Assessment

Paragraph 28: Home language survey questions are to be changed with any answers other than English to trigger testing.

The District shall ensure that all registration and intake staff at the Family Resource Centers (FRCs), Newcomer Assessment Center (NAC), and the schools have parents/guardians complete a Home Language Survey (HLS) and assess the English language proficiency (ELP) of, or refer for an ELP assessment, any enrolling student (a) whose HLS indicates that a language other than English is (i) the primary language used in the home, regardless of the language spoken by the student; (ii) the language most often spoken by the student; or (iii) the language that the student first acquired, or (b) for whom there is any other reason to believe the student is not proficient in English. The District shall change its HLS to include these three questions in accordance with the implementation plan approved by the United States. The District shall not revise any of these three questions without prior confirmation by the United States that the proposed revision is consistent with Title VI, the EEOA, the compliance obligations arising from this Agreement and the notice letters that preceded it. The ELP Assessments shall be accomplished as soon as possible but no later than 20 days from the student’s enrollment during the school year, or within 20 days or by the first day of the new school year, whichever comes later, if the student enrolls during the summer. During peak season, January 1 through March 15 and August 1 through October 31, ELP Assessments shall be accomplished as soon as possible but no later than 25 days. Parents shall be informed, orally or otherwise, of assessment results and student assignment options as soon as possible but no later than 2 school days after the completion of the assessments. Notice of the assessment scores shall be delivered or mailed to parents no later than 5 days following the notice of student assignment.

Paragraph 29: Students referred for testing are to be assessed in all four domains. An overall ELD will be generated following assessment.

The District shall ensure that all students in grades K2-12 who are referred for language testing are assessed with a valid and reliable English language proficiency test to determine the students’ English proficiency in all four language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The District shall follow the assessment’s process for generating an overall English language proficiency level for each ELL and shall properly align these overall levels with the overall proficiency levels of 1 through 5 generated by the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA) and the MELA-O or any other English language proficiency test that replaces them to ensure that ELLs receive ELL services that are appropriate for their level of proficiency, as set forth in this Agreement.