By Quentin Monasterial
Courier Staff Reporter
CELDT, short for California English Language Development Test, is a state-mandated test on English proficiency that is administered to students whose primary language is not English, or students who are classified as English-learners (at least 450 of these students are here at James Logan).
Unlike many other tests (such as the ACT/SAT), the CELDT isn’t designed to give you a grade on your English proficiency. It is designed to assess a non-native English speaker’s English proficiency. Mr. Polk, the school official in charge of administering CELDT testing here at Logan, says that this allows them to “adequately place them to the levels where they belong” and allows students to learn English at their own pace.
There is a specific window in which the test is required for new students and annual students who haven’t been reclassified to be taken. Mr. Polk says “after schools starts, there is usually a thirty day window.”
Moreover, Mr. Polk, one of the House 3 principles, said there are five levels of proficiency: “Beginning, Early Intermediate, Intermediate, Early Advanced and Advanced.”
There are, of course, students who are from other countries. When these students comes to Logan, they are required to fill out a survey that inquires more about their home-language, allowing schools to decide whether or not to test the student with CELDT.
But enrollment in the ESL program isn’t set in stone. According to Mr. Polk, students who are required to take the CELDT can test out of the English-learner’s curriculum, meaning that they can become exempt from the CELDT (and any other ESL curriculum) once they reach a level of English proficiency that the district deems sufficient enough. Mr. Polk explains this with the term “reclassified,” because they are “reclassified as an English-speaker.”
However, to do this, ESL students have to meet criteria other than receiving a sufficient score on the CELDT, such as receiving an acceptable grade in their ESL classes. But the CELDT testing doesn’t end there; even after they exit the program, Mr. Polk says, “we still monitor their progress to make sure they are being proficient in their English classes.”
