This letter is given to parents of ESL students who start at FIS with very low English proficiency and are therefore not graded in the same way as other students. The letter is available in Japanese and Korean.
Your child has started at FIS with very low proficiency in English, and has therefore been placed in a level 1 ESL class on a non-gradable status. This means that he or she will not, in certain subjects, receive a 7-1 grade at the end of the first term as native speakers and more proficient ESL students do. Instead, you will be informed on your child’s progress according to the categories: P (Pass) or F (Fail), as well as a comprehensive written report.
The homework assignments and tests that your child does during the first term will be graded according to the same objective criteria that the subject teachers apply to work done by all the students. The grade, however, is bracketed to signify that it does not count towards an end-oterm grade. This takes into consideration the fact that, in many cases, work turned in by the ESL student has been done with a great deal of extra assistance - from the ESL teacher, from parents, from other students, or from a private tutor. It does, however, enable the student and his or her parents to make a realistic assessment of the quality of work that is required in order to achieve good grades.
ESL1 students on the non-gradable status will achieve a Pass in their courses if they make an effort to do the assigned work by themselves; if they concentrate in class and ask for help when needed, and if they show some understanding of the work in progress. They will be awarded a Fail grade if they make no effort, do not concentrate in class and show no understanding of the work.
The purpose of this assessment system, in fact, is to de-emphasize the importance of grades for beginning ESL students. We wish to move the focus of students and their parents from product to process. An example should make this clear: It sometimes happens that an ESL student hands in an excellent piece of science work (the product), that would be awarded the top grade of 7 as assessed by the objective criteria for that particular task. However, the work has been done almost exclusively by the private tutor, and the student him- or herself may have understood and learned very little. Compare this with a piece of work that is of lower quality, but which has been done to a large extent by the student. The work may not merit a high grade as assessed by objective criteria, but in fact the student will have learned a significant amount of English and science in the course of doing it (the process).
The system applies to all subjects where a certain proficiency in English is a condition for success; for example, ESL, the sciences, the humanities, math, drama. The system does not apply to German and PE, where the ESL student can be graded fairly according to the criteria used to assess all students.
How long the level 1 student remains non-gradable depends on the progress he or she makes in English. Some students learn faster than others and may be ready to move to a gradable status after 3 - 4 months (at the end of the first term). Other students, for a variety of different reasons, need longer to learn English and may not achieve gradable status until the beginning of their second year at FIS. Students cannot be promoted to ESL2 until they attain a gradable status.
The ESL teacher, who has the best knowledge of the student’s capabilities in English, is the initiator of the change from non-gradable to gradable status. This decision is made in consultation with the student’s other teachers, taking into account the opinions of the parents and the student him- or herself. A decision to change status if usually made at the end of one of the three terms in the school year. Students who attain a gradable status are assessed and graded in all subjects according to the same criteria which apply to native speakers.
It would be very helpful if you could discuss the contents of this sheet with your child so that he or she fully understands about the non-gradable status and the reasons for it. If you have any further questions, please contact me at the email address below.
I look forward to working together with you to help your child adjust quickly to the school and make good progress in learning English!
Paul Shoebottom
Upper School ESL coordinator
paul_shoebottom@fis.edu
