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PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN
VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:b2a26c1fd997a7a0e6bf3f80b47605f3
DTSTAMP:20260710T170048Z
SUMMARY:English Proficiency and the Pandemic: Where Are English Learner Stu
 dents' Language and Literacy Skills Now?
DESCRIPTION:This REL Southwest webinar examined the impact of the COVID-19 
 pandemic on English learner students' English language proficiency. The CO
 VID-19 pandemic disrupted learning for all students in the United States\,
  but students who are English learners faced particular challenges. These 
 students may have had fewer opportunities to practice speaking English whi
 le learning virtually. Data show that English learner students had less ac
 cess to the Internet and received fewer instructional hours than their Eng
 lish-proficient peers\, which could have further impeded their language de
 velopment and academic progress. The webinar opened with an introduction f
 rom the Office of English Language Acquisition at the U.S. Department of E
 ducation about post-pandemic needs and policy implications for English lea
 rner students\, followed by the presentation of study findings. Researcher
 s discussed two recent reports on changes in English learner students' Eng
 lish language proficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first report\,
  a study by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southwest\, examined lev
 els of English proficiency before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among E
 nglish learner students in grades 3-12 in Texas. This study focused on sta
 te assessment scores in English listening\, speaking\, and reading among s
 tudents who took the test in 2020/21 and compared those scores with a matc
 hed cohort of similar students from 2018/19. The second report\, a WIDA st
 udy\, examined data across four school years (2018/19 through 2021/22) fro
 m the ACCESS for ELLs Online assessment\, which is an annual assessment ta
 ken by students identified as English learner students in 41 states. The s
 tudy looked at the proficiency scores in reading\, listening\, speaking an
 d writing\, and the average growth of English learner students across adja
 cent academic years. Following the discussion of findings\, practitioners 
 shared what they are seeing in their districts today regarding both bright
  spots and ongoing needs among English learner students--as well as what h
 as helped their students and educators. The webinar closed with a question
 -and-answer session during which presenters and panelists answered audienc
 e questions. Speakers and Panelists:  Melissa Castillo\, Senior Advisor\, 
 Office of English Language Acquisition\, U.S. Department of Education Lisa
  Hsin\, Senior Researcher\, REL Southwest David Osman\, Director of Resear
 ch and Evaluation\, Gibson Consulting Group Narek Sahakyan\, Researcher\, 
 WIDA Glenn Poole\, Graduate Research Assistant \, WIDA Irma Guerra\, Coord
 inator III\, Curriculum Support\, Bilingual/ESL/LOTE\, Education Service C
 enter\, Region 20\, Texas Emily Key\, Principal\, Albuquerque Public Schoo
 ls\, New Mexico 
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231114
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