Santa Monica : English Proficiency Report
The Santa Monica-Malibu School District’s annual Language Census Report shows a drop in the percentage of students with limited English proficiency and a rise in the number of students redesignated from limited to fluent in English.
The report, measuring changes between March, 1987, and March, 1988, was presented to the Board of Education on Monday.
In March, students with limited proficiency accounted for 15.6%, or 1,490, of the district’s pupils, compared to 15.9% last year. The number of students redesignated from limited proficiency to fluent in English was 199, compared to 186 last year.
“These numbers indicate progress,” said Joel Post, head of state and federal projects for the district. “They speak well for the bilingual and ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and all the instruction students are receiving.”
Currently, 9.5% of the district’s students are classified as Fluent English Proficient. These are pupils whose first language was not English but who have demonstrated fluency.
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