The Opportunity for Delphi Community Elementary School Multiligual Learners with Readable English
Delphi Community Elementary School implemented Readable English with groups of 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade Multilingual Learner (ML) students in 2021-2022. The English Language Proficiency (ELP) scores on the WIDA ACCESS in the Spring of 2021 were between 2.0 and 4.5 for the students using Readable English. Their Reading domain ELP scores ranged from 1.9 - 5.2 on the Spring 2021 WIDA ACCESS.
The Multilingual Learner Teacher of Record, Sabrina King, wondered how to improve their fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary to test out of WIDA ACCESS in the Spring of 2022. The ML second graders were the lowest performing students in their entire grade level. Ms. King supported the Readable English initiative because it provided the structured literacy needed for these students. The students needed to grasp the ability to read the English language faster to gain growth toward grade-level proficiency.
Why DCES Chose Readable English
Staff members attended a training to learn about the implementation process, growth, and overall understanding of Readable English. They appreciated the ease of the program and the lessened cognitive load for the students when learning how to read. They were also motivated by the fast growth they were seeing in the students, which is unusual in their ML population.
How DCES Used Readable English
Delphi Community Elementary School (DCES) focused its attention on Special Education, Multilingual Learners, and their Response to Intervention students. The students were taught in small groups based on grade level. They were pulled out for 30 minutes, for at least 4 days per week for most of the school year, beginning in the middle of October 2021.
There were some consistency issues occasionally throughout the year including COVID-19. However, in spite of those inconsistencies, DCES students, especially the ML student group, showed strong growth and success with Readable English.
The Results
Second Grade Results
In the short implementation of Readable English, amazing results were seen in the 2nd grade Multilingual Learners, particularly in fluency, words per minute (WPM). The scores below were taken from the EasyCBM Oral Reading Fluency assessment utilized for benchmarking and progress monitoring.
- At the Beginning of Year (BOY) both students were below grade level. At the End of Year (EOY) both students were close or above grade level.
- Student 1 increased their WPM by 79 and student 2 improved by 51 WPM.
- Student 1’s WIDA ACCESS Reading domain ELP went from a 1.9 to a 4.0 in one year using Readable English.
Fourth Grade Results
While fluency is one component of Readable English, growth was also seen in comprehension and vocabulary with the 4th-grade ML students. According to WIDA requirements, once a student reaches an ELP level 5 they are considered proficient. The graph shows that 3 out of 4 students increased their Reading Domain ELP to above a level 5.
Fifth Grade Results
Along with the success and growth from 2nd and 4th graders, there were four 5th grade ML students who used Readable English. At the beginning of the year their ELP levels were between 3.0 and 4.5. By the end of the year, 3 out of the 4 students tested out of WIDA ACCESS and are now on a 2-year monitor plan as an ML student.