the school’s process for all exited English learners.
Chapter eight of the U.S. Department of Education's English Learner Toolkit offers tools for monitoring current and former English learner students. For guidance and assistance with individualized cases, school administrators may contact the English learner program staff in the Office of Whole Child Supports at lau@education.ohio.gov.
Last Modified: 7/22/2024 7:55:44 AM