ESL Case

1. Yunica Zhao

   Yunica 4-4.5 grade level TESTED improvement in 1.5 years. Yunica Zhao is a Chinese national that is finishing her second year with us after doing 1 year at another high school in Washington State. When she entered, we assessed her English using the California Acheivement Test (CAT). She achieved scores of 3.5th grade level for Vocabulary and 8.7th grade level for Comprehension. While these levels may sound low, especially the Vocabulary, they are, in fact, typical (vocabulary) and above average (compehension). Yunica is an good student and after 1.5 years of study has increased incredibly. Currently she is working on 8th grade vocabulary material and 12th grade material in Comprehension. That’s a 4-4.5 grade level increase in only 1.5 years!!!! If Yunica had made better use of her opportunities to speak in English, her gain would have been over 6 grade levels without doubt.

2. Dragon Li

   Dragon 1-2 grade level improvement in 4 months. Dragon Li is a new student starting with us in January 2018. When he joined us, he tested at 3.9th grade level for Comprehension and 4.8th grade level for Vocabulary. After 4 months he is working on 6th grade material in both aspects of English skill. Unlike Yunica, Dragon has focused on using every opportunity to speak in English, even when speaking with home country people. As such, his spoken English and confidence is rising dramatically and he is already comfortable leading everyday life in English without assistance.