[NLA] Questions/Discussion: How is NRS follow-up going?]

[Bermanpo@aol.com]

Dear Colleagues,

At the Riverside Language Program, an intensive ESOL program for 
newly-arrived documented immigrants and refugees in New York City,  we coded 
students last year according to their stated goals at registration.  Since 
our program is intensive -- 160 hours over a 6.5 week period -- and since 
most of our students do want and need to get a job, we wrote what they said 
about their goals.

We did extensive follow-up for those students whose next steps were unknown 
at the time they left the school.  We sent letters and e-mails but had our 
greatest success in reaching former students by calling them at home at 
night.  That meant that some of our full-time daytime staff had to work at 
night to make those calls.  We had more than a 50% response.

A great number of students who said that they wanted to get jobs were 
successful: our percentages are around 90%.  It's also true that most of the 
students who said that college or training was their goal were successful in 
being accepted into and beginning such education and/or training.

We have several general concerns about NRS and our program.  First, there's 
no place to record the achievement of goals AFTER three months past students' 
exit quarter.  It's our experience that, for new immigrants and refugees, it 
often takes more than three months after the exit quarter for students to 
take the next step.  We're very interested in what happens to our students 
and how long it takes.  If we're going to do the arduous job of followup, we 
want it to be meaningful to us and not just to the government.

Second, the NRS report doesn't show when students progress more than one 
level.  In an intensive program in which it's possible for students to study 
in four (or more) different sequential 6.5 week cycles, our students often 
complete more than one level during a 10-month school year.  Yet, that's not 
shown at all.

Third, there's no place that indicates, at the end of a program year, which 
students are expected to reenroll during the next fiscal year because they hav
en't completed their studies even though they may have finished a 6.5 week 
cycle.  Therefore, we're expected to followup students on the goals that are 
related to finishing their studies when at least 50 students every June 
reopen their registration in August or September.

It's our feeling that students, especially those who can't speak English and 
are newly-arrived, cannot actually say in a realistic way what their goals 
are when they register: they may not be able to distinguish between a 
long-term goal (eg: a job) and a short-term goal (e.g.: a training program).  
This is much too subtle a question to be asking at the point of registration. 
 It would make more sense to check only educational goals at the start and to 
check other goals -- employment, training, higher education -- once students 
have actually achieved them.

Finally, of course, the test that's used to measure progress according to 
NRS' six levels is very significant.  We have received permission to use 
ACTFL's Oral Proficiency Instrument which is far better than the New York 
State Placement Test required of most ESOL programs in New York State.

Hope this is helpful to those of you reading.

Sincerely,
Phyllis Berman