All LEAs are held accountable and the success of each ESL program will be measured based on meeting annual language proficiency growth targets which will include results from the ACCESS for ELs 2.0 assessment given annually.

As such, all LEAs will receive written notice annually of their ability or inability to meet these targets. These targets should be considered an indicator of the success of the ESL Program and failure to meet these targets, indicate a need for re-evaluation of the curriculum and program as a whole.  

Mars Area School District will also use the following criteria to measure success of the English Language Learners:

• Meeting annually language proficiency growth targets
• Percentage of ELs achieving Basic or better on PSSAs and Keystones
• Percentage of ELs who are exiting the program annually

ELLs will participate in all assessments. These include grade appropriate PSSA, KEYSTONE and/or other literacy based tests.

Accommodations

Accommodations are provided to ensure that an assessment measures the ELL’s knowledge and skills rather than his/her limited English proficiency. The accommodations found at the PDE Documents section of this handbook are allowable accommodations for ELLs as determined by the State for PSSA or Keystones. An updated version of this document is available yearly. Please consult the most recent Pennsylvania Accommodations Guidelines which can be found at www.education.pa.gov or click on the following: