ACCESS Exit Criteria
- Kristi Chew
Reclassification is a term that describes a process that districts and schools develop to determine when English learners are Fluent English Proficient (FEP) and can transition successfully to classrooms, with minimal EL support.
It is a term that is used when a student’s English language proficiency level changes from “active EL” or Limited English Proficient (LEP) to Fluent English Proficient (FEP) Monitor 1.
In New Hampshire, this process is initiated by the annual ELP assessment data: ACCESS for ELLs 2.0. The criteria for reclassification (or “exit”) has been adjusted over the last four years in response to changes in the test. The chart below provides NH’s EL educators with a record of those changes.
ACCESS Score Reporting Year | Exit Criteria | Note: |
2018-2019 2019-2020 Moving forward | Overall Composite of 4.5 or above (no domain score minimum requirements) | Changes approved in NH State ESSA plan. |
2016-2017 2017-2018 | Overall Composite of 5.0 or above (no domain score minimum requirements) | Provisional change approved by NH DOE in response to changes in administration of ACCESS testing and WIDA standards setting. |
Prior to 2016 | 5.0 Overall Composite AND 4.0 minimum score in each domain |
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Changes to Monitoring requirements for students who obtain proficiency:
The approval of the NH State ESSA plan in 2019, also marked a second change for NH’s English learners. The State plan includes a change that requires schools to monitor the progress of students who obtain proficiency and reclassify as Fluent English Proficient (FEP) for four years.
This means students who were in FEP Monitor 2 status in 2018, were moved to FEP Monitor 3 status in 2019. In 2020, this same cohort of students will be advanced to FEP Monitor 4 status. The following year these students will be fully exited from the program.