Oregon Reading First Progress Overall and Progress with English Language Learners

1. Oregon Reading FirstProgress Overall and Progress with English Language Learners Scott K. Baker, Ph.D. Pacific Institutes for Research University of Oregon Institute on Beginning Reading Day 2: Focus on English Language Learners June 24, 2005

2. Reading First & English Language Learners:Students Who Met the Spring SAT-10 Goal

3. NAEP: Reading Performance at Grades 4, 8, and 12 Grade 4 Grade 8 Grade 12

4. NAEP: No Decrease in the Reading Gap Over Time

5. Oregon Department of Education • Kayla Barsted • Joni Gilles • Russ Sweet • Marianne Smith • Helen McGuire • Margaret Bates • Salam Noor

6. Carrie Thomas Beck Edward J. Kame’enui Hank Fien Trish Travers Rachell Katz Scott K. Baker Barb Gunn Josh Wallin Janet Otterstedt Anna Ingram Deni Basaraba Jon Hays Jennifer Walt Marianne Oakes Nicole Sherman Brewer Katie Tate Patrick Kennedy Paine Beth Harn Oregon Reading First Center

7. 34 Oregon Reading Fist Schools • District administrators • Principals • Coaches • K-3 teachers • ESL teachers • Special education teachers • Instructional Assistants

8. Oregon Reading First Framework • What are our reading goals? • How are we doing? • How do we get there?

9. Oregon Reading First End-of-Year Reading Goals (in English)

10. Reading First & English Language LearnersStudents Who Met the Spring SAT-10 Goal

11. Students At Risk in the Fall Who Got On Track by the Spring

12. Students On Track in the Fall Who Stayed On Track in the Spring

13. Students At Risk in the Fall Who Got On Track by the Spring

14. Reading First ELL vs. Non-ELL Students:Kindergarten Spring PSF Benchmark Rates by Fall ISF Risk Status Group ns ns ns

15. Reading First ELL vs. Non-ELL Students:1st Grade Spring ORF Benchmark Rates by Fall NWF Risk Status Group ns ns *

16. Reading First & English Language Learners The Relation Between DIBELS and the SAT-10

17. Who are English Language Learners? Students from language backgrounds other than English and with proficiency in English not yet developed to the point where they can profit fully from English-only instruction (NRC Report, 1997)

18. Academic Programs for ELLs • Transitional Bilingual Education – Instruction in primary language during the first few years of school – goal is transition to English as rapidly as possible • Approximately 50% of ELLs • English-only programs – varying degrees of support to help students learn a new language and content simultaneously • Approximately 30–40% of ELLs

19. Research Base on ELLs • Lack of useful research partially explains low achievement among many ELL groups • “Federal policy with regard to ELLs has been based on relatively little research . . . and predominance of politics.” (NRC Report, p. 23) • “With regard to reading instruction in a second language, there is remarkably little direct relevant research.”(NRP Report, 1997)

20. Three Lines of U.S. Research with ELLs • Basic research bilingualism • Program evaluations • School and classroom effectiveness

21. Basic research on second-language acquisition and bilingualism • Basic research on second-language acquisition and bilingualism • Essentially descriptive in nature • Not concerned with academic outcomes per se

22. Program Evaluation Research • TBE vs. English-only to address major policy question: • Language of instruction • Focus on academic content and language acquisition

23. Program Evaluation Research “There is little value in conducting evaluations to determine which type of program is best. The key issue is not finding a program that works for all children and all localities but rather finding a set of program components that works for the children in the community of interest, given that community’s goals, demographics, and resources” (NRC, p. 138)

24. Program Evaluation Research • Significant design limitations of large and small scale studies • Evidence for beneficial effects of native-language and structured immersion programs

25. School and Classroom Effectiveness • Descriptions of school and program environments • Schools and classrooms thought to be effective • Theoretically driven instruction • Minimal link to specific instructional practices

26. Observation Study on Reading Instruction with ELLs in Grade 1 Examples from a 2-year study with English Language Learners Three objectives • Collect promising student reading measures with ELLs in Grade 1 • Systematically observe beginning reading instruction in Grade 1 classrooms • Investigate the relationship between instructional practices in reading and student performance on reading measures

27. Spanish 266 (60%) English 85 (19%) Somali 23 (5%) Vietnamese 19 (4%) Hmong 16 (4%) Cambodian 14 (3%) Cantonese 12 (3%) Tagolog 5 (.1%) Chinese 3 (.1%) Laotian 2 (.1%) Primary Languages of Participating Students

28. Student Performance Measures • DIBELS measures at the beginning and end of the year • Phonemic Segmentation Fluency • Nonsense Word Fluency • Oral Reading Fluency • A measure of Reading Comprehension at the end of the year

29. Systematic Classroom Observations • Moderate inference instrument • 30 items rated on a 1-7 scale • General effectiveness items • Items specifically targeting effective instruction for ELLs • Items targeting instruction in Reading / Language Arts Framework • Observers w/ expertise in ELLs and beginning reading • All observations for the duration of the 2.5 hour reading period

30. General Conclusions of Observation Study Evidence the primary measures had established reliability and predicted outcomes for English Language Learners • Meaningful variability in performance • Fluency as an index of “comprehension” • Ability to predict meaningful outcomes • Performance patterns that make sense in the context of other students • Providing pictures of growth over time

31. General Conclusions of Observation Study • Evidence that DIBELS measures important reading outcomes with English Language Learners • Initial evidence that outcomes at the end of Grade 1 are an important predictor of future reading performance for ELLs A key issue becomes determining what factors lead to successful reading performance at the end of Grade 1

32. General Conclusions of Observation Study Factors that May PredictReading Outcomes • Reading performance at beginning of the year • ELL Status: i.e., ELL or native English speaker • Among ELLs -- level of English language proficiency • Reading Instruction throughout the year Also possible that some combination of variables may “interact” to achieve best prediction

33. General Conclusions of Observation Study Explicit Teaching Improves the Odds of Strong Reading Outcomes • Items from the Observation Instrument: • Models skills and strategies during the lesson • Makes relationships among concepts overt • Emphasizes distinctive features of new concepts • Provides scaffolds in how to use strategies, skills, and concepts • Focus of literacy activities changes regularly • Adjusts use of English to make concepts comprehensible

34. General Conclusions of Observation Study Sheltered Teaching Techniques Improve the Odds of Strong Reading Outcomes • Items from the Observation Instrument • Uses visuals and manipulatives to teach content • Provides explicit instruction in English language use • Encourages students to give elaborate responses • Uses gestures and facial expressions in teaching vocabulary and clarifying meaning of content