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February 27, 2003 ( ) Action Required(X) Informational

MEMORANDUM NO. 8-03M MIGRANT/BILINGUAL EDUCATION

TO: Educational Service District SuperintendentsChief School District AdministratorsSchool Bilingual/English as a Second Language Directors

District Assessment DirectorsSchool Test CoordinatorsTitle III Directors

FROM: Dr. Terry Bergeson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

RE: Academic and Linguistic Assessment of English LanguageLearners (ELL) Students

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has made it necessary to revise Washingtons

Exemption policy for eligible ELL students. Washington State is now required toimplement the following policy towards the assessment of ELL students.

Academic assessment requirements for limited ELL students, effective beginningthe 20022003 school year, are as follows:

This change in Washingtons exemption policy applies ONLY to WASL.

(a) All ELL students must participate in statewide assessments of statecontent standards without regard to their level of English proficiency. As aresult, there will beno exemptions from taking the WASL (forexample, based on the length of time enrolled in a school district orlevel of English language proficiency).

(b) Scores of ELL students enrolled by October 1 and continuously enrolledthereafter will be included in accountability decisions in the aggregate andat the subgroup ELL level for schools and school districts. Scores of ELLstudents enrolled after October 1 or not continuously enrolled thereafterwill be included for reporting purposes only and not for Adequate YearlyProgress (AYP), in the aggregate and at the subgroup ELL level forschools and school districts.

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Memorandum No. 8-03 M/BEPage 2February 27, 2003

(c) All ELL students must participate in an annual assessment of Englishlanguage proficiency in Reading and Writing (as measured by theWashington Language Proficiency Test) and Speaking/Listening (asmeasured by an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction approvedOral Language Proficiency Test). These assessments are required bystate and federal law.

If you have program questions, please contact Richard Gomez, at (360)725-6150 or via email at rgomez@ospi.wednet.edu. If you have assessmentquestions, contact Greg Hall at (360) 725-6336 or via email atghall@ospi.wednet.edu. The agency TTY is (360) 664-3631.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Bob HarmonAssistant Superintendent

Dr. Richard Gomez, DirectorMigrant/Bilingual Education

Greg HallAssistant SuperintendentAssessment and Research

TB:RG:GH:sh

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February 27, 2003

Dear Educators:

First, let me begin by thanking each and every one of you for your invaluablecontributions and suggestions in the practical implementation of the No ChildLeft Behind (NCLB) legislation. My staff at OSPI and I have always relied onyou, the educators of our great state, as our greatest strength and resource.Thank you for all the work you are doing to help every child in our classrooms.

As you know, we have been working with the Department of Education onvarious components of the implementation of NCLB. The implementation of therequired assessments is extensive and we have received little flexibility in theguidelines that followed the adoption of the law.

Under Title III we presently have a policy that allows exemptions for our LimitedEnglish Proficiency (LEP) students from taking the WASL in the first year theyare attending school in Washington State. NCLB does not allow for anyexemptions from the state assessments. Thus we are required to assess all LEPstudents present the day the WASL is administrated, regardless of the length oftime the student has been in an American school or their English proficiencylevel.

It is important to note that NCLB also required each state to establish a date forthe identification of a full academic year before counting students in theaccountability reporting. Washington has established October 1st for this purpose.Therefore, though there are no exemptions, students arriving in any school ordistrict after October 1st in the year tested, will not be included in theaccountability reports for the school, district, or the state.

We will continue our efforts to come into compliance with the requirements ofNCLB and secure the federal funding for our schools. We will also continue topress for modifications of these guidelines to better support our ELL students.We are committed to the goal of reaching every child, and I thank you for yourcontinued efforts and support.

Sincerely,

Dr. Terry BergesonState Superintendentof Public Instruction