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On ESL standards for school-age learners

The recent introduction of literacy benchmarks and assessment regimes in schools which are designed for students with an English-speaking background but which are also used to assess the second language and literacy progress of ESL1 learners has repercussions for teaching and learning, on professional understandings and on ESL learner self-efficacy. Insights into how to map and monitor ESL language development within the mainstream context have been gained through the development of a number of ESL standards for schools. This article presents principles behind the construction of ESL standards for schools, drawing on examples of ESL standards developed in Australia, England and Wales, and the United States, and examines how differences in purpose in these standards - planning, professional understanding, and reporting - influence how ESL standards might best be constructed. It raises issues of consequential validity which arise in the construction and use of valid ESL standards. Arguments supporting the need for ESL standards in the current climate of English-speaking background-based assessment for all are put forward through a close analysis and understanding of the construction and impact of different types of ESL standards.