The Ministry provides targeted funding to support English language learners with high language learning needs. The learners come from a range of diverse migrant and refugee backgrounds.
From 2010 all English-medium schools with year 1 to 8 students will use National Standards in reading, writing, and mathematics. The standards aim to ensure all students can learn across the curriculum.
National Standards will set benchmarks of progress and achievement that may be unrealistic for children who are new learners of English.
NAG2A requires schools to report to students and their parents on the students’ progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards. Reporting to parents in plain language in writing must occur at least twice a year. (See MoE: Boards of Trustees for information on reporting processes and support for students.) Many English language learners will initially not meet the expectations of the National Standards. Therefore it is recommended that schools also assess their progress and achievement and report to parents and students in relation to the English Language Learning Progressions, as this will indicate how well the students are doing in terms of closing the gap with their peers.
Students need to see themselves as successful learners, and parents need to see their children as successful learners.
Report to students and parents the students’ progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards. For example: 'Fa’afetai is not yet meeting the National Standard appropriate for his year level because he is in the early stages of learning English’.
Read more about The National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) >>
Read more about reporting processes and support for students >>
Guidance for reporting on English language learners
This resource provides further guidance for boards with English language learners in years 1-8 that use The New Zealand Curriculum to set their teaching and learning programmes, and includes an optional template for boards to use in their reporting.
In addition to reporting progress and achievement to students and parents in relation to the National Standards, the Ministry recommends that schools also report in relation to the English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP). (See guidelines below.)
The progressions (ELLP) provide a guide to typical language learning pathways for a student learning English as an additional language.
Ministry guidelines are available for reporting to parents and students the progress and achievement in reading and writing for English language learners who are not yet meeting the expectations of the National Standards.
Students working within foundation stage and stage 1 of ELLP should be tracked and monitored, and have their progress reported to parents and students using the ELLP as well as in relation to the National Standards.
Students working within foundation stage, stage 1, or stage 2 of ELLP should be tracked and monitored, and have their progress reported to parents and students using the ELLP as well as in relation to the National Standards.
English language learners need to have appropriate levels of English language proficiency before information on them is drawn from assessment tools that have been normed for native speakers of English. If overall teacher judgments include data from such tools, they may not be reliable judgments about English language learners’ cognitive ability, but, rather, judgments about their ability to function in English-medium classrooms. (Refer to the ESOL Progress Assessment Guidelines for information about appropriate assessment tools for English language learners.)
The process for making an overall teacher judgment is similar for all students. (See below.) However, the data, and the analysis of that data, may be different for English language learners.
Schools and teachers will need to decide whether to report each English language learner’s progress and achievement in relation to the ELLP as well as in relation to the National Standards.
For all English language learners in years 1-8 it is critical that the National Standards, which are signposts for age-appropriate achievement are kept in view, and that the ELLP are viewed as a pathway towards meeting the expectations of the National Standards.
English language learners’ progress and achievement in mathematics will be reported in relation to the mathematics standards.
Students learn mathematics through language and, to a great extent, display their knowledge and understanding of mathematics, through language. At all times principals and teachers will need to be cognisant of the needs of English language learners and the implications of this for displaying their understanding of mathematics.
Updated on: 19 Jun 2013
