ISSUES & ANSWERS

U.S. Department of Education

English language 

proficiency 

assessment in the 

Pacific Region

REL 2007–No. 014

At Pacific Resources for 

Education and Learning
English language proficiency 

assessment in the Pacific Region

June 2007

Prepared by

Don Burger, EdD

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

Rodrigo Mauricio

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

Jennifer Ryan

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

ISSUES&ANSWERS REL 2007–No. 014

U.S. Department of Education

At Pacific Resources for 

Education and Learning
Issues & Answers is an ongoing series of reports from short-term Fast Response Projects conducted by the regional educational laboratories on current education issues of importance at local, state, and regional levels. Fast Response Project topics 

change to reflect new issues, as identified through lab outreach and requests for assistance from policymakers and educators at state and local levels and from communities, businesses, parents, families, and youth. All Issues & Answers reports 

meet Institute of Education Sciences standards for scientifically valid research. 

June 2007

This report was prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) under Contract ED-06-CO-0024 by Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific administered by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. The content of the publication does 

not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES or the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, 

commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

This report is in the public domain. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, it should be cited as: 

Burger, D., Mauricio, R., & Ryan, J. (2007). English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region (Issues & Answers 

Report, REL 2007–No. 014). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National 

Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific. Retrieved from http://

ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

This report is available on the regional educational laboratory web site at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

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At Pacific Resources for 

Education and Learning
 iii

Summary

Using various approaches to identify English language learners, 

several Pacific Region jurisdictions 

are developing English language 

proficiency standards and assessments aligned with those standards. Others are working on content standards, including language 

arts, and have expressed interest in 

developing English language proficiency standards but lack formal 

assessment mechanisms.

Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 

requires that all students in a school, including 

English language learners, take the same state 

academic assessments in reading/language 

arts, mathematics, and science beginning with 

school year 2007/08. This mandate is of special 

concern to the Regional Educational Laboratory for the Pacific Region (REL Pacific), 

because all jurisdictions within its service 

region have large numbers of English language learners or limited English proficiency 

students in their school systems. Although 

English is used as a language of instruction 

in schools across the region, each jurisdiction 

has an official language or languages other 

than English. Children often do not receive 

sustained exposure to English until they begin 

formal schooling.

To find out about the current status of English 

language proficiency standards and assessment across the Pacific Region, REL Pacific 

surveyed each jurisdiction, gathering information about the existence and implementation 

of standards and assessments and future plans 

for them. The results provide an opportunity 

to share information across jurisdictions about 

approaches to English language proficiency 

standards and assessment and provide insights 

into critical needs in the region that can be 

used to guide future program activities.

To identify English language learners, four jurisdictions (American Samoa, Guam, Hawai‘i, 

and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands) use home-language surveys. 

Some also use commercially available tests 

and ethnicity data. The freely associated states 

(Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated 

States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau), 

where English is not the dominant language, 

English language proficiency 

assessment in the Pacific Region
iv Summary

do not categorize English language learners as 

a separate population subgroup and so have no 

formal processes to identify them.

The Pacific Region jurisdictions are continuing to develop their educational accountability 

systems, including English language proficiency standards and aligned assessments. 

Hawai‘i is awaiting approval of its English 

language proficiency standards. American 

Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are preparing their standards. The freely 

associated states have completed or are working on content standards, including language 

arts, and have expressed interest in developing 

English language proficiency standards.

American Samoa, Guam, Hawai‘i, and the 

Northern Mariana Islands have used or are 

using commercially developed, off-the-shelf 

tests to assess English language proficiency. 

The other jurisdictions do not have formal 

assessment mechanisms. The commercially 

developed assessments have not been contextualized to the Pacific Region or aligned 

with local standards. In most jurisdictions 

the cost of testing more than 80 percent of 

the students makes using these assessments 

impossible. The U.S. Department of Education 

has awarded the Hawai‘i Department of Education, Pacific Resources for Education and 

Learning, and a consortium of the American 

Samoa Department of Education, the Guam 

Public School System, and the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System an Enhanced 

Assessment Grant that enables them to test 

and develop culturally appropriate English 

language proficiency assessments aligned with 

English language proficiency standards for 

each education agency.

This process of developing English language 

proficiency standards and assessments could 

be greatly facilitated through collaboration 

among jurisdictions, support from the U.S. 

Department of Education, provision of Pacific 

Resources for Education and Learning services, and additional research.

June 2007
 v

Table of contents

Summary iii

Overview 1

The three research questions 2

What methods are used to identify English language learners? 2

What stage of completion of English language proficiency standards has each jurisdiction reached? 4

What forms of English language proficiency assessment are in place? 5

Recommendations for services and programs 6

Develop clear language development policies 6

Review content standards 7

Collect student information 7

Develop programs to address the specific needs of English language learners 7

Conduct research 7

Provide professional development 8

Next steps 8

Develop a Pacific assessment consortium 8

Conduct a randomized control trial of the Pacific-CHILD professional development program 8

Notes 9

Appendix A Study questions and data collection methodology 10

Appendix B Status of English language proficiency (ELP) standards and assessment: interview 

questions 13

References 14

Boxes

1 Some key terms 2

2 How the study was conducted 3

Tables

1 Percentage of English language learners in total student population in Pacific Region jurisdictions 4

A1 Compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 12
Overview 1

Using various 

approaches to 

identify English 

language learners, 

several Pacific 

Region jurisdictions 

are developing 

English language 

proficiency 

standards and 

assessments 

aligned with those 

standards. Others 

are working on 

content standards, 

including language 

arts, and have 

expressed interest in 

developing English 

language proficiency 

standards but lack 

formal assessment 

mechanisms.

Overview

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has 

focused increasing attention on the education needs of English language learners in U.S. 

public schools. Title I of the act requires that all 

students in a school, including English language 

learners, take the same state academic assessments in reading/language arts, mathematics, 

and science beginning with school year 2007/08. 

(See box 1 for definitions of key terms.) These 

mandates are of special concern to the Regional 

Educational Laboratory Pacific, because all the 

jurisdictions within its service region have large 

numbers of English language learners or limited 

English proficiency students in their school 

systems.

To learn about the current status of English 

language proficiency standards and assessment 

across the Pacific Region, REL Pacific surveyed 

each jurisdiction, gathering information about the 

existence and implementation of standards and 

assessments and future plans for them. The results 

provide an opportunity to share information 

across jurisdictions about approaches to English 

language proficiency standards and assessment 

and provide insights into critical needs in the 

region that can be used to guide future program 

activities.

Four jurisdictions (American Samoa, Guam, 

Hawai‘i, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands) use home-language surveys to 

identify English language learners. The freely associated states (Republic of the Marshall Islands, 

Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of 

Palau), where English is not the dominant language, do not categorize English language learners 

as a separate population subgroup, and so they 

have no formal processes to identify them.

The Pacific Region jurisdictions are continuing to 

develop their educational accountability systems, 

including English language proficiency standards 

and assessments. Hawai‘i is awaiting approval 

of its English language proficiency standards. 
2 English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region

American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 

Mariana Islands are preparing their standards. 

The freely associated states have completed or are 

working on content standards, including language 

arts, and have expressed interest in developing 

English language proficiency standards. American 

Samoa, Guam, Hawai‘i, and the Northern Mariana 

Islands have used or are using commercially developed tests to assess English language proficiency. 

The other jurisdictions do not have formal assessment mechanisms.

This process of developing English language 

proficiency standards and assessments could be 

greatly facilitated through collaboration among 

jurisdictions, support from the U.S. Department 

of Education, provision of Pacific Resources for 

Education and Learning services, and additional 

research.

The three research questions

The detailed research questions guiding this study 

focused on the methods used to identify English 

language learners, the status of English language 

proficiency standards, and the status of aligned 

English language proficiency assessment (see box 2 

and appendix A for details of the study questions 

and methods).

What methods are used to identify 

English language learners?

Although English is used as a language of instruction in schools across the Pacific Region, each 

jurisdiction has an official language or languages 

other than English. The first language in each 

jurisdiction—the language of the home, community, 

church, and playground—is usually a local language. 

Box 1

Some key terms

For clarification, certain terms that 

are used throughout this report are 

defined as follows:

Aligned assessments are associated 

with specific standards and benchmarks and measure student achievement of these standards.

English language learners are 

students in the process of acquiring social and/or academic English 

language skills. In most cases these 

students have learned a language 

other than English for use at home or 

in their community.

English language proficiency 

standards outline English language 

proficiency achievement goals. English 

language proficiency standards are 

not the same as reading/language 

arts standards, however. To achieve 

content area standards, a student must 

have the language proficiency to comprehend the subject material. The No 

Child Left Behind Act of 2001 specifies that English language proficiency 

standards must address listening, 

speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension (as measured by listening 

and reading). English language proficiency standards cover all grade levels 

(K–12) and must be linked to content 

standards in reading/language arts 

and mathematics. Students’ English 

proficiency levels should be based on 

their achievement of English language 

proficiency standards.

Language proficiency comprises 

receptive (reading and listening) and 

productive (speaking and writing) 

language skills. The definition also 

may include social and academic 

(or school) language. Proficiency 

in a second language, according to 

Hargett (1998), is the ability to “effectively communicate or understand 

thoughts or ideas through the 

language’s grammatical system and 

its vocabulary, using its sounds or 

written symbols.”

Titles I and III of the No Child Left 

Behind Act of 2001. The act requires 

that:

•	 English language learners receive 

instruction that uses approaches 

based on scientifically sound research to attain English language 

proficiency.

•	 English language learners in 

grades K–12 take an annual 

assessment in English language 

proficiency that covers reading, 

writing, speaking, and listening.

•	 States establish annual measurable achievement objectives for 

school districts as they move 

English language learners toward 

English proficiency.
 The three research questions 3

Children often do not receive sustained exposure to 

English until they begin formal schooling.

Several other factors also have implications for 

English language proficiency in the Pacific Region 

jurisdictions:

•	 The Pacific languages are primarily oral, and 

written discourse in these languages is still 

evolving.

•	 In many cases, teachers in Pacific Region 

classrooms are themselves English language 

learners. For these educators, the challenge is 

not simply to translate lessons from their language into English but to acquire an entirely 

new set of skills in a new language.

•	 Many schools have severely limited access to 

culturally appropriate instructional materials 

and to highly qualified teachers (competent in 

the subject matter, credentialed, experienced, 

and proficient in English).

•	 Various jurisdictions are held to differing levels of compliance with No Child Left Behind.

For these and other reasons each jurisdiction 

implements different education policies to identify English language learners, develop English 

language proficiency standards and instructional 

practices, and implement English language proficiency assessments.

The principal method used to identify English 

language learners is a home-language survey. 

This method is used in American Samoa, Guam, 

Hawai‘i, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 

Hawai‘i administers the Language Assessment 

Scales (LAS) LinksTM (CTB/McGraw-Hill, 2005) 

to students identified through responses to the 

home-language survey to determine limited 

English proficiency status. The Northern Mariana 

Islands also uses student ethnicity data to identify 

English language learners, while American Samoa 

also uses the Stanford Achievement Test (Harcourt Assessment, Inc., 9th ed., 1997, and 10th 

ed., 2004), identifying students who score below 

the 40th percentile as having limited English 

proficiency.

The number of students identified as English 

language learners is greatly influenced by the 

Box 2

How the study was conducted

This study gathered information 

on the status of English language 

proficiency standards and aligned 

assessments across the service area 

of the Pacific Region. Specifically, it 

examined:

1. How English language learners 

are identified in each jurisdiction, whether any of the jurisdictions are not planning to identify 

English language learners, and if 

not, why not.

2. What stage of completion of 

English language proficiency 

standards each jurisdiction has 

reached, whether any jurisdictions are not planning to develop 

English language proficiency 

standards, and if not, why not.

3. What forms of English language 

proficiency assessments are in 

place across the jurisdictions, 

and whether the assessment 

items align with standards.

To gather information about the English language proficiency standards 

and aligned assessments and about 

future plans for these standards and 

assessments, the researchers surveyed 

all entities within Pacific Region service region (American Samoa, Guam, 

Hawai‘i, Republic of the Marshall 

Islands, Federated States of Micronesia [Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and 

Yap], Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands, and Republic of 

Palau). Quantitative data were gathered by searching online sources of the 

ministries of education and departments of education throughout the 

Pacific Region. Qualitative data were 

gathered through personal interviews 

with key English language proficiency 

personnel and from a brief email 

survey of specific Pacific Resources 

for Education and Learning contacts 

from the jurisdictions. A document 

review committee made up of regional 

English language proficiency experts 

also contributed to the study.
4 English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region

method of identification. For example, students 

may be incorrectly identified as English language 

learners because they do not perform well on test 

items that are contextually inappropriate. Also, a 

student’s ethnicity may not reflect the language or 

languages that the student uses outside of school 

or the student’s English language proficiency level.

Most jurisdictions in the Pacific Region do not 

have a formal mechanism to identify English 

language learners. In the Marshall Islands, the 

Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau the 

dominant language is not English, and English 

language learners are not considered a subgroup of 

the student population. Table 1 shows the approximate percentage of English language learners in 

each jurisdiction.

What stage of completion of English language 

proficiency standards has each jurisdiction reached?

Only Hawai‘i has completely developed English 

language proficiency standards (pending approval 

by the state governing body). American Samoa, 

Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are 

developing English language proficiency standards 

aligned with language arts standards. Although 

none of the other jurisdictions has English 

language proficiency standards, all jurisdictions 

have language arts standards at either the state or 

national (Federated States of Micronesia) level.

Across jurisdictions, standards development is 

at various stages. Overall, the jurisdictions have 

prioritized language arts standards over English 

language proficiency standards. In American 

Samoa, Guam, Hawai‘i, and the Northern Mariana 

Islands the language arts standards pertain to 

English only. In the freely associated states the language arts standards incorporate English and the 

local languages. The difference between language 

arts and language proficiency standards is that 

language arts do not typically address the stages 

of language development, nor do they include all 

of the domains of language proficiency (reading, 

writing, speaking, listening, and comprehension).

This section summarizes the state of standards preparation in each of the Pacific Region 

jurisdictions.

American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 

Mariana Islands. American Samoa, Guam, and 

the Northern Mariana Islands have developed 

language arts content standards by grade level 

and are developing English language proficiency 

standards. American Samoa and the Northern 

Mariana Islands have involved teachers and central office personnel in developing standards and 

standards-based assessments. These jurisdictions 

are using a similar process to develop English language proficiency standards aligned with language 

arts standards.

Table 1

Percentage of English language learners in total student population in Pacific Region jurisdictions

Jurisdiction Less than 20 percent 20–80 percent More than 80 percent

Hawai‘i ✓

Guam ✓

American Samoa ✓

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ✓

Republic of the Marshall Islands ✓

Federated States of Micronesia ✓

Republic of Palau ✓

Source: Hawai‘i Department of Education (2006); Guam Public School System (2005); Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, American Samoa 

Department of Education (2007), personal communication; Associate Commissioner of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands (2007), personal communication; and Director of Territories and Freely Associated States Educational Grant Program, Freely Associated States (2007), personal communication.
 The three research questions 5

Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i has just approved the third 

iteration of the Hawai‘i State Content and Performance Standards. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by 

the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, mandated 

implementation of the English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic 

Achievement Act programmatically. Accordingly, 

the Hawai‘i performance goal for limited English 

proficiency students and English language learners 

states that all limited English proficiency students 

“will become proficient in English and reach high 

academic standards, at a minimum attaining 

proficiency or better in reading/language arts and 

mathematics.” That goal guides teachers of all 

limited English proficiency students and English 

language learners in public education in Hawai‘i.

In school year 2004/05 Hawai‘i undertook development of Hawai‘i English Language Proficiency 

standards for grades K–12. These are fully developed and are pending approval by the state governing body. The standards are being implemented 

at the school level with continuing alignment with 

academic content standards in math, science, and 

other subject areas.

The Marshall Islands and Palau. Both the Marshall Islands and Palau have developed standards 

for core academic content areas, including English 

language arts. However, neither jurisdiction has 

English language proficiency standards. The 

Marshall Islands has requested assistance in developing English language proficiency standards. 

The Palau Ministry of Education has not decided 

whether to develop English language proficiency 

standards but envisions needing assistance 

and support if it does decide to do so. Based on 

student performance on English language arts 

assessments, there is growing support for English 

language proficiency standards in Palau.

Federated States of Micronesia. English language proficiency standards have not been 

developed at either the state or national level in the 

Federated States of Micronesia. Content standards 

for language arts are at various stages in the states. 

Kosrae and Pohnpei have developed standards for 

core academic content areas, including English 

language arts. Chuuk has developed performance 

expectations for language arts. Yap and Kosrae 

have requested assistance in developing English 

language proficiency standards. Kosrae would 

also like to develop Kosraean language proficiency 

standards. The Federated States of Micronesia 

national government has content standards for 

language arts, mathematics, and health and 

nutrition.

What forms of English language proficiency 

assessment are in place?

American Samoa, Guam, 

Hawai‘i, and the Northern Mariana Islands have 

used or are using commercially developed tests 

to assess English language 

proficiency. These tests 

are neither contextualized to the Pacific Region 

jurisdictions nor aligned with local standards. The 

other jurisdictions do not have a formal mechanism to assess English language proficiency.

Jurisdictions that have used commercially developed English language proficiency assessments 

to identify English language learners or measure 

English language proficiency have expressed 

dissatisfaction with these instruments and the 

resulting data. Their objections include contextually inappropriate items, expense, difficulty with 

implementation, and difficulty with scoring.

Most of the jurisdictions have language arts assessments based on language arts standards at the 

state or national level. While it is often assumed 

that language arts assessments measure English 

language proficiency, language arts assessments 

do not typically measure language development or 

all of the domains of language proficiency.

American Samoa. In the past year schools in 

American Samoa piloted two commercial English 

Jurisdictions that have 

used commercially 

developed English 

language proficiency 

assessments have 

expressed dissatisfaction 

with these instruments
6 English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region

language proficiency assessments, the LAS LinksTM 

and the Stanford English Language Proficiency 

Test (Stanford ELP) (Harcourt Assessment, Inc., 

2005). The American Samoa Department of 

Education has not yet decided whether to purchase 

one of these instruments or to develop its own 

English language proficiency assessment based on 

the school system’s English language proficiency 

standards. As the standards and benchmarks are 

still being developed, neither the LAS LinksTM nor 

the Stanford ELP can align with the standards. 

The American Samoa Department of Education 

is a partner in the Enhanced Assessment Grant, 

which focuses on developing standards-based 

English language proficiency assessments.

Guam. Guam developed and implemented the 

Language Other Than English program (recently 

renamed the English as a Second Language, ESL, 

program) to identify, assess, and provide ageappropriate education services to all students who 

are not proficient in English. English language 

learners are initially identified by home language 

use. ESL teachers use LAS measures appropriate 

to content area and age to assess students’ English 

language proficiency.1

Although these off-the-shelf assessments (LAS) 

are not aligned with Guam Public School System 

English language proficiency standards, Guam 

plans to continue to move forward in addressing 

effective accountability systems, including the 

development of English language proficiency standards and aligned assessments. The Guam Public 

School System is also a partner in the Enhanced 

Assessment Grant for developing standards-based 

English language proficiency 

assessments.

Hawai‘i. A grade-appropriate version of the LAS LinksTM is used to 

assess students’ English language 

proficiency.2 The LAS LinksTM is 

aligned with Teachers of English 

to Speakers of Other Languages 

standards. To meet the Title III 

requirements of the No Child Left 

Behind Act of 2001, Hawai‘i is expected to implement an assessment that is more closely aligned 

to the Hawai‘i English Language Proficiency 

standards. The state Department of Education 

is a partner in the Enhanced Assessment Grant 

focused on developing standards-based English 

language proficiency assessments.

The Northern Mariana Islands. No English 

language proficiency assessment is yet available, although the need for an English language 

proficiency assessment has been identified, and 

the Northern Mariana Islands plans to develop 

or adopt English language proficiency assessment 

instruments that are aligned with the new English 

language proficiency standards. The Northern 

Mariana Islands Public School System is also a 

partner in the Enhanced Assessment Grant for 

developing standards-based English language 

proficiency assessments.

The freely associated states. None of the entities in 

the freely associated states has developed or selected 

English language proficiency assessments. Palau and 

the Marshall Islands have implemented language 

arts assessments. All of the entities in the Federated States of Micronesia administer the national 

assessments for language arts. Pohnpei was developing standards-based assessments for reading to 

be implemented beginning in spring 2007. Kosrae 

implements assessments for language arts and Kosraean, as well as a high school entrance exam.

Recommendations for

services and programs

Based on the findings on the status of English 

language proficiency standards and assessments 

across the Pacific Region, several recommendations can be made to improve the development of 

services and programs.

Develop clear language development policies

Hawai‘i is the only jurisdiction in the Pacific 

Region required to comply with the No Child Left 

Hawai‘i is the only 

jurisdiction in the region 

required to comply 

with the No Child Left 

Behind Act; the other 

jurisdictions negotiate 

the aspects of the law 

for which they will be 

held accountable
 Recommendations for services and programs 7

Behind Act. For the other jurisdictions compliance 

is voluntary, and each negotiates the aspects of 

the law for which it will be accountable, including 

English language learner identification and English 

language proficiency assessment. Rather than 

approaching English language learner programs 

from the perspective of compliance with the No 

Child Left Behind Act, it might be better to identify 

the aspects of an integrated language development 

program that are appropriate to each jurisdiction.

A language development policy might include 

both students’ first language and English. The first 

step is to establish language proficiency levels and 

standards. While the number of proficiency levels 

and standards may vary, the standards should 

address all students (all grades and proficiency 

levels) in the domains of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and comprehension. Once language 

proficiency standards are in place, assessment 

may be used at the beginning of the school year 

to identify and place students, during the year to 

guide instruction, and at the end of the year to 

measure progress. A well researched and systematic approach to language development is needed 

to guide standards, curriculum, and assessment of 

both the first language and English.

Review content standards

The Pacific Region jurisdictions have prioritized 

the development of academic content standards for 

core subject areas (language arts, math, science) 

before English language proficiency standards. 

Only Hawai‘i has completely developed English 

language proficiency standards. Pacific Resources 

for Education and Learning (PREL) could facilitate 

the development of standards for core subject areas 

and English language proficiency for jurisdictions 

in the service area. It might also be helpful for 

jurisdictions to convene for a discussion on English 

language proficiency standards and on whether 

and how they are appropriate to their education 

systems. A peer review of existing standards would 

be useful to bring jurisdictions toward common 

ground. Although there are many differences in the 

Pacific Region, increased awareness and knowledge 

of commonalities could improve English language 

learner policies and programs.

Collect student information

American Samoa, Guam, Hawai‘i, and the Northern Mariana Islands use a home-language survey 

to identify English language learners. This type of 

survey may be useful for other jurisdictions that 

wish to identify languages spoken at home, including English. Having parents or guardians complete 

a survey at the time of student enrollment may also 

facilitate the collection of demographic data for developing accountability systems. Information about 

student demographics facilitates the disaggregation 

of student data by characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status; thereby 

improving the ability to track the achievement of 

subgroups of the student population.

Develop programs to address the specific 

needs of English language learners

The process for identifying 

English language learners 

needs to vary according to 

the demographics of each 

jurisdiction. In Guam, 

Hawai‘i, and the Northern 

Mariana Islands, for example, English language 

learners constitute a small subgroup of the population. These jurisdictions identify students as English 

language learners for targeting instruction and 

services. In a jurisdiction where all students speak 

a language other than English outside the school 

environment, however, it may not be appropriate 

to assess all students to qualify them as English 

language learners. What is important is to provide 

support and services for students according to their 

level of language proficiency.

Conduct research

Pacific Region jurisdictions that are currently 

using commercial English language proficiency 

tests have cited many problems with their 

The process for 

identifying English 

language learners 

needs to vary according 

to the demographics 

of each jurisdiction
8 English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region

implementation. In addition to test design issues 

there is the added challenge of assessing large 

numbers of English language learners. Further 

research on ways to assess English language proficiency in large populations would be useful.

English is not the dominant language used in the 

community in most Pacific Region jurisdictions. 

In school systems in these jurisdictions language 

proficiency goals usually include the student’s 

first language and English. Research focused on 

attributes and practices associated with successful 

bilingual programs would be of great value.

Provide professional development

Most of the jurisdictions are not assessing students’ English language proficiency even though 

English language learners make up a large percentage of the population. To address the needs 

of English language learners in the classroom it 

would be helpful to have a professional development program for teachers on how to conduct 

formative assessments and how to 

address the needs of English language learners in the classroom. 

Since many teachers are English 

language learners themselves, additional English instruction with a 

focus on the acquisition and use of 

academic language might also be 

beneficial.

Next steps

The findings of this report offer support for the 

following activities to be undertaken by PREL in 

the coming months:

Develop a Pacific assessment consortium

The English language proficiency assessments 

being used or piloted by American Samoa, Guam, 

Hawai‘i, and the Northern Mariana Islands are 

readily available through commercial vendors, 

but these assessments have numerous limitations, 

including their drains on budgets, time, and the 

capacity of local staff. These tests are not contextually appropriate or aligned with local standards, 

so they do not meet No Child Left Behind Title III 

requirements. Developing customized English language proficiency standards and assessments will 

improve data collection and interpretation and 

provide baseline data for more reliably establishing benchmark targets. The U.S. Department of 

Education has encouraged the jurisdictions to collaborate on the development of content standards 

and assessments.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded the 

Hawai‘i Department of Education, PREL, and 

a consortium of three education agencies (the 

American Samoa Department of Education, the 

Guam Public School System, and the Northern 

Mariana Islands Public School System) an Enhanced Assessment Grant. The grant enables these 

agencies to develop a test-item bank and to test 

blueprints and other instruments to enable consortium members to design culturally appropriate English language proficiency assessments for 

students in grades K–12. Test items will be aligned 

with English language proficiency standards for 

each education agency. Information about the Pacific assessment consortium will be disseminated 

nationally and regionally.

Conduct a randomized control trial of the PacificCHILD professional development program

A randomized control trial will be conducted of 

Pacific-CHILD (Communities with High Standards in Literacy Development). This professional 

development program is designed to upgrade the 

knowledge and skills of fourth- and fifth-grade 

teachers in reading comprehension, resulting 

in improved classroom practices and, therefore, 

higher student achievement.

The focus of the Pacific-CHILD study is on three 

reading components: vocabulary, question generation, and text structure. In addition, there are 

three instruction strategies: differentiated instruction, interactive tasks, and creation of a cognitively 

Developing customized 

English language 

proficiency standards 

and assessments will 

improve data collection 

and interpretation and 

provide baseline data
 Notes 9

rich environment. The target population is fourthand fifth-grade students, particularly English 

language learners.

PREL staff will provide professional development 

for two years to teachers participating in the study. 

Training will include a two-week annual institute 

in the summer; three mini-institutes in the fall, 

winter, and spring; two in-class observations per 

month; monthly demonstration lessons by PREL 

staff; and weekly structured learning team meetings with PREL staff joining the meetings twice 

each month.

Notes

1. The assessment instruments used by the department’s ESL teachers to determine the level 

of a student’s English language proficiency 

include the following: Pre-LAS Oral (given 

to students ages 4–6), LAS Oral I (given to 

students age 7 or older or in grades 2–5), LAS 

Oral II (given to students in grades 6–12), 

LAS Reading and Writing 1 (given to students 

in grades 2–3), LAS Reading and Writing 2 

(given to students in grades 4–6), and LAS 

Reading and Writing 3 (given to students in 

grades 7–12).

2. External validation of the LAS Links has been 

conducted, and results are available in the 

CTB McGraw Hill technical manual.
10 English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region

Appendix A 

Study questions and data 

collection methodology

The overarching question guiding the study is this: 

What is the status of English language proficiency 

standards and aligned assessments across the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Pacific service 

region? To address this larger question more specifically, four questions were identified in May 2006:

1. What portion of English language learner 

school-age children are being (will be) 

served in each jurisdiction K–12 across the 

curriculum?

2. What stage of completion of English language 

proficiency standards has each jurisdiction 

reached? Are any of the jurisdictions not planning to develop English language proficiency 

standards? If not, why not?

3. What forms of English language proficiency 

assessments are in place across the jurisdictions? Are they contextualized assessments? 

Do the English language proficiency assessment items align with standards?

4. Are English language proficiency standards 

being implemented? How is standards-based 

education being addressed and supported? 

What can we learn from jurisdictions that 

have implemented English language proficiency standards and assessments?

These questions were then revised in light of current English language proficiency program status. 

For example, because most jurisdictions do not 

collect data on the proportion of English language 

learners being served, a question was added on how 

English language learners are identified. In addition, question 4 was eliminated because conversations with key personnel in each jurisdiction made 

it clear that none of the jurisdictions has formally 

adopted English language proficiency standards, 

although Hawai‘i has developed standards and is 

awaiting approval by the state governing board.

The revisions resulted in the following questions:

1. How are English language learners identified 

in each jurisdiction? Are any of the jurisdictions not planning to identify English language learners as a subgroup? If not, why not?

2. What stage of completion of English language 

proficiency standards has each jurisdiction 

reached? Are any of the jurisdictions not planning to develop English language proficiency 

standards? If not, why not?

3. What forms of English language proficiency 

assessments are in place across the jurisdictions? Are they contextualized assessments? 

Do the English language proficiency assessment items align with standards?

Data collection

Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from various sources at the ministries and 

departments of education. Quantitative data for 

English language learners were collected from 

Hawai‘i Department of Education web sites 

(Hawai‘i Department of Education, 2007a; 2007b) 

and the Guam Public School System web site 

(Guam Public School System, 2007), including 

data on the number and percentage of English 

language learners by grade.

Data for English language learners were not available online for American Samoa, Chuuk, Kosrae, 

the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana 

Islands, Palau, Pohnpei, or Yap. English language 

learner data for these sites were collected by Pacific 

Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) 

staff for use in particular programs or proposals. 

These data have been reported in articles in Pacific 

Educator (PREL’s semiannual magazine) and in 

grant applications, such as the Enhanced Assessment Grant proposal and the current REL-Pacific 

proposal, both submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. Several sources provided the 

data used in this report for these jurisdictions: 

Broekhuizen (2002, 2004); Brown (2002, 2003); 
 Appendix A 11

Cummings (2005); Donahue (1997); Laturno 

(2001, 2002); Lee & Donahue (1998); Pablo & Koki 

(1999); Rao (2005); and Taitague (2006).

Qualitative data on standards and assessments 

were collected through a survey (see appendix 

B) administered through face-to-face interviews 

(three) or by email (five). In total, 11 respondents 

were contacted for interviews. The face-to-face 

interviews were conducted with education professionals from American Samoa, Chuuk, and Pohnpei who are currently employees of PREL. Two 

interviewees are working in the PREL office on 

a year-long assignment as language arts specialists, and the third interviewee is a full-time PREL 

employee from Pohnpei who has many years of 

experience as a program specialist. Each interviewee had in-depth knowledge of English language 

learner practices in his or her education agency.

The five respondents who returned the survey 

by email were from the following jurisdictions: 

American Samoa, Guam, Kosrae, Marshall 

Islands, and Palau. No interviews or surveys were 

received from the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

Federated States of Micronesia’s national jurisdiction, or Yap. In total, therefore, 8 of the 11 jurisdictions (73 percent) provided information on 

the questions addressed in this English language 

proficiency status report.

Three regional reviewers were contacted to comment on the English language proficiency status 

report. These reviewers, from American Samoa, 

Guam, and Hawai‘i, are experts in English language proficiency issues in their respective jurisdictions. Their input has been included throughout 

this report, including the final recommendations.

Study population

The REL Pacific service region comprises 10 

jurisdictions and the national government of the 

Federated States of Micronesia. The jurisdictions 

include American Samoa, Guam, Hawai‘i, the 

Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 

States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and 

Yap), the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

The jurisdictions are affiliated with the U.S. government in three different ways: state (Hawai‘i), 

territory (American Samoa, Guam, and Northern 

Mariana Islands), and freely associated state (the 

Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau). Across these jurisdictions, language policies and practices and compliance with 

No Child Left Behind vary greatly.

Language policies and practices. The Pacific Region 

jurisdictions have unique policies and practices 

for English instruction. For example, in Guam, 

Hawai‘i, and the Northern Mariana Islands, 

English is the primary language of instruction for 

students K–12, and English as a second language 

programs are in place for English language learners. Heritage language programs exist for Carolinian (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands), 

Chamorro (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands), 

and Hawaiian (Hawai‘i). Instruction in American 

Samoa is in English for all subjects except Samoan 

language arts, when students in the elementary 

grades are provided 45 minutes of Samoan language each day. In the Marshall Islands Marshallese is the language of instruction for grades 1–3, 

and then students are transitioned to English. 

Marshallese is maintained as the language of instruction for 60 minutes each day in grades 4–12. 

In Palau a developmental bilingual program is in 

place; Palauan is the language of instruction for 

grades 1–8. Students are transitioned to English in 

the higher grades. Palauan language and cultural 

studies are maintained in the higher grades (9–12) 

for 45 minutes each day. Some jurisdictions implement transitional bilingual programs to enhance 

learning. For example, in Chuuk schools Chuukese 

is the language of instruction until grade 4, when 

students are transitioned to English.

English language learners in the Pacific Region 

jurisdictions may be grouped based on their English language exposure and usage. Students with 

the highest level of exposure to English, such as 

those in Hawai‘i, constitute category 1. Category 2 
12 English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region

describes students with a high level of exposure to 

English due to government, business, and social 

interactions that demand more use of English. 

Students in Guam and the Northern Mariana 

Islands are in this category. Category 3 represents 

students with the least exposure to English. Nearly 

all English language learners in category 3 speak a 

language other than English at home and in their 

communities but learn English at school. Students 

in American Samoa, the Marshall Islands, the 

Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau are in 

category 3.

Compliance with No Child Left Behind. Compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in 

the Pacific Region falls into three tiers of responsibility (table A1). Hawai‘i, the only state, is in tier 

1 and is held accountable for all provisions of the 

act. The territories and Palau are in tier 2. Through 

a consolidated grant process with the U.S. Department of Education, these jurisdictions individually 

negotiate the provisions of the act for which they 

will be held accountable. The Marshall Islands and 

the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, 

Pohnpei, and Yap) make up tier 3. These jurisdictions are not held accountable under No Child 

Left Behind. Rather, they receive compact funds 

administered by the Department of the Interior’s 

Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), to which they are 

held accountable for 20 indicators of educational 

progress. The OIA also encourages the Marshall 

Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia to 

adopt some concepts from No Child Left Behind 

(such as standards and benchmarks, aligned curriculum and instruction, and assessment systems 

that measure standards and benchmarks).

Table A1

Compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Jurisdiction

Mandatory compliance 

(tier 1)

Negotiated with 

U.S. Department of 

Education (tier 2)

Negotiated with 

U.S. Department of 

the Interior (tier 3)

Hawai‘i ✓

American Samoa ✓

Guam ✓

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ✓

Republic of Palau ✓

Republic of the Marshall Islands ✓

Federated States of Micronesia

Chuuk ✓

Kosrae ✓

Pohnpei ✓

Yap ✓

Source: Hawai‘i Department of Education (2006); Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, American Samoa Department of Education (2007), 

personal communication; Guam Public School System (2005); Associate Commissioner of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands (2007), personal communication; and Director of Territories and Freely Associated States Educational Grant Program, Freely Associated States (2007), personal communication.
 Appendix B 13

Appendix B 

Status of English language

proficiency (ELP) standards and 

assessment: interview questions

Please answer the following questions:

1. What is the status of ELP standards in your 

school system? (please check one)

____ We do not plan to develop ELP standards

____ We are planning to develop ELP standards

____ We are currently developing ELP standards

____ We have developed ELP standards

____ Other: _________________________

 _________________________

 _________________________

2. Do you need any assistance developing your 

ELP standards? ____ Yes ____ No

If yes, please explain: ____________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

3. What is the status of ELP assessment in your 

school system? (please check one)

____ We do not plan to assess ELP

____ We are planning to develop ELP assessments

____ We are currently developing ELP 

assessments

____ We are using these tests to assess ELP:

 _______________________________

 _______________________________

____ Other: _________________________

 _________________________

 _________________________

4. Do you need any assistance developing ELP 

assessments? ____ Yes ____ No
14 English language proficiency assessment in the Pacific Region

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