Jeanne I. Angel, ESL Coordinator, Waterloo Community Schools
Over the past few years, there has been a push towards establishing
high stakes standards for all learners in K - 12 public schools.
In 1997, TESOL responded to this push by publishing the ESL Standards for
Pre-K-12 Students, which established three broad goals, each with three
standards, specifically for ESL learners. In many cases, the TESOL
Standards do not mesh easily with those set forward by states or local
districts because of differences in the language of the documents used
as models. The challenge for school district personnel concerned
with the education of English language learners is to align the TESOL Standards
with their local or state standards.
Waterloo, IA Community Schools adopted district-wide standards and benchmarks
for all content areas and grade levels in 1998. Because these
standards follow a different model, their language is inconsistent with
the TESOL Standards. For example, the Waterloo documents identify
standards as descriptions of what should take place in the classroom, while
the TESOL Standards use standards to indicate "what students should know
and be able to do as a result of instruction" (p. 15). In a
case such as this, district personnel might work together to align the
two documents.
ESL teachers and content-area
teachers frequently work cooperatively on standards projects. Those
involved first choose a subject area to align, typically language arts.
Then they compare the standards of each document, listing those which are
similar and important. Next they look at those that are not similar
and, if they consider them important, add them to the list. They
then look for missed areas and add those to the list. Finally, from
the list of ESL and content standards, they develop composite standards
for ESL students to meet in their K - 12 classrooms (ESL Standards Training
Manual, 1998). There are at least two advantages to an alignment
project. First, it sets forth standards for English language learners
written in the language of the school district. These standards can
then provide a framework for curriculum design. Secondly, it puts
ESL and content teachers in a situation in which they work together towards
a common goal.
Both of these can only enhance the opportunities for school success
for English language learners.
References: ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students.
Alexandria, VA: TESOL. 1997.
Using the TESOL Pre-K-12 ESL Standards for Curriculum and Assessment. Alexandria,
VA: TESOL, 1998.
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