Background: Two Campuses, Two Goals, One Plan
Ms. Rosen works as an itinerant ESL teacher in San Antonio ISD. She travels between two middle school campuses serving sixth through eighth grade. She supports over 20 Emergent Bilingual students at each campus— newcomers in their first couple of years of English language learning.
She set two layers of goals for the year. The first was individual student growth. The second was campus-level performance. Last year, both campuses earned the maximum ten points on TELPAS and Ms. Rosen wanted to do it again.
“That was absolutely in my mindset going into this year. Individual student growth and overall school performance.”
— Ms. Rosen, Itinerant EB Teacher, San Antonio ISD
The Challenge: Long-Term English Learners and Limited Motivation
The toughest challenge Ms. Rosen faces is supporting Long-Term English Learners. These are students who have been in the United States for four or five years and are still performing at low levels on TELPAS. She has seen the same pattern in every district she has worked in.
A lot of it comes down to language access. Many of her Spanish-speaking students have Spanish everywhere — at home, with peers, and on television. There is little urgency to use English outside of school. Students from other language backgrounds, like her Afghan or Ukrainian students, often pick up English faster because English is their main bridge to finding their voice and to navigating the world around them.
The deeper issue is motivation. Some long-term ELs are doing fine socially and at home without English. Without a real incentive to improve their English, they fail to see its purpose. That lack of motivation is a hard barrier to break through.
The Search: A Tool That Looks and Feels Like the Actual Test
Ms. Rosen had access to several strong resources, including the district's ESL curriculum, Scholastic magazines in English and Spanish, and iReady. SAISD has built a well-rounded curriculum.
But she was looking for one more thing. A program that matched the format and feel of the TELPAS assessment itself.
“Summit K12 (Connect to Literacy™) is probably the best program that simulates what TELPAS testing is going to look and feel like. Students are not just learning English. They are experiencing exactly what the test will look like on a computer.”
— Ms. Rosen
The Solution: An Intentional Plan With Mini Lessons and Practice
This year, Ms. Rosen was more intentional than she had ever been. She drew on her own experience preparing for a Spanish teacher certification exam where the program she attended broke the test down question by question. They explained to her that one question was checking for imperative language while another one was testing directional vocabulary. That clarity really helped her to boost her score on the assessment.
She applied the same idea to TELPAS preparation with her students; creating anchor charts labeled by question type and delivering mini lessons on specific language skills. Then she put students on Connect to Literacy™ for independent practice that mirrored the format and rigor of the assessment.
About eighteen days before the STARR® assessment, she began using Summit K12's implementation guide as the backbone of her lesson planning. During English Language Development time, she shifted entirely to Connect to Literacy. The concept maps were invaluable for helping students connect language skills to specific question types.
Student-Led Tracking: Goal Setting From Day One
Ms. Rosen started the year with goal setting. She created a tracker and walked each student through last year's TELPAS data. She showed them how they had performed across listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Students then set their own goals for the new test.
As students completed lessons, they could see in real time whether they were approaching, meeting, or exceeding the state expected level. One student had a diagnostic score of sixty-nine percent, well above the state benchmark of fifty percent. His scores stayed consistently above the blue line all year.
“Student confidence grew significantly across the board. They could see themselves climbing toward the summit, and that visual representation of growth was very motivating.”
— Ms. Rosen
Most Impactful Features
- Implementation guide that paces lessons by TELPAS question types
- Concept maps and graphic organizers tied to specific skills
- Diagnostic data that drives Personalized Learning Plans to deliver the right level of challenge and the optimal pathway for each student
- Student trackers that show progress toward state benchmarks
- Lessons that closely mirror the format and feel of TELPAS
Impact and Results: A Repeat Performance in the Works
Last year, both of Ms. Rosen's campuses earned the maximum ten points for TELPAS performance. This year, she is on track to do it again. Students are setting goals. They are tracking their own progress. They are walking into the test with strategies and confidence.
The biggest outcome she observed was confidence. When she surveyed students about what helped them most, the most common answer was working in groups. Collaborating. Presenting. Speaking with peers. That confidence carried into the test.
Ongoing Partnership: A Powerful Tool That Mirrors the Real Test
Ms. Rosen has clear advice for other teachers and schools:
Use the implementation guide, build mini lessons before sending students to the platform, and use the concept maps and graphic organizers. Let students track their own progress because when they see the progress they’re making, they’ll go after it.
“Summit K12 is a very powerful program. What sets it apart is how precisely it aligns with the format and feel of the TELPAS test. Students are not just learning English in isolation. They are seeing and experiencing exactly what the test will look and feel like on a computer.”
— Ms. Rosen, Itinerant EB Teacher, San Antonio ISD
