Standards Implementation Issues for ELL's

Most studies on school reform have not included ELL’s. Issues include developing academic and English proficiency, addressing the varied needs of ELL’s, or implications of emerging assessments. “The notion of ‘one size fits all’ will not work, and that even the most promising approaches to instruction and assessment cannot be offered uniformly to all populations” (46). There is also concern with the use of standards with students who have not developed full English proficiency. Standards implementation is based on if the teachers have the resources and know how to implement these standards. This does not take into account that some students aren’t ready to perform near proficiency level. Two challenges that need to be taken into account for ELL’s includes the wide diversity in language/literacy/skills, and the wide knowledge gaps in the education field. Schools are deficient to making sure ELLS are performing at high levels. To be completely honest, my school last year functioned this way. There was no accountability of ELL students performing at higher levels. This year, however, we have a new district coordinator and she has made sure to educate teachers and help move students forward. Standards- setting has given little consideration to how diverse students are. Applying standards fairly to diverse students requires attention be taken on to how these standards can be connected to instruction. This will help students with a variety of English proficiency levels to develop higher- level skills.

Lachat, Mary Ann (2004). Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment for English
           Language Learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press