Program and Content Standards

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the Canadian government, and several states have developed program and/or content standards, which can aid program improvement. Both content and program standards are included here; they are not always easily separated. These resources may be useful for states and programs that want to develop standards to meet state goals. (See also the standards warehouse in development, hosted by the U. S. Department of Education. In the future, check the OVAE Web site at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/index.html for an update to this document.

Arizona Department of Education. Arizona Adult Education Standards http://www.ade.az.gov/adult-ed/aestandards.asp

California Department of Education. (1992). English-as-a-second-language model standards for adult education programs. Sacramento, CA: Author. Available from California Department of Education, Bureau of Publications, P.O. Box 271, Sacramento, CA 95812-0271, 916-445-1260, or at http://www.otan.us/webfarm/emailproject/standard.pdf.

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks includes profiles, competencies, and tasks for twelve English language proficiency levels plus literacy level. http://www.language.ca/home.html

Florida Department of Education. English for limited English proficient adults curriculum frameworks. http://www.firn.edu/doe/dwdframe/ad/pdf/3201030a.pdf

Maryland State Department of Education. Maryland adult ESL program standards. http://www.research.umbc.edu/~ira/ESLstand.html

Massachusetts Department of Education. (2000). Massachusetts adult education curriculum frameworks. http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/frameworks/esol.pdf

New York State Education Department. Adult education resource guide and learning standards. http://www.hudrivctr.org/products_ae.htm

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). (2000). Program standards for adult education ESOL programs. Alexandria, VA: Author. This document describes program quality indicators in eight areas: program structure, administration, and planning; curriculum; instruction; recruitment, intake, and orientation; retention and transition; assessment and learner gains; staffing, professional development, and staff evaluation; and support services. Available from TESOL Publications, PO Box 753, Waldorf, MD 20604-0753; http://www.tesol.org/ Click on Publications.