SBCSS News and Press Releases

County English Learners Ahead Of State Averages On CELDT

2010-05-21

SAN BERNARDINO - English Learners in San Bernardino County scored better than the state proficiency averages for the fourth consecutive year on the annual California English Language Development Test (CELDT), which was released by the California Department of Education today.

With 42 percent of English Learners scoring proficient or a record 34,494 students for 2009-10, San Bernardino County was above the state average of 40 percent. The county proficiency rates were the combined totals of those who scored at advanced (10 percent) or early advanced (32 percent).

"It's gratifying that English Learners in our county are ahead of the state averages," County Superintendent Gary Thomas said. "Particularly in the higher grades, more students are being reclassified as fluent in English as we've ever had in our county. That's a testament to the work of students and their teachers."

Among grade levels from kindergarten to seniors in high school, eighth-graders in the county had the greatest proficiency rates at 59 percent, followed by seventh- and 12th-graders at 58 percent. For the second consecutive year, the number of students taking the test in the county dropped to 82,317, some 1,296 less than 2008-09.

The CELDT is one of four criteria for determining whether or not students should be reclassified to fluent English proficient. Other criteria include performance on the California Standards Test in English language arts (part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program), teacher evaluation, and parent opinion and consultation. Each school district establishes its own local reclassification procedures using these four criteria.

For more information on the CELDT results, visit the California Department of Education's website at www.cde.ca.gov.