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TITLE 19EDUCATION
PART 2TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
CHAPTER 74CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS
SUBCHAPTER AREQUIRED CURRICULUM
RULE §74.4English Language Proficiency Standards

      (iii) with second language acquisition support, are able to decode most grade-appropriate English text because they:

        (I) understand the meaning of most grade-appropriate English words; and

        (II) have little difficulty with English sounds and sound-symbol relationships that result from differences between their primary language and English.

    (D) Advanced high. Advanced high ELLs have the ability to use the English language, with minimal second language acquisition support, to build foundational reading skills. These students:

      (i) demonstrate, with minimal second language acquisition support and at a level nearly comparable to native English-speaking peers, comprehension of main points and supporting ideas (explicit and implicit) in grade-appropriate stories read aloud in English;

      (ii) with some exceptions, recognize sight vocabulary and high-frequency words to a degree nearly comparable to that of native English-speaking peers; and

      (iii) with minimal second language acquisition support, have an ability to decode and understand grade-appropriate English text at a level nearly comparable to native English-speaking peers.

  (4) Reading, Grades 2-12. ELLs in Grades 2-12 may be at the beginning, intermediate, advanced, or advanced high stage of English language acquisition in reading. The following proficiency level descriptors for reading are sufficient to describe the overall English language proficiency levels of ELLs in this language domain in order to linguistically accommodate their instruction.

    (A) Beginning. Beginning ELLs have little or no ability to read and understand English used in academic and social contexts. These students:

      (i) read and understand the very limited recently practiced, memorized, or highly familiar English they have learned; vocabulary predominantly includes:

        (I) environmental print;

        (II) some very high-frequency words; and

        (III) concrete words that can be represented by pictures;

      (ii) read slowly, word by word;

      (iii) have a very limited sense of English language structures;

      (iv) comprehend predominantly isolated familiar words and phrases; comprehend some sentences in highly routine contexts or recently practiced, highly familiar text;

      (v) are highly dependent on visuals and prior knowledge to derive meaning from text in English; and

      (vi) are able to apply reading comprehension skills in English only when reading texts written for this level.

    (B) Intermediate. Intermediate ELLs have the ability to read and understand simple, high-frequency English used in routine academic and social contexts. These students:

      (i) read and understand English vocabulary on a somewhat wider range of topics and with increased depth; vocabulary predominantly includes:

        (I) everyday oral language;

        (II) literal meanings of common words;

        (III) routine academic language and terms; and

        (IV) commonly used abstract language such as terms used to describe basic feelings;

      (ii) often read slowly and in short phrases; may re-read to clarify meaning;

      (iii) have a growing understanding of basic, routinely used English language structures;

      (iv) understand simple sentences in short, connected texts, but are dependent on visual cues, topic familiarity, prior knowledge, pretaught topic-related vocabulary, story predictability, and teacher/peer assistance to sustain comprehension;

      (v) struggle to independently read and understand grade-level texts; and

      (vi) are able to apply basic and some higher-order comprehension skills when reading texts that are linguistically accommodated and/or simplified for this level.

    (C) Advanced. Advanced ELLs have the ability to read and understand, with second language acquisition support, grade-appropriate English used in academic and social contexts. These students:

      (i) read and understand, with second language acquisition support, a variety of grade-appropriate English vocabulary used in social and academic contexts:

        (I) with second language acquisition support, read and understand grade-appropriate concrete and abstract vocabulary, but have difficulty with less commonly encountered words;

        (II) demonstrate an emerging ability to understand words and phrases beyond their literal meaning; and

        (III) understand multiple meanings of commonly used words;

      (ii) read longer phrases and simple sentences from familiar text with appropriate rate and speed;

      (iii) are developing skill in using their growing familiarity with English language structures to construct meaning of grade-appropriate text; and

      (iv) are able to apply basic and higher-order comprehension skills when reading grade-appropriate text, but are still occasionally dependent on visuals, teacher/peer assistance, and other linguistically accommodated text features to determine or clarify meaning, particularly with unfamiliar topics.

    (D) Advanced high. Advanced high ELLs have the ability to read and understand, with minimal second language acquisition support, grade-appropriate English used in academic and social contexts. These students:

      (i) read and understand vocabulary at a level nearly comparable to that of their native English-speaking peers, with some exceptions when low-frequency or specialized vocabulary is used;

      (ii) generally read grade-appropriate, familiar text with appropriate rate, speed, intonation, and expression;

      (iii) are able to, at a level nearly comparable to native English-speaking peers, use their familiarity with English language structures to construct meaning of grade-appropriate text; and

      (iv) are able to apply, with minimal second language acquisition support and at a level nearly comparable to native English-speaking peers, basic and higher-order comprehension skills when reading grade-appropriate text.

  (5) Writing, Kindergarten-Grade 1. ELLs in Kindergarten and Grade 1 may be at the beginning, intermediate, advanced, or advanced high stage of English language acquisition in writing. The following proficiency level descriptors for writing are sufficient to describe the overall English language proficiency levels of ELLs in this language domain in order to linguistically accommodate their instruction and should take into account developmental stages of emergent writers.

    (A) Beginning. Beginning ELLs have little or no ability to use the English language to build foundational writing skills. These students:

      (i) are unable to use English to explain self-generated writing such as stories they have created or other personal expressions, including emergent forms of writing (pictures, letter-like forms, mock words, scribbling, etc.);

      (ii) know too little English to participate meaningfully in grade-appropriate shared writing activities using the English language;

      (iii) cannot express themselves meaningfully in self-generated, connected written text in English beyond the level of high-frequency, concrete words, phrases, or short sentences that have been recently practiced and/or memorized; and

      (iv) may demonstrate little or no awareness of English print conventions.

    (B) Intermediate. Intermediate ELLs have a limited ability to use the English language to build foundational writing skills. These students:

      (i) know enough English to explain briefly and simply self-generated writing, including emergent forms of writing, as long as the topic is highly familiar and concrete and requires very high-frequency English;

      (ii) can participate meaningfully in grade-appropriate shared writing activities using the English language only when the writing topic is highly familiar and concrete and requires very high-frequency English;

      (iii) express themselves meaningfully in self-generated, connected written text in English when their writing is limited to short sentences featuring simple, concrete English used frequently in class; and

      (iv) frequently exhibit features of their primary language when writing in English such as primary language words, spelling patterns, word order, and literal translating.

    (C) Advanced. Advanced ELLs have the ability to use the English language to build, with second language acquisition support, foundational writing skills. These students:

      (i) use predominantly grade-appropriate English to explain, in some detail, most self-generated writing, including emergent forms of writing;

      (ii) can participate meaningfully, with second language acquisition support, in most grade-appropriate shared writing activities using the English language;

Cont'd...

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