Language Acquisition

To determine if a student would benefit from the Bilingual and/or English as a Second Language program, we utilize the Home Language Survey as part of the online enrollment. 

It asks two questions:

1. What language is used in the child's home most of the time?
2. What language does the child use most of the time?

If either of the responses indicate the use of a language other than English, then the school district must conduct a language assessment to determine how well a student communicates in English. The assessment information is then used to determine if the Bilingual or ESL program is appropriate for a student. 
 

If you have any questions about the purpose and the use of the Home Language Survey, please contact the Bilingual/ESL department.

Within four weeks of initial enrollment in a Texas public school, a student with a language other than English indicated on the home language survey will be administered the required oral language proficiency test in Prekindergarten through Grade 12 and norm-referenced standardized achievement instrument in Grades 2-12 as described and shall be identified as an English learner and placed in the required bilingual education or English as a second language (ESL) program.

Northwest ISD will administer an oral language proficiency test in the primary language of the student who is eligible to be served in the bilingual education program. If the primary language of the student is Spanish, Northwest ISD will administer a Spanish TEA-approved oral language proficiency test. If a TEA-approved language proficiency test is not available in the primary language of the student, Northwest ISD will determine the student's level of proficiency using informal oral language assessment measures.

All of the language proficiency testing will be administered by professionals or paraprofessionals who are proficient in the language of the test and trained in the language proficiency testing requirements of the test publisher.

For entry into a bilingual education or ESL program, a student shall be identified as an English learner using the following criteria:

• In Prekindergarten through Grade 1:  the student's score on the English oral language proficiency test is below the level designated for indicating English proficiency.
• In Grades 2-12: (A) the student's score on the English oral language proficiency test is below the level designated for indicating English proficiency; and (B) the student's score on the English reading and/or English language arts sections of the TEA-approved norm-referenced standardized achievement instrument at his or her grade level is below the 40th percentile. A student shall be identified as an English learner if the student's ability in English is so limited that the English oral language proficiency or norm-referenced assessments described in subsection (c) of this section cannot be administered. (Source)

• Northwest ISD currently serves families and students who speak 67 different languages.
• The top spoken languages in Northwest ISD are English, Spanish, Vietnamese, French, and Arabic.
• Over 7% of students are identified as emergent bilinguals in Northwest ISD.