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Chapter 10: Deciding on Levels and Objectives for Levels (Content Standards)
Ensuring Student Success- Chapter 10
How do I decide what levels my program should have and what skills students should have at each level?
► ESOL leveling systems and content standards are important tools for understanding your students’ English proficiency levels and establishing what skills should be achieved at each level, respectively. Smaller (or new) programs may only have one or two classes with students of more than one ESOL proficiency level in the class. (A web search on “teaching multi-level ESL classes” will yield a multitude of strategies on helping your instructors teach those types of classes.)
Deciding on Levels and Objectives for Levels (Content Standards)
To understand the English level of each of your students, there are a number of different leveling systems; these are the most commonly used:
National Reporting System (NRS) Educational Functioning Levels for ESL
https://nrsweb.org/sites/default/files/NRS-TA-Mar2021-2024-508.pdf
The level descriptors for ESL pages 28-30.
The NRS system of levels is one that is used by many adult ESOL programs all over the United States. The level descriptions were updated in late 2017. It consists of six levels:
1. Beginning Literacy
2. Low Beginning
3. High Beginning
4. Low Intermediate
5. High Intermediate
6. Advanced
At each level there are outcomes that students should be able to meet to indicate they are ready to move on to the next level. The descriptions are broken down into what students should be able to do in three areas:
- Interpretive: reading and listening in both their daily lives and in academic/work settings
- Productive: speaking and writing in various contexts
- Interactive: the skills needed to understand and create meaningful interactions in various contexts for both oral and written forms
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines
https://www.actfl.org/terms-and-conditionsThis is another common level system, though more for academic programs. It has a total of 11 levels. It covers what students should be able to do for five main levels and moves from someone with very few skills to the language skills of a “highly articulate, well educated language user.”
The levels are:
- Novice: Low | Mid | High
- Intermediate: Low | Mid | High
- Advanced: Low | Mid | High
- Superior
- Distinguished
The standards are organized by language skill rather than by level. The language skills covered are speaking, writing, listening, and reading.
■ How can content standards be used and what are some examples?
Once you have determined the level system, you can also look at a variety of standards that can help you decide what students should be able to do at each level.
Content standards describe what students should know or be able to do based on a level system. Within the standards are outcomes that demonstrate the students are able to meet the standards. In addition to telling you what students should know and be able to do, the contents standards and outcomes can also help you and your instructors know what to teach and focus in on and how to assess progress. They can also help you to be able to talk to students and people inside and outside your organization about what you are teaching students.
Maryland Content Standards
https://www.dllr.state.md.us/gedmd/cs/eslcs.docThese standards are also based on six NRS levels (Literacy—Advanced), though an earlier version.
They start by indicating what oral and written skills students should have when they are place in that level, as well as the workplace skills they should have.
They then break down what students should be able to do when they are ready to complete the level, regarding: Listening • Speaking • Pronunciation • Reading • Writing • Grammar
Or if you would like to see what students should be able to do in each language skill area, there is a listing for those. For example, you can see what students should be able to do for reading at each level. In addition to this there are also skills that can be incorporated into lesson planning regarding:
- Cultural Skills
- Workplace Skills
- Technology Skills (much of this is still relevant, but some is a bit out of date)
- Metacognitive Skills
There are also helpful chapters on: • Unit Planning • Lesson Planning
English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards for Adults
https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/elp-standards-adult-ed.pdfThe ELP standards are designed to take students beyond just life skills to increase the rigor of programs to better prepare them for college and careers. They also form the basis of the levels in the new NRS standards addressed above. There are essentially 10 standards that increase in complexity through five levels. There are standards that focus on receptive skills (reading and listening), productive skills (writing and speaking) and linguistic structures (vocabulary, grammar, and cohesion). There are also standards that are interactive, which means they involve using both receptive and productive skills.
For example, students may be expected to be able to gather information from various written and digital sources and integrate that information into a short written report.
Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB): ESL for Adults
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdfThe CLB goes into much more depth and addresses many more areas of language ability than any of the other standards. While breaking down what students should be able to do across 12 levels for reading, listening, speaking, and writing, they also explain the skills students should have related to the “communicative competence” model for language learning, incorporating organizational knowledge, pragmatic knowledge, and strategic competence. They further explain what students should be able to do in competency areas such as interacting with others, comprehending/giving directions, and “getting things done.” They provide indicators to show the students have attained the various skills and specific classroom tasks that can help students to demonstrate they have achieved those indicators.
■ Are there other resources with more details about what students should be able to do?
CASAS Competencies
https://www.casas.org/product-overviews/curriculum-management-instruction
CASAS “competencies” form the basis for the CASAS test used by many Adult ESOL programs. They are less focused specifically on language and more on what people need to do with the language, or what they need to be able to talk about.
They are broken down into the content areas below.
- Basic Communication
- Community Resources
- Consumer Economics
- Math
- Health
- Independent Living
- Employment
- Government and Law
- Learning and Thinking Skills
The website provides:
- A list of the competencies by content area
- CASAS resource QuickSearch which allows you to find resources related to each competency
- A list of which competencies are appropriate for each NRS level
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) Companion Volume with New Descriptors
https://rm.coe.int/cefr-companion-volume-with-new-descriptors-2018/1680787989What distinguishes this framework is that it covers language skills of students not included in any others, such as compensating when they don’t know what to say, explaining data, communicating online, and taking turns in a conversation.
Deciding on Levels and Objectives for Levels (Content Standards)
♦ NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Cecilia Rojas, Language Outreach Program Director for Community Reach, on their recent program review to align the curriculum with the targeted class levels and the skills the learners wished to master
Cecilia Rojas, Language Outreach Program Director for Community Reach, on their recent program review to align the curriculum with the targeted class levels and the skills the learners wished to master: “In 2018 the Language Outreach Program (LOP) formed a workgroup to review the current curriculum and course objectives for each of the levels offered in the program. The workgroup was comprised of new and returning teachers, students, and LOP administrative staff. Revisions were made to all the course objectives with particular emphasis in the development of new assessments for the speaking and listening areas.
Based on the written and oral feedback we received from our student, teacher, and LOP staff evaluations, we felt that a comprehensive and in-depth review of our curriculum documents, assessments, and resources was warranted to ensure that everything meets the standards and expectations of MCAEL; that required curriculum components are all present and complete; and finally that the curriculum is appropriate for the targeted level of the language learners.
"Families felt frustrated when unable to participate in their children’s parent teacher conferences."
LOP is student-focused and we wanted to ensure our curriculum is not only following best practices in the field, but that it also squarely meets the needs and interests of our students. The vast majority of students expressed interest in improving their ability to speak English (communicate) for work, at the doctor’s office, at school, and at other places they visit with family. Teachers expressed the need to improve the program’s assessments to engage students in their own learning and progression through the course materials. LOP staff noted the frustration many of the families felt when they are unable to fill out forms, fully participate in their children’s parent teacher conferences, or are unable to speak with their supervisors at work. Since its beginning, LOP has been responsive to the needs of the community it serves and that was the driving force in reviewing the curriculum and making the appropriate needed improvements.”