Arkansas: ELL Resources

As of the 2012-13 school year, Arkansas's schools were home to more than 34,000 English language learners (ELLs), which marks a 128% increase from the 2002-2003 school year (Migration Policy Institute, 2015). Currently, the most common five languages spoken by ELLs in Arkansas are Spanish, Marshallese, Vietnamese, and Hmong, and Arabic. (Migration Policy Institute, 2015).

State ELL Resources

State Agency: Arkansas Department of Education

ELL Website: English Learners Division

ELP Standards & Assessment

Overview: English Language Proficiency Website

ELP Standards: ELPA21

ELP Assessment: ELPA21

Statewide Standards-Based Assessment

Assessment: Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment and Accountability Program (ACTAAP)

Additional Information

NCELA: Title III Information*

Common Core State Standards: Yes

Arkansas Education Association

Arkansas Education Association is a National Education Association State Affiliate that regularly lobbies legislators for the resources schools need, campaigns for higher professional standards for the teaching profession, and files legal actions to protect academic freedom and the rights of school employees.

Arkansas State Parent Information Resource Centers

The primary purposes of the Center for Effective Parenting /Arkansas PIRC are to enhance the developmental progress of children and to improve children's academic achievement through enhancing parental involvement

Arkansas TESOL

ARKTESOL members are professionals who work to serve our international neighbors in Arkansas through teaching and also promoting mutual understanding.

Arkansas: Seal of Biliteracy

Arkansas is in the early stages of the Seal of Biliteracy with a pilot program led by the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association and ARKTESOL. The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by a school, district, or state in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation.

References

Ruiz Soto, Ariel G., Sarah Hooker, and Jeanne Batalova. 2015. States and Districts with the Highest Number and Share of English Language Learners. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/states-and-districts-highest-number-and-share-english-language-learners

Ruiz Soto, Ariel G., Sarah Hooker, and Jeanne Batalova. 2015. Top Languages Spoken by English Language Learners Nationally and by State. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/number-and-growth-students-us-schools-need-english-instruction-2009

Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students. Arkansas Rate of EL Growth (1997/98-2007/08). Compiled July 2010 and retrieved from http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/t3sis/state/arkansas/.