LAS Links Assessment is given to English language learners within school districts, according to Warsaw Community School Corp. Chief Accountability Officer Amy Sivley.
The purpose is to determine a student’s level of English proficiency, she told the school board at its meeting Monday night. Placement tests are given upon students’ enrollment in school. These determine the ELL services appropriate for the student, and are used for accountability purposes.
Many of WCS’s English language learners were born here and live here, Sivley said, but don’t speak English at home so that’s what triggers the LAS Links test.
Students in kindergarten through 12th are assessed in four domains – listening, speaking, reading and writing, Sivley said. They receive scores on speaking, listening, reading, writing, oral and comprehension.
Scores are a three-digit number and coincide with a level. Level 1 is beginning, 2 is early intermediate, 3 is intermediate, 4 is advanced and Level 5 is fluent English proficiency.
According to information Sivley presented, in 2011, 6 percent were Level 1, while 42 percent were Level 4 and 18 percent were Level 5.
In 2012, 5 percent were Level 1, 46 percent were Level 4 and 21 percent were Level 5.
Sivley said of the 37 Level 1 students, 29 (78 percent) were first-time test takers earlier this year. Of the remaining eight, 50 percent made a 12-point gain.
Thirty-three out of the 65 (51 percent) Level 2 students were first-time test takers. Of the remaining 32, 69 percent (22 students) made a 12-point gain.
Out of the 168 Level 3 students, 46 (27 percent) were first-time test takers. Seventy-three percent (89 students) of the remaining 122 made a 12-point gain.
Once a student tests to Level 5 two times, they are no longer tested and school districts receive no further federal dollars for that student.
Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives are used in determining Title III funding. The AMAOs are set by the Department of Education.
AMAO 1 is the percent of limited English proficient students in kindergarten to 12th grade whose performance on LAS Links increased 12 or more points from their most recent prior LAS Links.
The second AMAO is the percent of LEP students who attained a Level 1-4 overall proficiency on a prior LAS Links test and increased to an overall Level 5 on the current test.
Sivley said over the last three years, WCS really was at or above the state target for the AMAOs.
“Our English language learners population – the interventions we have done – have performed above the state standards set for us,” she said.
