The recent introduction of literacy benchmarks and assessment regimes in schools
which are designed for students with an English-speaking background but which are
also used to assess the second language and literacy progress of ESL1
learners has repercussions for teaching and learning, on professional understandings
and on ESL learner self-efficacy. Insights into how to map and monitor ESL language
development within the mainstream context have been gained through the development
of a number of ESL standards for schools. This article presents principles behind
the construction of ESL standards for schools, drawing on examples of ESL standards
developed in Australia, England and Wales, and the United States, and examines how
differences in purpose in these standards - planning, professional understanding,
and reporting - influence how ESL standards might best be constructed. It raises
issues of consequential validity which arise in the construction and use of valid
ESL standards. Arguments supporting the need for ESL standards in the current
climate of English-speaking background-based assessment for all are put forward
through a close analysis and understanding of the construction and impact of
different types of ESL standards.
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