It is also useful in developing the individual student portfolios which are a key part of the assessment process. Also included are two reading scales which can be used in conjunction with these procedures. The Primary Language Record was developed by teachers and staff of the Center for Language in Primary Education in London, England, where it has been used in many schools with multiracial, multilingual student populations. In the U.S., it has mainly been used with elementary school students, though individual teachers are adapting it for use at the middle and high school levels. The forms are essentially the same, though slightly different versions exist for the secondary level, where students have more responsibility for their learning.
All forms are appropriate for use in California's many heterogeneous and multilingual classrooms.
The original focus on oral and written language in K-12 is being expanded to include student learning in other subjects such as science and mathematics. The CLR is also being tried as a potential alternative assessment method for the Chapter 1 federal remediation program. In New York City, which has a student population of whom more than half are African American or Hispanic, the Primary Language Record was piloted in over forty schools during the 1991-92 school year. Pre-K through grade three teachers who volunteered for the project were required to use the PLR with only one to three children per class, though some teachers involved more students. During the first year, the reading scales were not emphasized, but NYAN plans to help teachers learn to use them during 1992 summer teacher institutes.