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District reports ACCESS gains for multilingual learners; writing remains the largest skill gap
Summary
Naha Skander, supervisor of multilingual education, presented ACCESS test results, reporting short average program tenure and gains in listening and speaking; the district is expanding oral practice, Tech Fridays, phonics and K-12 vocabulary supports.
Naha Skander, supervisor of multilingual education, presented the district's ACCESS assessment results for multilingual learners tested in February and March 2025 and outlined interventions to support English-language development.
The ACCESS assessment is a state-mandated, annual test for students enrolled in multilingual programs that measures English proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Skander said the district's multilingual students averaged about "1.81 years in program," a comparatively short program tenure that the presenter said corresponds with a higher-than-typical exit rate.
Skander said listening produced the highest scores and writing the lowest, with speaking scores improving after the district moved test administrations from cafeteria settings to smaller classroom groups. "Our highest scores were listening," she said. "Our lowest score was writing."
The presentation included subgroup reporting where allowed; some demographic groups were omitted from public reporting because the subgroup sizes fell below the state's minimum disclosure thresholds. Skander described strategies now in place or expanding this school year: increased oral-practice opportunities, continued use of flex time at the high school for targeted supports, Tech Fridays and an ELSA summer course, expanded phonics and academic-vocabulary work tied to general-education curricula, and work to update and refresh the multilingual-learner web resources for teachers and families. She said the department also provides translated communications to parents and holds dedicated parent nights.
Skander described classroom- and administrator-facing supports: training administrators on sheltered instruction "look-fors," streamlining differentiation tools for teachers, and analyzing usage data from language-practice apps to tailor instruction.
No formal board action resulted from the presentation. Skander invited questions; the board had none at the time.
