Systematic ELD Impact on EL Student Achievement

As with any professional development initiative, there are many factors that contribute to its success.  The same is true for A Focused Approach to Systematic ELD.  It's impact on English learners achievement is greatly affected by implementation and level of system support.  Given that, many indicators have been collected on Systematic ELD's impact on EL achievement.

Susan Albano, Director Educational Services, Fullerton School District, Fall 2009 -

"For years, many of us struggled to find the right kinds of materials and methods for teaching ELD (English Language Development). The research on teaching ELD supports Systematic ELD.  Teachers in the Fullerton School District have been so positive about the work of E.L.Achieve!  Those teachers who have not been trained continue to ask us "when is the next training?" .

All of our schools are now providing ELD during a separate block and grouping students by proficiency level.  We have come a long way in a few short years.  I am excited about the progress we are making.  Our CELDT scores increased by nearly 11 percentage points this year from 38.7% to 49.5% English proficient."

Landmark Elementary School Principal (Central Coast, CA), Spring 2008 -
"I wanted to share this with you. It looks like we met our AMAO objectives again at Landmark, which is great because the district as a whole is not meeting it's targets.  But the best news is our first grade team's scores. They were working with Carolyn all last year to plan for ELD using the FA to Systematic ELD. They worked really hard, met almost weekly and really kept track of their objectives and their students' progress. Look at the difference it made!

Thanks so much for supporting our kids in ELD! This is great data for us as everyone on our staff is in the middle of training for the FA to Systematic ELD this year. It is wonderful to see it in numbers...proof that the right approach, including careful grouping, leveling, planning and collaboration, works. Yipee!!!"

In September 2006, Partners in School Innovation launched a three-year English Language Development Initiative to address the current gap in high-quality English Learner education in collaboration with E.L. Achieve. PartnersSI brings a proven, documented approach to school improvement that builds the systems and structures for ongoing leadership and instructional improvement. E.L. Achieve brings expertise in English Language Development theory and teacher professional development focused on effective instruction for English Learners.  By integrating their respective areas of expertise, a comprehensive approach to transform the quality of instruction for English Learners in low-performing schools is underway in 3 Research and Development school sites. Schools include Monroe (San Francisco Unified School District), Fairmount and Grant (San Jose Unified School District).

The ELD initiative, supported by the S.H. Cowell Foundation and the Morgan Family Foundation, provides examples of schools integrating a systematic approach to English Language Development with a comprehensive approach to school improvement and enables schools to build the knowledge, tools and mindset to dramatically impact the academic achievement of English Learners.

Learn more about the English Language Development Initiative:

PartnersSI ELD Initiative Abstract

The Whittier Daily News, August 14, 2008 -
"The best year-to-year improvement was at the 5,000-student Little Lake City School District, which increased its 2007 proficiency scores from 39 percent in English and 46 percent in math to 45 percent in English and 54 percent in math in 2008."  Little Lake City School District has been implementing Systematic ELD since 2006.

In October 2007, the San Diego County Office of Education released a report entitled "Successful Bilingual Schools:  Six Effective Programs in California" by Norm Gold. Two of the six successful bilingual schools identified Systematic ELD as a component of their success. Larsen Elementary, Hueneme School District and San Fernando Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District.  You can download the report on E.L. Achieve's Research/Articles webpage.

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) launched a statewide Systematic ELD initiative in August 2005. Many districts in the state have taken part in the ODE's initiative and have been implementing Systematic ELD.  In Spring 2008, when ODE released AMAO's for all its districts, a reporter from the Oregonian newspaper did an informal investigation into why some districts made progress in EL student achievement while others did not.  The reporter found that the districts making progress were implementing Systematic ELD.   While the program is not named in the article, the ODE has confirmed that the approach referred to in the article is A Focused Approach to Systematic ELD.  The article appeared in The Oregonian on March 6, 2008.

In Spring 2008, E.L. Achieve conducted an analysis of the California districts implementing Systematic ELD over the previous 3 years. The table below shows the percent of CA districts meeting Title III AMAO-3 each year.  The table includes new districts each year, beginning with 18 districts in 2004-05 and increasing to 37 districts in 2006-07.   The percent of English Learners meeting AMAO 3, Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency, has increased steadily each year.   In 2004-05, only 22% of CA districts implementing Systematic ELD met AMAO 3, increasing to 57% in 2006-07.  AMAO 3 has been the most challenging for districts to meet, yet is the main goal of English learner programs, to meet grade level proficiency in the content areas.

AMAO - Annual Measurable Achievement Objective as required by Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

*Note:  In 2006-07, the CELDT assessment was changed resulting in overall statewide decreases in the assessed level of English language proficiency. This table represents the AMAO results of CA districts currently implementing Systematic ELD.  To be included on this chart, districts provided the 20-hour Systematic ELD Institute during the school year prior to the 2007 CELDT (California English Language Development Test) and CST (California Standards Test) administrations.