ENGLISH LEARNERS (EL)

Welcome to the English Language Learner Department.  Students who qualify for program services through an English language proficiency screening receive EL services at their school. Students receive varying levels of language and content support based on the English proficiency level, academic and language needs of the student. Instruction may take place in the classroom and/or in a pull-out small group.

The ACCESS test is administered annually.

ACCESS stands for: Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners.

• ACCESS for ELLs™ is a standards-based English language proficiency test.
• It assesses social and instructional English as well as the language associated with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies within the school context across the four language domains (speaking, listening, reading and writing).
• The Screener will be used for initial identification of new students; the full ACCESS will help us identify a student’s language growth in all of the language domains and content areas.
•  It is required by the State of Illinois for accountability purposes.
• It will help us understand our students better. We will be able to see their areas of language strengths as well as language needs in all of the content areas.

For more information, visit the ISBE website.