California's English learners doing better

California's English learners are learning more English, the state says in a report out today.

In the 2007-08 school year, nearly 36% of the state’s English learners showed "advanced" or "early advanced" skills on the California English Language Development Test. That's 4% more than in the prior year. (Earlier comparisons are unavailable because the scoring scale was changed last year).

Additionally, the number of test-takers grew 2% to nearly 1.4 million students.

LA. Unified students mirrored the state, with 35% showing "advanced" or "early advanced" skills, a 2% gain over last year. Students in some other large urban districts in Southern California showed improvements but lagged behind their peers statewide. In Long Beach, 28% scored in the top two categories, and 31% in Santa Ana.

Students who score in the "advanced" or "early advanced" categories and meet other goals can be reclassified as fluent English speakers, and that gives them greater access to higher level and college-prep courses.

There's more work to do, however, says the state education superintendent, Jack O'Connell: "If our state is to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy, we must all work together to close the achievement gap."

-- Seema Mehta