Ins and Outs

Registration and Enrollment

For a description of the registration and enrollment process, see this link to the district's webpage.

To enter the Multilingual Learner (ML) program

When a newly-enrolled student's Home Language Survey indicates that a language other than English is used in the home, the student is screened with an English proficiency assessment (called the WIDA Screener) to determine proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students whose English proficiency measures below “proficient” in one or more areas are placed in the EL program. An EL teacher at the student's home school helps the guidance counselor choose appropriate courses for the student, which may include an ESL class and/or some sheltered content classes.

While in the Multilingual Learner (ML) program

Every spring public schools in NC administer the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs English proficiency assessment to all students who are identified as an EL (English Learner), whether or not they receive EL services. The purpose is to measure the annual growth of students’ English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students’ scores help determine what kind of EL services (if any) they will need for the next school year.

To exit the Multilingual Learner (ML) program

Students who score “proficient” in all 4 subtests of the WIDA ACCESS assessment – listening, speaking, reading and writing – are no longer identified as an “English Learner” by the state, and they exit the EL program.

Monitoring former English Learners (ELs)

Students who exit the EL program are monitored for 4 years to ensure that their English proficiency keeps up with increasing academic demands.

The English proficiency assessments

WIDA Screener

• Required by North Carolina for students whose home language is not English, when they first enroll in a public school

• Measures English language proficiency with 4 subtests: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing

• English proficiency for each subtest is scored on a 6-level scale: 1 = Entering; 2 = Beginning; 3 = Developing; 4 = Expanding; 5 = Bridging; 6 = Reaching Proficiency

• A score of 4 or lower in any domain qualifies a student for EL services

• A score of 4 or lower in any domain identifies a student as an “English Learner” (EL). ELs are sometimes allowed to have some accommodations for support when they take tests and final exams. Accommodations can include using a bilingual dictionary, hearing test items read aloud and/or extra time to complete the test..

WIDA ACCESS for ELLs (ACCESS = Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State)

• All North Carolina students whom the State has identified as an “English Learner” (EL), whether or not they participate in their school’s EL program, take this test each spring to measure their growth in English proficiency

• 4 subtests: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing

• English proficiency for each subtest is scored on a 6-level scale: 1 = Entering; 2 = Beginning; 3 = Developing; 4 = Expanding; 5 = Bridging; 6 = Reaching

• To exit the EL program, a student must have a composite score of at least 4.8.