Release: #05-18
February 7, 2005

Contact: Pam Slater
E-mail: communications@cde.ca.gov
Phone: 916-319-0818

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released results of the 2004 administration of the annual California English Language Development Test (CELDT) taken by more than 1.3 million English learners.

Preliminary results show that 47 percent of English learners in California's public schools scored at early advanced or advanced overall in English proficiency. (See Attachment A.) This is compared to 43 percent scoring at early advanced or advanced in 2003, 34 percent in 2002, and 25 percent in 2001, an increase of 22 percentage points in four years. (See Attachment B.)

"These results are a clear indication that statewide efforts to help all students learn English as quickly as possible are working," O'Connell said. "This is so important because as English learners achieve greater proficiency in English, they are more likely to reach higher academic levels in all their subjects."

School, school district, county, and state results of the 2004 CELDT administration are available on the California Department of Education (CDE) DataQuest Web site at California English Language Development Test (CELDT) Reporting Site.

This is the fourth year the state has required school districts to assess all English learners annually with one state-approved test during a specified period. The testing window for the 2004 annual administration was July 1, 2004 through October 31, 2004.

For the first time since the CELDT began in 2001, there has been a decrease in the number of English learners taking the annual CELDT assessment. (See Attachment C.)

In addition to state law, annual CELDT administration also meets the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirement that English learners must take an English proficiency test annually until they are reclassified to fluent English proficient. School districts receive annual progress reports indicating the number of English learners whose growth in English proficiency meets California's NCLB targets.

Compared to the rest of the nation, California has the greatest number of students whose primary language is not English. (See Attachment E.)

"There is still much to be done to meet the educational needs of our English learners," O'Connell said, "but we should be quite heartened by the progress that has occurred over the past four years."

The CELDT is aligned with state-adopted English Language Development Standards and assesses listening and speaking skills for kindergarten and first grade, and listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills for grades two through twelve.

The State Board of Education has approved guidelines for reclassifying English learners to fluent English proficient. The CELDT is the primary measure for determining English proficiency; other criteria include teacher evaluation, parent opinion and consultation, and performance on the California Standards Test in English-language arts (part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting [STAR] Program). Using these guidelines, each school district establishes a local reclassification process.

"It will be important to look at the percentage of English learners who will be reclassified in 2005, compared to the percentage who demonstrated English proficiency on the CELDT in 2004," O'Connell said.

Statewide statistics on the number of English learners reclassified in 2004 to fluent English proficient will be released in August 2005. This information is compiled annually from data submitted to the CDE by local school districts. The statewide Language Census report for 2003, as reported in April 2004, showed 8.3 percent of English learners reclassified to fluent English proficient by their school districts. (See Attachment D.) However, 43 percent of English learners demonstrated English proficiency on the CELDT in 2003.

"In the past four years, there has been a noticeable gap between the percentage of English learners demonstrating English proficiency on the CELDT and the percentage of English learners being reclassified by local school districts," O'Connell said. "I am concerned about this because English learners may not have full access to rigorous academic courses, such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate, until they have been reclassified to Fluent English Proficient. So I am urging California school districts to review their reclassifying procedures as well as the academic interventions provided to English learners."

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Attachment A

Annual CELDT Administration 2001–02 Compared to 2004–05*
Percentage of English Learners by Overall CELDT Proficiency Level

Overall Proficiency Level	2001-02 Percentage of English Learners	2002-03 Percentage of English Learners	2003-04 Percentage of English Learners	2004-05 Percentage of English Learners
Beginning	11	10	7	7
Early Intermediate	23	19	14	13
Intermediate	40	37	36	33
Early Advanced	21	25	32	32
Advanced	4	9	11	15
TOTAL	100	100	100	100

Key Points:

• This table includes all English learners who participated in the 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05 annual CELDT administration. This is not a matched cohort.
• The columns showing the percentage of English learners combine the scores for all four skill areas covered on the CELDT (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) into one overall proficiency level for all grades tested (K–12).
• The percentage of English learners scoring at the early advanced and advanced levels totaled 25 percent in 2001-02 and 47 percent in 2004-05, an increase of 22 percentage points.
• English learners attaining higher levels of English proficiency are more likely to reach higher levels of academic achievement.

* A total of 1,262,296 English learners participated in the annual CELDT assessment in 2001-02, 1,297,435 in 2002-03, 1,357,754, and 1,344,091 in 2004-05.

Attachment B

Increase in English Proficiency
English Learners Assessed with Annual CELDT

Year	Percent at Early Advanced and Above
2001	25
2002	34
2003	43
2004	47

Key Points:

• Forty-seven percent of English learners taking the 2004 annual CELDT scored at early advanced or advanced overall in English proficiency.
• These results show a 22 percent increase in the percent of English learners scoring at early advanced or advanced since the first annual CELDT administration in 2001.

Attachment C

Number of English Learners Assessed with Annual CELDT

Year	Number of English Learners
2001	1,262,296
2002	1,297,435
2003	1,362,228
2004	1,344,091

Key Points:

• The number of English learners assessed with the 2004 annual CELDT decreased for the first time since this program began in 2001.
• This trend is consistent with the most recent R-30 Language Census Report (spring 2004) that indicated a decrease in the number of English learners from the previous year.

Attachment D

Percentage of English Learners Reclassified to Fluent English Proficient*

Year	Percentage Reclassified as Fluent English Proficient
2001-02	7.80
2002-03	7.70
2003-04	8.30

* Compiled from statewide data reported to the California Department of Education each year by school districts on the R-30 Language Census Report.

Attachment E

Number of English Learners by Grade Level 2004*

Grade	Number of English Learners
K	166,248
1	179,123
2	177,561
3	161,301
4	151,207
5	131,026
6	113,809
7	107,745
8	95,547
9	98,852
10	81,369
11	63,603
12	49,067

* 2004 R-30.