Azusa : Student Language Center

Faced with an influx of students who speak little or no English, the Azusa Unified School District has opened an assessment center to test the language skills of all incoming students.

Luisa Lopez, bilingual program specialist, said the center will provide more comprehensive testing of incoming students’ skills than the piecemeal testing at individual schools.

Before entering a school district, incoming students will be asked to respond to a home survey that asks what languages they speak. “Anyone who indicates a language other than English will go through the center,” she said.

The results of the testing will determine at what level the student will be placed in the district’s classes, which could include placement in one of the various bilingual or limited English programs. District enrollment is about half Latino, and most of the testing done by the center will be in Spanish and English, she said.

The center is similar to one in the Alhambra School District, which has been lauded by educators for the assessment and training it provides to students who speak languages other than English.