Robbie's Story as a Student Age 6yrs/Grade 1 Overall Academic Standing (Scale of 1-4, in Reading, Writing, Math, and Individual Worker): Low to mid standing, some 2's, mostly 3's DRA Level: 2 Primary Language: Spanish (sheltered), bi-lingual, fluent in English but considered ELD status, minimal pull-out instruction. Strengths (according to Placement Card/Teacher comments): social, enjoys class discussions, pays attention to detail. Bi-lingual. Needs (according to Placement Card/Teacher comments): slow to begin work, doesn't always complete work on time because he's so methodical or too social. What I know and think about Robbie: Robbie is a very agreeable little boy. His favorite subject is reading and he likes to write, too. He is very attentive during lessons, and seldom, if ever interacts with other children during a lesson. He watches his teacher and often raises his hand to answer questions or give comments. He smiles a lot and is very helpful to those who sit near him in his seat. He can get distracted by those sitting around him, but stays on task most of the time. He is very approachable and enjoys talking to adults. He watches a little T.V. at home, but mostly practices reading and writing with his mom. Sometimes he appears tired or a bit impatient, but is very unassuming and quiet. He appears to really like to read and write. Quotes: --"I like to read to my mom." --"I like to write because my mom makes me practice." --"My dad kinda speaks Spanish at home."

Robbie's story as a language learner Family Background: Robbie's parents are separated and his lives with his mom, Grandma and 4 yr. old little brother. He visits his father occasionally during the week and on the weekends. His mom works full-time and is with him after 6pm in the evenings. In between that time, his Grandma takes care of him. She speaks limited to no English and converses with Robbie in Spanish. Robbie spoke only in Spanish until halfway through his Kindergarten year. He speaks fluently in English now, and does not like to speak in Spanish unless he has to. His mother tries to get him to talk to her in Spanish, but he doesn't. It appears as if Robbie will only speak Spanish in short questions and responses, and prefers to do his thinking in English. His mother fears he is losing his native tongue.

Robbie's proficiency in oral (listening and speaking) academic English Robbie's listening and speaking skills in academic English are quite good. Upon first impression, he appears to be a fluent English speaker. The results of his CELDT test provide more in depth nuances of his oral academic abilities. Listening and Speaking 1) Following Oral Directions 10 [10] 2) Teacher Talk 5 [6] 3) Extended Listening Comprehension 1 [3] 4) Oral Vocabulary 10 [10] 5) Speech Functions -- [8] 6) Choose and Give Reasons 2 [2] 7) 4-picture Narrative 4 [4] 8) Listening and Speaking Raw Score 32 [43] Scale Score: 555 Skill Area/Proficiency Level: Early Advanced Students who perform at this level on the CELDT typically: --understand and use a somewhat more extensive vocabulary and simple syntax, with occasional problems in comprehension or communication --understand and follow many simple oral directions --tell a somewhat coherent story based on a picture sequence, but without clearly ecpressing its main point, using some complete sentences with gaps in vocabulary and errors that hinder communication

Robbie's proficiency in written (reading and writing) academic English Reading: Robbie's reading skills are considered falling just short of being on target. Listed below are his scores in the following areas: --DRA Level: 3 --Letter identification: 53/55 --Word Test: 17/20 --Concepts about Print: 14/24 --Hearing Sounds in Words: 35/37 Writing Vocabulary: 10 words on his own Robbie is good at looking for picture cues when reading. He is able to try and sound out words, but can often give up too easily, preferring instead to memorize sight words. He is fast and fluent with letter id and sounds and is always eager to pick up a book and read.He is capable of discussing what he's read and can name his favorite parts of a book as well as give a brief summary of key points of a story. Writing:Robbie is emerging as a Transitional Writing Learner. He recognizes consonants and vowels when spelling and he spells phonetically, recognizing beginning, middle and ending sounds. He uses adequate spacing between words, and reverses the normal letters for his grade level, such as "b" for "d" and vice versa. He is not writing more than one sentence on his own, mostly decscriptive sentences, and is familiar with some writing conventions such as using a period, and the correct use of upper and lower case letters.

Robbie's current classroom The majority of students in Robbie's classroom went to Grant Elementary last year for thier Kindergarten year. Quite a few of the students experienced a crazy Kindergarten year, participating in a K-1 classroom and losing thier original teacher mid-year, only to be replaced by a relatively inexperienced one. This, thier current 1st grade teacher, believes has had an impact on thier overall development and academic ability. (1) schooling experience and academic ability The children in Ruben's class are spread out academically. Of the 19 students: 6--are above grade level, particularly in reading 5--are on grade level 8--are below grade level (2) cultural and linguistic background The cultural background is Ruben's class is quite varied and it's important to note that there is not one caucasian student in the group. Of the 19 students: 3--are Filipino/Tagalog 1--Black/French 9--Latino/Mexican 1--Vietnamese 2--are African American 2--Chinese 1--Persian (3) linguistic proficiency 10 of the 19 students are considered ELD status; however, there are no Non-English speakers in Robbie's class. Some are of limited English proficiency. While all are not native speakers, they sound as if English is indeed, there native language. --3 of the 10 are pulled for ELD instruction --the remaining 7are considered med to high proficiency and are not pulled

Robbie's Current School (1) School Experience and Academic Ability --Grant Elementary's Academic Performance Index for 2004 is 730 (the goal for all schools is 800). the school's API rank compared to all schools in the state is 6 out of 10; their rank compared to similar schools based on similar demographic profiles is 2 out of 10. Looking more closely at the score breakdwon by "subgroups," the API for the Hispanic population is 688, the low income population is 672, and the White population is 767 (API numbers and ranks are based on test scores). --In 2004, 34% of the students scored at proficient level or above in English/Language arts on the California Standards Test; 41% scored at proficient level or above in Math. The state average were 35% and 41%, respectively. --Given that in 2004, 46% of the student population at Grant Elementary is Latino, the following scores indicate ranking by subgroups. Latino--25% in Reading, 38 % in Math (2 & 3) Cultural and Linguistic Background/Lingusitic Proficiency --There are 403 students currently enrolled at Grant Elementary school. The demographics of the student population are as follows: 7% African American, 10% Asian, 10% Filipino, 46% Hispanic, 1% Native American, 1% Pacific Islander, 25% White, 0% mixed race or no response. --32% of the student population participates in free or reduced lunch (the state average is 56%). --Parent Education level: 8% of the parent population did not graduate from high school, 27% are highschool graduates, 31% have some college experience, 29% are college graduates, 5% completed graduate school, and 59% of students with parent education data available. --30% of the students are English Language Learners (compare to a state average of 25% for schools K-5). The home language for 72% if students is Spanish, followed by 4% Vietnamese, 6% Cantonese, 1% Korean and 8% Filipino (Tagalog). Academic and Demographic Information for Grant Elementary Click here for more information on Grant Elementary School