International Transcript Evaluation Effect on Graduation Rates for Immigrant and Refugee Students Presented By: Phoenicia Grant Counselor /International Transcript Evaluator DeKalb International Welcome Center DeKalb County School District

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Overview Data -Targeted Population -Identified Concern DIWC Registration and DCSD EL Programs International Educational Systems International Transcript Evaluation Future Implications

DCSD Demographics An English Learner (EL) is a student whose primary home language is other than English who receives ESOL services or is monitored. Total EL Students in DCSD- 10,913 Primary Home Language Other Than English (PHOLTE) is a student whose primary home language is other than English. Total PHLOTE Students in DCSD- 20,387 11% of DCSD 20% of DCSD

Top Ten Languages in DCSD

Data: Concern & Population Graduation Rates 38% of DCSD ELs graduated in 2011-12 43% of DCSD ELs graduated in 2012-13

DIWC Registration Gray Client logged in Red Client left Pink Final placement completed Turquoise Pre-Placement Complete/Ready for Testing Green Registration Complete Blue Student is Testing Yellow Testing complete/ Ready for Final Placement

EL Programs in DCSD W-APT CPL 1.0 – 1.9: Intensive English W-APT CPL 2.0 – 4.9: ESOL Services W-APT CPL ≥ 5.0: NO ESOL Services ≤ 6yrs of education LAB Program 13-20yr w/ 7th Grade Lab W-RAT Score ≤ 3.0 8th Grade Lab 3.1- 5.0

Immigrant Parent Experiences with the School System http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CQ61S10QrM

International Educational Systems

Country Categorization Chart French Educational System UK Educational System Central American Educational System Ghana India Myanmar (Burma) Nigeria Singapore Uganda Honduras Guatemala El Salvador Nicaragua Ivory Coast Republic of Congo Haiti Mali Senegal Togo

Countries Where English is the Instructional Language Zambia Bahamas Cameroon Zimbabwe Australia Cyprus Gambia Uganda Ghana Tanzania England South Africa Jamaica Guyana Kenya Singapore Liberia Sierra Leon Malawi Nigeria Countries Where English is the Instructional Language

Countries with 10 or 11 Year Educational System Armenia • Mongolia Philippines • Myanmar (Burma) El Salvador • Nicaragua • Sudan • Egypt • Guatemala • Honduras • Iran • Venezuela • Russia • Eritrea Peru • Brazil • Colombia • Jamaica GPC International Admission Requirements by Country

Over 200 International Transcripts Evaluated from over 161 countries/140 languages in 2013-2014 school year Ukraine Jamaica Brazil Egypt Gambia Republic of Congo Greece Guinea Denmark Iraq Canada South Africa Nigeria Singapore EL Salvador Guyana Ethiopia Nepal India Zimbabwe Germany Peru United Kingdom Norway Bermuda Iceland Iran Myanmar

DIWC Transcript Evaluation Procedures All translations should be verbatim without interpretation or evaluation. Eight credits is the maximum amount of credit awarded per school year. DCSD awards the following grades: A=95, B=85, C=75, D=70, F=69 after grade is converted for that particular country. Students that have been retained do not receive credit for classes taken during that school year. Be mindful that course descriptions are rarely included on or with the International Transcript. Interview the student, use available resources, and compare with the GA Course Descriptions Excel Sheet on GA Department of Education website.

of Transcript Evaluation Do Determine if the educational system is on an annual, biannual, semester, or tri-semester system. Award Native Language Validation (NLV credit) if student completed 8 years of formal schooling in his/her country. Award English Core Credit if the Instructional Language in the country is English. Give an assessment to determine the student’s math level before awarding Math Core Credit. Don’t Award credit for the following courses: American Government/ Civics, US History, Health, Economics, and American Literature Award credit if the student spent < 4hrs per week in a class Award credit for more than one mathematics or science class per school year. Award English Core Credit to students who took English as a Second Language.

Essential Questions for Transcript Evaluation What school year did the student attend/complete school and what is the US equivalent school year? What country did the student attend school in? What grade level did the student complete? Does the translated transcript provide a grading scale? (If not, see resource list) Can the courses taken be converted to into the GA state curriculum? How many hours per week did the student attend each class? (≥ 4 hrs to receive credit)

Honduras Educational System

evaluate a transcript from Honduras. Now we will evaluate a transcript from Honduras. See forms in your packet titled slide 10, slide 18, slide 19, and slide 20.

Questions