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1342.12 Companion
July 12, 2017
Page 133
Pre-referral information that may be gathered includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Pre-referral Information
A comprehensive review of the student’s academic record:
o
Years of formal schooling
o
Grades and achievement data
o
Frequency of school attendance
o
Number of schools attended in the past
o
Learning difficulties noted in the native country
o
Language of instruction in native country
A review of family history including cultural economic background:
o
Socioeconomic background, the educational level, and occupation of family members
o
Family cultural background including ethnic group, country, beliefs, language
o
Medical history including a current vision and hearing evaluation
Information about language dominance and the student’s motivation to learn English or speak
in his/her native language:
o
Parents’ fluency and level of proficiency in the native language and in English
o
Acculturation levels of parents and student
o
Duration and quality of instruction in the native language and English
Information about the student’s proficiency in the use of language in the four modalities
(speaking, listening, reading, and writing) (in English and native language - if feasible):
Basic interpersonal communication skills.
o
Cognitive/academic language skills
o
Academic screenings
o
Work samples
o
Oral language samples
o
Classroom observations including student’s interaction and communication with peers
and staff across settings
o
Structured Observations such as the SOLOM (Student Oral Language Observation
Matrix)
Information regarding services, interventions, and strategies previously used by the student:
o
Types of services
o
Learning style
o
Types of classroom adaptations including accommodations and modifications and their
effectiveness
Formal Referral to CSC
At the end of the pre-referral process, the ESL teacher, the general education teacher (s) and other
appropriate educators, review the student’s progress and information gathered with the parent to make
the decision as to whether or not language acquisition can be ruled out as a factor affecting the child’s
performance. Referral of the student to the CSC should indicate that all other avenues have been
explored and the general education program alone cannot meet the student’s needs. The CSC must
include the ESL teacher for all ELL referrals.
Planning and Administering Assessments
When an ELL student is in the assessment process, and the CSC administers assessments
standardized on English populations, the scores should be interpreted with caution and
considered within the broader context of all data collected.