Subject: English Language Learners
Grade Level(s): K – 12
Measures Growth: No
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The California English Language Development Test measures the English language skills of students whose primary language is not English, to determine instructional needs. Aligned to the English language development state standards, the CELDT measures language proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. The test is also used to measure annual progress of students previously identified as English language learners.
Pros: Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking
Pros: Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • It is hard to use the data
The CELDT Test is not an appropriate assessment of a student's actual language skills. With regards to students with special needs, there is not a modified assessment available and therefore I think they do not have a fair opportunity to be successful on such an important test.
Submitted by Kara in California on April 19, 2013
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Data is presented clearly
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
Students with disabilities have inaccurate results over time. The CELDT does not take into account students who have reading or writing disabilities.
Submitted by Debra in California on April 18, 2013
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
There are absolutely no pros for this assessment. It does not help me understand what my English Learners need to learn to progress to the next proficiency level. Also, it is administered in the beginning of the year when teachers are trying to develop their classrooms as learning communities, and as such interferes with the development of the classroom routine. Data is not received until several months after the test is administered and is not specific enough to inform instruction.
Submitted by Jennifer in California on April 13, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
I have given this test and I also have had my students assessed by others. In fact, I remember when my school district used what we called the BINL. I have never found a second language assessment test to be very accurate. I have had students who did very poorly on the test and then read, spelled, or wrote beautifully. I also have had students who did very well but perform poorly on assessments the rest of the year. It's hard to get into the mind of a second language learner, let alone a student who does speak the primary language!
Submitted by becca in California on April 10, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
The data is too late to be of any use. The data comes so late that students are not reclassified as they master the standards. It is not an authentic assessment of student learning or mastery.
Submitted by Pam in California on January 25, 2012
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
This assessment is wildly unreliable. The standardized data is not readily available. I can't imagine that the results from the speaking section are reliable.
Submitted by Celeste in California on January 24, 2012
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
I think there is a need for the CELDT, but assessing them at the beginning of the year is not the right time. Also, there is a lag in receiving the results so it is difficult to use the data. Also, it takes a long time to administer. There are so many sections and you need to take at least 20 minutes per student for the speaking section. Also some of the questions in the speaking section were bizarre. The timing and test need some revamping!
Submitted by Sarah in California on January 23, 2012
Pros: Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
Pros: The listening and speaking section gives me a general idea of where my students begin in regard to English proficiency. The reading section tests letter/sound correspondence well.
Cons:
The writing section for Kindergarten is mainly focused on copying letters and is not challenging. My Kindergarten students are leaving my classroom by the time that we receive results.
Instructional time is lost due to the fact that some of the sections must be given one-on-one. Schools with large percentages of ELL students lose the most instructional time due to the CELDT.
Submitted by Karina in California on January 21, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
Why is the CELDT given at the beginning of the year? It'd be more helpful if I could teach my students and then assess them out of the process.
Submitted by Loribeth in California on January 21, 2012
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
The CELDT is administered 2 weeks after school starts. It takes about 30 minutes to administer the test to every English Language Learner (20 in my class!). After all that hard work and time, I don't get to see the results until the end of the school year. Not useful at all for tracking student's progress during the school year.
Submitted by Gabriela in California on January 20, 2012
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
This test is meant to measure growth in English acquisition. Yet, it is administered two weeks after students return from an extended summer vacation during which many of them will have spoken, read, and written little to no English. Without passing the CELDT, students entering middle school have limited access to enrichment and acceleration.
Submitted by Su in California on January 17, 2012
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