ENGLISH LEARNERS

in COLORADO
a

State of the State

2010
Why is being bilingual
important?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bqGlDYj2Co
 ELLs & Changing Demographics in
the United States:

• 12.4% of the U.S. population was foreign born

in 2005
• Over 50% of this population was born in Latin
America
• Between 1990 and 2000, the Hispanic
population in the U.S. increased by 58%
• Colorado is one of 7 states that has a student
population of LEPs that is greater than 100,000
 ELL Growth in U.S. Schools:

•Over the last 15 years:

–Total school enrollments have increased by
20%
–ELL enrollments have increased by 150%
–Some states show increases over 200%
–Depending on region, the primary language
of at least 40% of English Language Learners
is is Spanish
 Destination States:

States that have had over 200% growth in their

ELL population since 1994 (as determined by the
type of industry these states provide) include…

Colorado, Nevada, Nebraska, Arkansas,

Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and
Puerto Rico
ELL Growth Rate in CO:

• Colorado total K-12 enrollment growth

rate over the last thirteen years =
16.6%

• Colorado ELL total enrollment growth

rate over the last thirteen years =
297%
Across Colorado:

• 66% of ELLs are in the Denver metro

area (or 8% of the state’s school
districts)
• The North Central and North East
regions house the largest ELL
populations
• Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Morgan,
Yuma, and Lincoln have seen large
increases in their ELL populations due
to specific industries
 How many school-aged English learners
(EL’s) are there in Colorado?
 
NEP/LEP FEP M1 FEP M2 Total EL
(Non-English  (Fluent English  (Fluent English 
Proficient/Limited  Proficient Monitor  Proficient Monitor 
English Proficient ) Year 1) Year 2)

2006-2007 86,899 7,439 5,701 100,039

2007-2008 82,347 9,168 6,929 98,444

2008-2009 86,539 10,129 6,707 101,379

2009-2010 94,758 6,781 8,961 110,500*

*Total EL numbers do not include parent choice, nor exited students. If included, the total number for 2009-2010
would be 113,262 and134,627 respectively.
Data Source: Student October
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 CO Top 10 Districts by # of
ELs

Data Source: 2010 CELA data file

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 What grade are ELs in and how have student
populations grown over the last three years?

Data Source: Student October

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In Colorado:

• Out of 110,500 second language learners,

94,758 are labeled LEP or NEP
• A little more than 10% are in bilingual
programs and the rest are served in ESL
programs
• The large numbers of ELLs entering school
is representative of the population that
districts can anticipate over time
Migrant Students in Colorado (2009):

• Colorado has identified 6,323* migrant

children

• Of the 6,323 migrant children, 1,727

are homeless as defined by the
McKinney Vento Act giving Colorado’s
migrant children a homeless rate of
20.3%
• *Migrant count is from July 2010
 ELs by Ethnicity
2009-2010

Data Source: Student October

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 Top 20 Languages Spoken in Colorado
Schools 2009-2010
* In 2009-2010, there were 165 different languages represented by Colorado ELs.
Language #   Language #
1. Spanish 116,357   11. Somali 541  

2. Vietnamese 3068   12.Nepali 491  

3. Russian 1,557   13.German 479  

4. Arabic 1,369   14.Tagalog 461  

5. Korean 1,333   15.Khmer 346  

6. Chinese, Mandarin 1,270   16.Navajo 318  

7. Hmong 921   17.Japanese 308  

8. Amharic 655   18.Polish 290  

9. French 594   19.Lao 277  

10. Chinese, Cantonese 564   20. Karen 257  

Data Source: Student October

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 Colorado Graduation Rates
2007-2009
 
Class of 2007 Class of 2008 Class of 2009

# of Graduates Graduation Rate # of Graduates Graduation Rate # of Graduates Graduation Rate

All
45628 75% 45,628 75.0% 47459 75%

English Language
Learners
2787 55% 3030 52% 3199 53%

Migrant
470 61% 525 58% 511 58%

Hispanic
8100 57% 8517 56% 9364 58%

White
33031 82% 33199 82% 33272 82%

Black
2417 65% 2507 64% 2619 64%

Economically
Disadvantaged
10891 63% 11649 59% 12961 51%

Data Source: CDE website

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On Graduation Rates:

• The average graduation rate for the

state of Colorado is 75%
• The graduation rates for ELLs and
Migrant students are respectively 53%
and 58%
• The graduation rate for Hispanic
students is 58%
Assessments:
2010 CELA State Results by Grade
Mostly 4’s after 1st grade

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Colorado English Language Assessment
(CELA) :

• CELA results show that majority of the

ELLs in CO are LEP.
• Most NEPs are in Kindergarten and
1st grade since they are just
beginning to learn English
• By 4th grade,most students are
scoring in the 3-4 range
 Colorado ACT

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2010 CSAP and ELLs :

• The averages for ELL include all ELL,

from NEP through Monitor status.
• In most cases, FEP Monitor students
averages are higher than the state
averages.
• The point where we see the largest
discrepancy starts in grade 9 and goes
through grade 12 , which is a big change
from the previous 4 years because it
used to start with grade 6.
2010 CSAP Reading Grade 4 and CELA Pro
Overall Comparison

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2010 CSAP Reading Grade 6 and CELA Pro
Overall Comparison

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2010 CSAP Reading Grade 8 and CELA Pro
Overall Comparison

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 CSAP Reading Grade 10 and CELA Pro
Overall Comparison

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Reading CSAP:

• CSAP Reading scores compared to

CELA scores show that…
• The majority of ELLs in Colorado are
not demonstrating grade level
proficiency as they reach CELA 5 and
some at CELA 4.
 2010 CSAP Writing Grade 4

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 2010 CSAP Writing Grade 8

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 2010 CSAP Writing Grade 10

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Writing CSAP:

• In 4th grade, FEPs exceed the state

average on the writing portion of the
test and most LEPs are partially
proficient.
• By 10th grade, the trends for
proficiency have not changed.
 2010 CSAP Math Grade 4

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 2010 CSAP Math Grade 8

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 2010 CSAP Math Grade 10

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Math CSAP:

• In 4th grade, FEPs and nearly LEP

exceed the state average for the math
CSAP.
• By 10th grade, none of the sub groups
of ELLs meets or exceeds the state
average.
 2010 CSAP Science Grade 5

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 2010 CSAP Science Grade 8

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 2010 CSAP Science Grade 10

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Science CSAP:

• In 5th grade, FEP ELLs are just above

the State average for proficient.
• By 10th grade, the numbers are
largely unchanged.
A Portrait of Colorado Teachers with
Endorsements to Teach ELLs :
 2008-2009 2009-2010

* Linguistically Diverse Education 429 * Linguistically Diverse Education 455

* Linguistically Diverse * Linguistically Diverse
Bilingual 27 Bilingual 31
* Bilingual Education 122
* Bilingual Education 76
* Bilingual-Bicultural
Education 21 * Bilingual-Bicultural
Education 127

  Total:                         599    Total:                            718

Total Currently Active (as of July 2010)

(Some license categories are old and are no longer used, however some may still be active in the older categories)

Linguistically Diverse Education 230800 1508

Linguistically Diverse: Bilingual education: 230810 100
(Bilingual) 230822 454
(esl) 230823 748
Linguistically Diverse 230821 1108
Bilingual-Bicultural Ed 230820 71

Total 3989

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If Not You, Then Who?
 Always remember…anyone
can learn a second language!
For more information, please contact:

Dr. Bárbara Medina

Assistant Commissioner

Colorado Department of Education

201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 401
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 303.866.6963
Fax: 303.866.6892

http://www.cde.state.co.us