SPRINGDALE : Hispanic students urged to excel at state tests
Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/219550/
SPRINGDALE — Broadcasting teacher Jo Ray led a group of students in a Spanish chant Wednesday, seeking to scratch together some enthusiasm from the tired voices gathered for first period at Springdale High School.
“Si, podemos,” they said. The phrase translates to “yes, we can.”
The students, representing ethnic groups and ages assembled from elementary, middle and high schools throughout the district, were gathered to film a public service announcement designed to motivate Spanishspeaking peers and parents to put more emphasis on statemandated standardized tests, such as the state Benchmark Exams.
“Students will listen to other students much more than adults,” said Kimberly Lewis, a program specialist for students who have limited English skills. She helped coordinate the filming.
The announcement will air in both Spanish and English on the high schools’ news channels, the local affiliate for Univision TV and local Spanish radio stations, she said. Language specialists hope to broadcast similar announcements statewide.
Seventeen out of 22 Springdale schools failed to meet federal testing standards on the Benchmark or end-of-course exams last spring. Only six of the city’s schools failed the previous year.
The shift came after a change in state law required English-language learners to take the standard, English-only exam if they’ve been in U. S. schools for at least a year, Superintendent Jim Rollins said. English-language learners previously completed projects instead of taking tests to document learning progress.
“English-language learner” refers to students who do not speak, read or write English fluently because they come from environments where English is not the dominant language. Nearly 40 percent of Springdale’s 16, 631-student enrollment are in the program.
“We have thousands of kids who’ve moved to the district in the last couple of years,” Rollins said, referring to English-language learners. “They’re trying to learn the language and, at the same time, they’re trying to learn the process involved in the curriculum.
“ I think, clearly, kids new to the country who are dealing with the language acquisition piece need a minimum of three years of instruction in the language,” he said.
School funding is partially contingent upon sufficient annual improvements in Benchmark scores, which measure math and literacy skills. Rollins estimates that as many as 4, 000 Englishlanguage learners are among the 7, 000 students who take the test.
“That could certainly skew the results of the testing pool,” he said.
Rollins said his district formalized plans in October to improve performance of English-language learners. Administrators are training teachers to integrate language learning into regular classroom lessons, rather than strictly hiring teachers certified in English as a Second Language programs.
“The reality is there’s a scarcity in the market place in terms of teachers with those credentials, so we have to grow our own,” he said.
Lewis said Benchmark tests can be daunting for lifelong English speakers. Spanish-speakers often feel defeated by the complex nature of the questions, draining them of motivation, she said.
Public service announcements are part of a trend in Northwest Arkansas schools, who use the announcements to encourage students when testing time nears. A student-organized Rogers group held a pep rally earlier this year, encouraging effort on literacy exams. In the Springdale recordings, Spanish-speaking students urged their peers to eat breakfast the day of the exam and get plenty of sleep the night before. “It’s a very difficult test,” Lewis said. “We want to highlight the important things in our district and have peers talking to peers.”
To contact this reporter: eblad@arkansasonline. com