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ESL Standards: Preface
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Preface by Deborah Short, Project Director, March 1997
The ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students is the result of many years' effort on the part of TESOL members and others who have sought to improve the education of students who are learning English as a second or additional language in the United States. The effort began more than 6 years ago with a TESOL task force chaired by Denise McKeon. It quickly became apparent to ESL educators in the United States at that time that the students we serve were not being included in the standards-setting movement that was sweeping the country. The task force sought to ensure educational equity and opportunity for our students and developed the Access Brochure, the text of which can be found in Appendix A. The Access Brochure was instrumental in getting school-based personnel to consider our students and include them in school reform efforts.
The task force's goal then shifted, and Else Hamayan became the new chair of a smaller team. Many of the original task force members continued to work on the effort as key advisors and have provided advice and feedback. The goal of this new task force was to create a conceptual framework for setting standards for ESL. Promising Futures is the document this team developed, and it is available through TESOL's Professional Paper series. Promising Futures is also the basis for the introduction to this standards document.
In March 1995, the TESOL Board of Directors approved a project that would develop a full standards document. The project committee, as the new task force came to be known, created the organization for the current document--establishing the goals, standards, and explications of the standards, namely the descriptors, progress indicators, vignettes, and discussions. We decided to organize the standards by grade-level clusters (pre-K-3, 4-8, 9-12) and to address different English proficiency levels (beginning, intermediate, advanced, and limited formal schooling). Writing teams from many TESOL affiliates, one National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) affiliate, and several states crafted the standards, descriptors, progress indicators, and vignettes during the summer and fall of 1995. These volunteers drew from their own experiences to create a living document that represents the field of ESL in the United States. A list of these writing team members is found in Appendix B. A draft of the ESL standards was released in March 1996. Since then, numerous educators and policy makers have reviewed the document and commented on it. This final document reflects, to the extent possible, the valuable feedback that TESOL has received.
The project will not finish upon this publication of the ESL standards. TESOL is committed to helping educators translate the goals and standards into classroom practice. Future work includes the preparation of assessment guidelines and scenarios that link these ESL standards with classroom assessments, teacher education and curriculum development materials, and professional development opportunities. In all, this is an exciting effort that should improve the education of students learning English as an additional language and help them achieve success in school and beyond.
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