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In this module, you will explore:

• the background information that is relevant to reporting progress and achievement for English language learners in secondary schools
• key ideas about reporting progress and achievement to parents
• specific ideas for leading the professional development and learning of others in your school.

To help you, you will need:

• The English Language Learning Progressions: Years 9–13
• The Literacy Learning Progressions
• The New Zealand Curriculum
• a copy of your school reporting format(s).

Summary of key messages about reporting progress

• Most English language learners will be able to work at the curriculum level of their cohort in their first language/s. However, they will need scaffolding so that they can access curriculum content that is delivered in English. They will need support with:
  • English language and literacy development
  • background knowledge and understandings about contexts
  • ways of learning in New Zealand classrooms.
• Teachers, deans, families, and whānau all benefit from understanding the English language learner pathways described in the English Language Learning Progressions and how these pathways are related to The New Zealand Curriculum, The Literacy Learning Progressions, and NCEA.
• A key purpose of reporting student progress and achievement is to inform the students themselves and to ensure they are able to track their own pathway and reflect on their own progress.
• Making accelerated progress must be the goal for English language learners who are achieving below their age-level cohort in English literacy and who need to reach this constantly moving cohort. TheEnglish Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) provide a pathway towards the English language proficiency level that students need so they can meet the expectations for learning at years 9–13 of the curriculum.
• Some English language learners are working above the expectations for their year level. In these cases, schools may choose to use the ELLP or the NCEA literacy requirements rather than the ELLP matrices to report their progress. TheLiteracy Learning Progressions describe the expectations for year-appropriate literacy skills for the junior secondary school. The NCEA literacy requirements indicate some expectations in the senior secondary school.
• In order to ensure the school’s reporting processes are understood and acceptable, schools need to recognise the diversity of their family and whānau communities and engage in discussion with relevant groups. It is helpful if guardians can pass information on to the families of international students

Purpose

In this section of the module, you will explore background information that is relevant to reporting the progress and achievement of English language learners.

This includes:

• Key messages
• The New Zealand Curriculum – Setting the direction
• Who the English Language Learning Progressions are for
• Why schools should use the English Language Learning Progressions
• Making an overall teacher judgment for English language learners
• Moderation using the English Language Learning Progressions.

Key messages: Questions to think about or discuss with colleagues

Read the key messages for this module and prepare to discuss the questions below.

key messages about reporting - Secondary - 1 (PDF 69KB)

What are the different purposes for reporting progress and achievement to:

• students?
• parents, families, and whānau?
• Boards of Trustees?
• the Ministry of Education?

The New Zealand Curriculum – Setting the direction

• One of the visions of The New Zealand Curriculum is to develop “confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners” (page 8). Engaging English language learners and their families in monitoring each student’s progress and achievement can contribute to this outcome.
• All the learning areas of the curriculum provide the appropriate contexts for cognitively rich and challenging teaching and learning for all students, regardless of their English language proficiency. However, for English language learners, teachers will need to provide scaffolding to help them access curriculum content (which includes amplifying language rather than simplifying it).
• Focusing on developing key competencies will support learning.
• The principles in The New Zealand Curriculum (page 9) underpin all decisions teachers and schools make about their teaching and learning programmes.
  • The principle of inclusion states that we “ensure that students’ identities, languages, abilities, and talents are affirmed and that their learning needs are addressed”.
  • The principle of high expectations states that “the curriculum supports and empowers all students to learn and achieve personal excellence, regardless of their individual circumstances”.
  • The principle of coherence requires us to provide for “coherent transitions, and [to] open up pathways for further learning”.

Think about or discuss with colleagues:

• What do you do in your classroom to address each of the points above?
• How does your school address each of the points above?

Who are The English Language Learning Progressions for?

The English Language Learning Progressions is effective with a wide range of learners, including:

• students from homes where a language other than English is spoken
• ESOL-funded students from migrant, refugee, or New Zealand backgrounds
• previously ESOL-funded students who have exceeded their funding period
• students transitioning from kura to English-medium learning environments
• students from bilingual education settings
• international fee-paying students.

Why should schools use The English Language Learning Progressions?

The English Language Learning Progressions provides:

• a nationally consistent set of progressions that enable teachers to identify and describe specific stages of English language learning
• a detailed description of English language learners’ progress and achievement in reading, writing, speaking, and listening as they move towards the relevant curriculum expectations
• a means for showing a student’s pace of progress and achievement over time (which will ensure you know if their pace of progress is limited and consider whether the student’s learning needs are being met)
• a document for teachers to use to track, monitor, and report the progress and achievement of individual students
• guidance about learning an additional language and learning in an additional language
• matrices and exemplars that support teachers to give feedback to students and families on a student’s next learning steps
• a tool for aggregating information about groups of students in a school (which is especially useful for reporting to the Board of Trustees).

Please note: The English Language Learning Progressions are valuable for all of the purposes described above, even if schools choose not to use them for reporting to parents, families, and whānau.

Making an overall teacher judgment for English language learners

Teachers use several sources of information to place a student on the appropriate stages of The English Language Learning Progressions.

Teachers draw on a variety of information from a range of sources, including assessment tools, learning conversations, and observations.

The process of making an overall teacher judgment is similar for all students, but there are some important points of difference for English language learners.

When assessment tools that have been norm referenced for students whose first language is English are used with an English language learner, the results may lead their teacher to make inappropriate judgments about aspects of the student’s ability, for example:

• the student may be able to make inferences and draw conclusions from reading, but the unfamiliar vocabulary or context may prevent them from displaying this skill
• the student’s performance in secondary school entrance tests might result in them being placed in lower-band classes when they have the potential to work well in higher-band classes.

 
If you need to order these materials, please email  [email protected] or telephone 0800 660 662.

Moderation using The English Language Learning Progressions

Moderation with a classroom teacher and an ESOL teacher

In many schools, a classroom teacher and an ESOL teacher can work together to moderate their overall teacher judgments in relation to the ELLP stages. This is a valuable process as each professional brings different knowledge of and perspectives on a student.

Moderation in groups

Moderation may also involve teachers in a group, either within a school or from different schools. Local ESOL cluster meetings and ESOL workshops are possible contexts for supporting this process of group moderation.

Purpose

In this section of the module, you will explore reporting learners’ progress and achievement to parents in secondary schools. This includes:

• Relevant aspects of the National Administration Guidelines (NAGs)
• Which students will have their English literacy progress and achievement reported using The English Language Learning Progressions?
• What will you say to parents, families, and whānau about learning in school?
• Assessing the progress of English language learners in curriculum learning areas in years 9–13
• Written reports for English language learners
• Community engagement

Relevant aspects of the National Administration Guidelines (NAGs)

Relevant aspects of the National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) are:

NAG 1: (c) on the basis of good quality assessment information, identify students and groups of students:

• who are not achieving
• who are at risk of not achieving
• who have special needs (including gifted and talented students)
• aspects of the curriculum which require particular attention.

NAG 2: (c) report to students and their parents on the achievement of individual students, and to the school's community on the achievement of students as a whole and of groups (identified through NAG 1(c) above).

The progress and achievement of secondary English language learners may be reported to parents in relation to the listening, speaking, reading, and writing matrices in ELLP rather than in relation to the English curriculum levels.

Which students will have their English literacy progress and achievement reported using the ELLP?

For all students, it is critical that TheLiteracy Learning Progressions and the NCEA literacy requirements, which are signposts for age or year-appropriate achievement, are the long-term goal.

• Students who are English language learners may be reported in relation to the national expectations described in The Literacy Learning Progressions and the NCEA literacy requirements or in relation to the matrices in the ELLP.
• When deciding whether a student should be reported in relation to the national expectations or in relation to the ELLP stages, teachers need to understand background information about the student (for example, how long they have been in the New Zealand education system and whether they have had interrupted schooling).
• Generally, teachers should encourage secondary students learning at Foundation Stage, Stage 1, and Stage 2 of the ELLP to view their own progress in relation to these stages. Reporting progress to parents for these students in relation to English curriculum levels may be of limited value. It may be unhelpful in establishing learning needs and next steps and may not enable progress in language learning to be reported and acknowledged.
• When students are working at ELLP Stage 3 or 4, they are getting closer to cohort level and may be reported in relation to The Literacy Learning Progressions and the NCEA literacy requirements.
• The English Language Learning Progressions continue to be a helpful tool for informing teaching and learning even when students are working at or above ELLP Stage 3.

What will you say to the parents, families, and whānau of English language learners about the student’s learning?

This diagram from The English Language Learning Progressions illustrates the relationships between the progress of English language learners in acquiring proficiency in English and the levels in the learning areas of the curriculum.

You could copy this diagram and the explanation of the relationship between learning in the curriculum learning areas and learning English from the PDF and use them to support your discussions with parents, families, and whānau. You could use them as part of a school report and/or as a prompt when conferencing with parents, families, and whānau.

The key points in the diagram and the relationship between students’ progress in English language learning and their learning across the curriculum in secondary school are summarised below.

• The learning areas of the curriculum are represented in different colours on the right-hand side of the diagram.
• As secondary students progress in English, they move through Foundation Stage, Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and Stage 4. These stages are shown on the left-hand side of the diagram.
• New students usually join classes in the curriculum learning areas with other students who are the same age.
• Students might start at secondary school at any of the ELLP stages. Depending on their prior knowledge and experiences, secondary students may take five years to develop enough academic English to meet the national expectations described in The Literacy Learning Progressionsand the NCEA literacy requirements.
• English language learners are usually tracked on the ELLP stages until they approach the national expectations for English literacy.
• When secondary students reach Stage 4, they are approaching the same level as national expectations.

Assessing the progress of English language learners in curriculum learning areas in years 9–13

Generally, English language learners’ progress and achievement in curriculum learning areas is reported in relation to the year-appropriate curriculum levels.

Students learn through language and, to a great extent, display their knowledge and understanding through language. At all times, teachers need to know the English language proficiency level of English language learners, their learning needs, and the implications of this for displaying their knowledge and understanding in curriculum learning areas.

For many new learners of English, the language demands of norm-referenced standardised assessment tools may mean that an assessment does not measure their performance in the learning area accurately (ESOL Progress Assessment Guidelines, Ministry of Education, 2005, p. 5).

Teachers need to make judgments about a student’s readiness for participating in assessment procedures. Teachers base these judgments on information they gain from regular formative assessment during daily lessons, balanced by a sense of urgency and a need for accelerated progress.

At times there is a mismatch between teacher and/or student expectations and assessment results. Teachers will need to explore with the student whether the results can be attributed to difficulties with the language of a task or a lack of subject conceptual knowledge and understanding. Comments on reports reflect learning and achievement in language and subject knowledge.

Written reports for English language learners

Think about or discuss with colleagues:

• How will you show English language learners’ progress and achievement in reading, writing, and oral language in relation to the ELLP stages but also report the learning areas and key competencies?
• Will you use the ELLP to determine what has been learned and the next learning steps in reading, writing, and oral language?
• Will some aspects of the report need to be translated and/or an interpreter provided for a parent conference to ensure the parent can understand and respond to the information and/or participate in the conference?

Teachers may find it useful to use The English Language Learning Progressions matrices or exemplars as a source for specific comments and “next learning steps”.

The PDF documents below provide possible models that schools can adapt to suit the school format. It may be necessary to create a specific format for English language learners so that these students are reported against the stages in The English Language Learning Progressions and/or against curriculum levels.

Xxx High School Rep intro (PDF 156KB) Xxx High School Rep 9 10 (PDF 197KB) Xxx High School Rep 11 12 13 (PDF 199KB)

Community engagement

In successful Community engagement, the school both communicates well and listens effectively to their parent community.

Schools may have groups of parents who would benefit from having important educational messages translated into their home languages. In some cases, the school needs to organise translations. In other cases, translated written materials may be available from the Ministry of Education.

Parents should always have opportunities to discuss and ask questions about their children’s learning.

• How would your parent community like their children’s progress and achievement reported?
• What methods will you use to communicate key messages about students’ learning to parents?
• How can you ensure that parents understand the role of The English Language Learning Progressions?

Purpose

This section of the module will support you to lead the professional development and learning of others in your school.

This section has some specific ideas about how you might use this online material with other teachers to develop knowledge about tracking, monitoring, and reporting English language learners’ progress.

The content of the module contains some key messages for teachers. You could copy these messages as a prompt for your discussions.

Task one

Can you identify which students should have their progress and achievement monitored, tracked, and reported in relation to the ELLP stages?

Read and discuss the scenarios below, using these questions and instructions to guide your discussions.

• Decide if it is beneficial for the students to be tracked, monitored, and reported using the stages of the ELLP.
• What are the pros and cons of assessing the junior students using norm-referenced tests? If you were giving an asTTle test to the students, what level would you set it at? What might such tests show or not show? What would you do with the information?
• Decide which NCEA literacy assessment pathways the senior students should follow.
• Discuss the best way to report the students’ English language and literacy development to parents.

Scenario 1: Mei came to New Zealand when she was five and attended primary school in Auckland for 18 months. She then went back to China and has returned to New Zealand at the beginning of year 9. She is at Stage 2 in oral language and Stage 1 in writing and reading. Her writing in Mandarin, her first language, has been assessed by the Mandarin teacher as being below the level expected for a student of her age.

Scenario 2: Afia has just started school in New Zealand in year 10. He speaks gagana Sāmoa fluently. In his writing in gagana Sāmoa, he tells us that he has been living in a small village in Sāmoa. The gagana Sāmoa teacher explained that Afia was able to express some complex ideas in this writing and that the content shows he has strong Samoan values. His English is at Stage 2 in oral language and Stage 1 in writing and reading.

Scenario 3: Bikram is a 17 year old Bhutanese boy (year 12). He was born in a refugee camp in Nepal and spent the first 16 years of his life there before being settled in New Zealand. He’d had schooling in English in the refugee camp before coming to New Zealand. His ESOL teacher has assessed his English proficiency at Stage 2 in oral language, reading, and writing. Bikram has a sound understanding of mathematics and has gained some credits in level 2 chemistry, maths, and physics. He is very keen to go to university.

Scenario 4: Rajeev is 17 years old (year 12) and was born in Fiji. He came to New Zealand when he was 14 years old and speaks Hindi and English fluently. He is having more difficulty with reading and writing in English. Rajeev’s ESOL teacher last year determined he was at ELLP Stage 4 in oral language and Stage 3 in reading and writing. He is not having any specific ESOL support this year.

Task two

Who are the English language learners in your school?

Examine your school enrolment information and ensure you have a picture of the cultural and linguistic diversity in your school. Does your enrolment form ensure you collect all of the important and relevant information about each student?

Use the school enrolment information to identify students who would benefit from being tracked and monitored using the matrices in the ELLP.

Task three

Reporting to parents

Examine the models provided in this module and/or analyse your current school reports from the perspective of your English language learners and their families. Do the reports fulfil the requirements of the NAGs? Are there any aspects of your reports that need to be adapted or changed?

Look for evidence of:

• the student’s strengths
• the student’s current learning goals
• the student’s achievement and progress in relation to English language and literacy
• the student’s achievements across the learning areas
• developing key competencies
• what the school will do to support the student’s learning
• what parents, family, and whānau can do to support the student’s learning
• other aspects of school involvement or service.

Discuss with colleagues your current school reporting formats. Record comments and ideas on the table attached.

Task four

Analyse the school-wide achievement data for English language learners that is reported to the Board of Trustees.

Review the progress of groups such as:

• those in the intensive programme
• international students
• students who have previously received ESOL funding
• students born in New Zealand
• recent arrivals.

What are the strengths of individual students and groups of students? What are the learning needs of these students? Which intervention and support has been most effective for individual students and groups of students? How can you support teachers to incorporate identified effective practice into their teaching?

Agility with Sound

Audience: Teachers

Years: 4–10

Description: A structured approach to literacy with decodable books for older students. Can be used with 1:1 interventions, small groups, or as a whole class activity. Organised into eight levels, each kit contains a teacher manual, decodable readers, and practical material for teaching activities. Learners progress through levels at their own pace. From the Agility with Sound website, access:

• Free assessment tool – use to determine the appropriate start for each learner
• Scope and sequence – describes the content and skills to be taught and the order to teach them; this aligns with the levels in each kit 

Wordchain is recommended for use in conjunction with Agility with Sound for practice and reinforcement.

Wordchain

Audience: Teachers, students

Years: 2–10

Description: Wordchain is a series of online learning games for reinforcing phonological skills through word building and phoneme manipulation. The games are designed for use with Agility with Sound but can be used as a standalone support within a literacy programme. Originally designed as a series of apps which run on iOS and Android devices, from February 2022, Wordchain for the Web enables users to access the games via a browser from any device and save progress. Wordchain for the Web uses a browser-based admin platform that allows educators or parents to monitor progress, set recommended levels and other preferences, and group students. Demonstration versions of all the Wordchains are on the website.

The New Zealand Dyslexia Handbook

Audience: Classroom teachers, SENCOs, LSCs, school-based intervention teachers working with learners who have dyslexia, and parents

Years: 1–13 

Description: Practical, researched approaches for teaching school-aged learners with dyslexia. A range of assessments are included to identify learning needs and monitor progress, along with lesson plans and printable resources. Accompanying videos that demystify dyslexia and illustrate practical classroom approaches for teachers are accessible from NZCER. The text aims to bridge the gap between research on dyslexia and school and community understanding.

iDeaL Learning Approach | Learning Matters

Audience: Classroom teachers, SENCOs, LSCs, and school-based intervention teachers

Years: 0–8

Description: This online teaching and learning platform provides educators with the knowledge, appropriate assessments, reporting systems, and multisensory resources to explicitly teach foundation literacy skills using a systematic and cumulative evidence-based approach. It is for use in both mainstream classes and intervention settings.

Leap into Literacy | Learning Matters

Audience: Parents, classroom teachers

Years: 0–8

Description: These 12 freely accessible videos describe “bite sized” and practical foundational literacy skills and activities based on the Building Blocks of Reading Success. They were developed to support learning at home. It is recommended that the videos are viewed in the progressive order that they are listed. Each video has supporting resources available through the Learning Matters website.

Phonics Handbook | Tom Nicholson

Audience: Classroom teachers, SENCOs, LSCs, and school-based intervention teachers

Years: 1–13

Description: Taking a phonological approach, the book is set out in the form of lesson plans for teaching phonics skills sequentially. It begins with the basic alphabet sounds through to blends, digraphs, syllable breaking, and decoding Latin and Greek words. Each lesson is followed by a worksheet for students.

Diagnostic assessments of phoneme awareness, basic decoding skills, word reading, spelling, writing, and attitudes to learning are included. Teachers can use these assessments to establish learner needs and evaluate whether teaching has been successful at the end of the programme.

Additional teaching strategies are given to reinforce spelling and assist reading comprehension. Strategies for students experiencing learning difficulties and information on reporting to parents are included, incorporating research on effective tutoring methods.

Sort Out Your Syllables | Joy Allcock

Audience: Classroom teachers, SENCOs, LSCs, and school-based intervention teachers

Years: 5–13

Description: Use Sort Out Your Syllables for teaching ākonga how to decode, pronounce, and spell multisyllabic words using their knowledge of phonemes and the alphabetic code. The resource consists of a teacher manual, a student practice book, and a desktop card/poster of English vowel patterns.  

The programme starts with two short assessments that identify the gaps in skills for reading and spelling unfamiliar multisyllabic words, followed by a series of 10-minute lessons that have been designed to close the gaps. The strategies are designed to make it easier for ākonga to read and write multisyllabic words, which in turn promotes growth in reading and writing.

Sound Walls for Aotearoa | Emma Nahana, Sound Foundations for Literacy

Audience: Classroom teachers, SENCOs, LSCs, and school-based intervention teachers

Years: 0–13+

Description: A sound wall supports learners to connect speech with print, helping them make sense of the alphabetic code they are working in. This resource supports the teaching and learning of NZ English and te reo Māori speech sounds (phonemes), and the letters (graphemes) used to represent them in writing.   

The teacher manual explains how to use sound walls effectively to:

• help learners identify and discriminate between phonemes
• feel and see the articulatory movements when saying the phonemes
• see and write the corresponding graphemes. 

The resource can be used for classroom teaching and tier 2 and tier 3 interventions. 

StepsWeb | The Learning Staircase

Audience: Classroom teachers, school-based intervention teachers, parents

Years: 0–13/Adult

Description: StepsWeb is an online programme designed to support literacy learning. It can be used with the whole class, groups, or individuals with specific learning needs, such as dyslexia. A support site provides information and guidance for using StepsWeb and some specific information about supporting dyslexic learners using StepsWeb.

Diagnostic assessments and screening tests are provided for identifying learner needs, where to begin in StepsWeb scope and sequence, and to measure progress.

StepsWeb has its own detailed scope and sequence.

StepsWeb is customisable – individual activities and resources can be used to reinforce any research-based literacy approach. Teachers can create and customise their own chosen literacy progression and schools are able to build entire banks of resources specifically for their school.

The StepsWeb programme includes individual workbooks and printable resources and games. It is strongly recommended that Foundation Level learners and older learners who are struggling with literacy are on the workbooks as well as the online activities. Boxed sets of supporting games are available for group teaching with higher-need learners.

The Code | Liz Kane Literacy

Audience: Classroom teachers, SENCOs, LSCs, RTLits, RTLBs, and school-based intervention teachers

Years: 1–8

Description: The Code provides a systematic and cumulative literacy approach for teaching spelling. It includes: 

• assessments in both Phonological Awareness and Spelling to identify areas that require explicit teaching
• tracking sheets for these assessments to record initial data and monitor student progress
• a scope and sequence beginning with the initial code and progressing to the more complex code
• lists for each year level that have an explanation/definition to support explicit teaching
• a lesson sequence with examples of lessons for each year group
• multisensory teaching activities.

The English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) is first and foremost a teaching and learning, planning and reporting document. It identifies strengths and gaps in language learning and offers effective pedagogy for English language learners.

Completing the ELLP matrices is an ongoing process based on your school’s usual age-appropriate assessment tools, activities, and observations.

Teachers will continue to use a wide range of assessment tasks, activities and observations to make an overall teacher judgment (OTJ) with reference to the various descriptors on the ELLP matrices.

Twice a year, schools draw from this evidence to apply for ESOL funding. This should not be seen as additional to the school’s normal assessment schedule but as an integral part of it. 

This module is developed to support the  MoE funding guidelines and to provide practical advice for using the matrices for funding purposes. The other  five modules (1-5) are important for ensuring that the document is used as intended, for teaching and learning as well as reporting.

It is essential that teachers are familiar with the  ELLP year level booklets.

Note: The funding matrix summary form has all ELLP stages. However, the ELLP stages are presented in the three separate year level booklets as appropriate to the age and stages of the students. For example:

• In years 1-4 you will only find Foundation to stage 2
• In years 5-8 only Foundation to stage 3 

Schools will need to determine for themselves who is best qualified to manage the assessments and recording on the matrices.

• In primary and intermediate schools this is likely to be the classroom teacher’s responsibility and is done in consultation with either the ESOL teacher or other personnel who work with the student. 

• In secondary schools it is likely to be the ESOL specialists, in collaboration with mainstream teachers, who are responsible.

All approved application forms, guidelines, and the ELLP matrices are available and downloadable on the Ministry of Education website.

Achieved stages are used when applying for funding

For funding purposes, only the achieved stage is recorded on the record of progress cover sheet. This is necessary for national consistency.

The achieved stage means that the student has achieved the majority of the descriptors at a particular stage, in each mode. It is important to ensure that the students show these descriptors independently and consistently across a range of contexts. Teachers should focus mainly on academic language (CALP) when making stage decisions rather than on basic communication skills (BICS).

More information on Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) is available in the  ELLP Introduction Booklet (page 4).

Why we require the "achieved" stage

In this oral language matrix exemplar the teacher has highlighted which descriptors the student has achieved on three different occasions, using a different colour highlighter.

• This student has moved on to working mostly within stage 2. However, there are not enough green highlighted descriptors to say the student has achieved stage 2.  It is clear that stage 1 (in blue) is achieved and that will be the stage recorded for funding purposes on the ‘record of progress’ cover sheet.
• This matrix shows clearly how the progression through the stages goes and that language development often straddles multiple stages.
• The matrix also shows what the student’s next steps for learning will be

Sub-stages

Reading and writing sub-stages (as detailed in the ELLP booklets) are not recorded on the funding record of progress as they indicate the student is still working within that stage. So while schools will want to record the sublevels that the students have achieved when reporting on progress, for identifying eligibility for ESOL funding you will only need to record the whole achieved stage on the cover sheet.

Getting the scoring right

When considering the descriptors, focus on the student’s academic language across different contexts and ensure that they can achieve those consistently and independently, using a range of assessments both formative and summative as well as observations. 

What information is needed to make solid stage decisions?  

To make solid and more reliable stage decisions in reading and writing especially, it is important to look at the more detailed descriptors rather than rely solely on the matrices themselves, or on the exemplars given in the ELLP individual year level booklets.

• The exemplars in the booklets are just samples of work that exemplify some of the criteria
• The matrices are summaries of much more detailed descriptors in the year level booklets which should be considered when making decisions.

Why is highlighting used?

Where matrices are highlighted in different colours, a clear picture emerges over time of which aspects of language acquisition are progressing well and where support is to be targeted next.  

Highlighting also makes the achieved stage more obvious.

Some of the descriptors on the matrices are about what the student cannot do; does this matter?

The vast majority of the ELLP descriptors across the four modes are positive statements on what the student can do. This makes it very straight forward to highlight when they have "achieved" the indicator, or a part of it.

However, there are a few statements about features of language learning at that stage which still need further development. This is mainly across the output modes (speaking and writing).

For example, Stage 1 speaking: “pause and hesitate when speaking” is not a skill you could achieve but it can be highlighted as a shown feature of the student’s language use and therefore fits into that stage. You would still put the student as a stage 1 for funding purposes if they had achieved the majority of the other descriptors at that stage.

Teacher professional judgment needs to be used for the overall stage decision.

Some of the descriptors on the matrices are multistep and carry a greater learning load; does this matter?

Some of the descriptors have a larger learning load than others. For example, in the writing matrix, "sentence development and language structures" would carry more weight than "script control".

Some of the descriptors have multiple steps. A student may achieve part of the descriptor but not another. In that case, it can be partly highlighted.

Teachers then need to use their professional judgment as to how the descriptors are weighted and how these fit in with the overall stage achievement. 

The reading matrix

The reading matrix focuses on complexity of text rather than descriptors of reading behaviours. To achieve a particular stage, a student must demonstrate the ability to read texts of similar complexity with a high level of comprehension. They must demonstrate competence in decoding, making meaning and thinking critically.

It is important that primary teachers do not assume that if a text shown in The Progressions: ELLP is a "best fit" for the stage of their learner, then all other texts at a similar level (for example, from the colour wheel) will also be suitable. Similarly, it is important for secondary teachers not to assume direct relationships between texts in The Progressions: ELLP and English language unit standards. However, the rough correlation between them could be a starting point for exploring further.

• Summary of key messages about reading (PDF 57KB)

Ideas on assessment for each mode

• Opportunities for oral language assessment (under Gathering information)
• Opportunities for writing assessment
• Opportunities for reading assessment

A further resource that models effective ways of gathering evidence and placement on the matrices is the DVD which can viewed online. Also available as a hard copy:  Using the ELLP Matrices (Down The Back Of The Chair, product code 710098). 

Step 1

• Make a copy of the  ELLP Record of Progress and accompanying matrices for each student using the MoE master supplied. 
• Complete assessments for each student in each mode. This will include formative and summative assessments, standardised tests, and both formal and informal observations to inform an overall teacher judgment (OTJ).
• On the basis of the OTJ, record the student’s achievement on the matrices (for example, by using a highlighter to identify the achieved descriptors).
• An overall achieved ELLP stage must then be assigned for each of the four modes.
• Use a different colour highlighter for subsequent assessments.

Step 2

For each of the modes, assign a numerical value corresponding to the stages as follows:

Score = 0 – when the student is working at or has achieved Foundation stage  

Score = 1 – when the student can consistently achieve almost all of the matrix descriptors at Stage 1

Score = 2 – when the student can consistently achieve almost all of the matrix descriptors at Stage 2

Score = 3 – when the student can consistently achieve almost all of the matrix descriptors at Stage 3

Score = 4 – when the student can consistently achieve almost all of the matrix descriptors at Stage 4

Step 3

Add the stage scores to calculate a total ELLP score as follows:

Step 4

Enter the stage score and the total score onto the status list and/or the application forms for the new-to-your-school students as appropriate. 

For funding purposes only, whole scores for each mode should be entered.

Step 5

Submit the status list and application forms as usual by the closing date. 

Note: Do not send the ELLP Record of Progress document to the Ministry – these should be kept as part of the student's individual records and passed on with the student. 

ELLP funding benchmark points

This table identifies the benchmark points below which the students at the different year levels are eligible for ESOL funding.

The students who fall into the shaded segments will be eligible for ESOL funding, providing they meet all the other existing eligibility criteria.  

Note: There are different benchmarks for the different year levels.

Possible scenarios

Years 1 and 2 students

• A student has achieved one mode at Foundation (0) and three modes at stage 1 = 3, so will receive funding.
• A student has achieved three modes at stage 2 and one mode at stage 1 = 7, so will not receive funding.

Years 5 and 6 students

• A student has achieved one mode at stage 1, two modes at stage 2 and one mode at stage 3 = 8, so will receive funding.
• A student has achieved one mode at stage 2 and three modes at stage 3 = 11, so will not receive funding.

Years 9 and 10 students

• A student has achieved two modes at stage 3, one mode at stage 2 and one mode at stage 4 = 12, so will receive funding.
• A student has achieved two modes at stage 3 and two modes at stage 4 = 14, so will not receive funding.