WHY EVALUATE?
In determining whether a recipient's program for EL students complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has used the standard set forth in Castaneda v. Pickard (1981). Under this standard, a program for EL students is acceptable if:
- The school system is pursuing a program informed by an educational theory recognized as sound by some experts in the field or, at least, deemed a legitimate experimental strategy.
- The programs and practices actually used by [the] school system are reasonably calculated to implement effectively the educational theory adopted by the school.
- The school's program succeeds, after a legitimate trial, in producing results indicating that the language barriers confronting students are actually being overcome.
Also, the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) measures districts and schools according to the percent and number of students (1) making progress in English language proficiency, (2) attaining English language proficiency and (3) meeting AYP.
THE EVALUATION PROCESS
The instructional program as well as individual student progress will be monitored regularly by the EL tutor. Data will be collected from OTELA scores, grades, observations standardized test scores, class work, and other appropriate measures. Initially, the focus of this process will be the student's acquisition of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Eventually, the focus will shift to the student's level of performance within the regular curriculum and the mastery of grade level indicators, benchmarks and standards in all content areas. Parents are also included in the data collection process through a parent survey.