LAS Links Second Edition Framework

LAS Links meets the demands of multiple state standards as it offers a standardized assessment focused on communicative and contextualized academic language. It assesses language within and across academic content areas, language knowledge and functions, and cognitive complexity across performance levels.

LAS Links uses a framework that was carefully crafted to cover the skills English Language Learners (ELLs) need to be succeed in both school and life. To fit this purpose, DRC uses both academic and social contexts to evaluate language usage in authentic academic and social situations.

With our reliable, research-based tools, you can:

• • Provide information to help classify English Language Learner (ELLs) who require language instruction, and inform instructional decisions.
  • Monitor students’ progress toward English proficiency in social and academic language necessary to successfully participate in the mainstream classroom.
  • Offer educators and other stakeholders valuable information about students’ progress toward meeting the demands of their state’s standards.
  • Measure students’ English language proficiency in school settings in relation to the content, literacy, and linguistic goals of College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) and other content standards of a similar nature.
  • Meet the demands of state standards with an assessment framework focused on communicative and contextualized language use within and across academic content areas, language knowledge and functions, and cognitive complexity.

LAS Links Second Edition Assessment Framework – Skill Areas and Standards
LAS Links provides language context strands that are designed to reflect the language used in academic content areas:

• • • • Strand 1: English Language Learners are able to listen, speak, read, and write in English for social, intercultural, and instructional communication.
      • Strand 2: English Language Learners are able to listen, speak, read, and write in English for language arts, social studies, and history.
      • Strand 3: English Language Learners are able to listen, speak, read, and write in English for mathematics, science, and technical subjects.
      • Strand 4: English Language Learners are beginning to develop foundational skills for reading and writing (for Grades K-3 only).

LAS Links provides composite scores for:

• • • • Comprehension (reading, listening)
      • Productive (speaking, writing)
      • Literacy (reading, writing)
      • Oral (listening, speaking)
      • Overall (speaking, listening, reading, writing)

LAS Links measures a student’s ability to interact with grade-level academic language and content without relying on the student’s knowledge in the underlying subject matter. LAS Links provides test items that challenge students to demonstrate their language ability in an academic context by asking students to:

• • • Derive meaning
    • Draw conclusions
    • Work with extended text passages
    • Use correct sentence structure
    • Interact with academic context-based vocabulary