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ESL Program

ESL Assessment Results ~ What do they mean?

After you take the ESL assessment, experienced ESL instructors evaluate it. The CELSA is scored by a machine to show how many items are correct out of the 75 total. The composition is read by two ESL instructors, who give it a score from 0 to 6. The questionnaire is also reviewed to help us know you better. Based on these three instruments, you are placed in one of the core ESL classes. The chart below shows how the CELSA scores and writing scores are related. Notice that the writing score often moves you up or down, so it is important to write well.

Grossmont College ESL Assessment Guidelines

CELSA	WR	LEVEL	CELSA	WR	LEVEL
0-22	0	AS	50-59	2	100
	1	80 & 81		3	103
	2	80 & 81		4	106
22-29	0	AS	60-67	3	103
	1	80 & 81		4	106
	2	96		5	110
30-39	0	80 & 81	68-72	4	106
	1	96		5	110
	2	100		6	NS 110
40-49	1	96	72-75	5	110
	2	100		6	NS 110
	3	103

AS: Adult School
NS: Native Speaker
Ability to Benefit: CELSA Form A: 22 & Form B: 23

At the ESL Orientation/Class Selection you will receive your assessment results in a letter that looks similar to the one below.

[Click on image to enlarge]

If you do not agree with the ESL assessment results, it is important that you speak to one of the ESL instructors at the orientation meeting. He or she can review your scores with you to decide if you should be moved up or down. If both of you agree that the placement should be changed, the instructor will fill out a Prerequisite Clearance form to change this placement in the computer. You may not change your placement without this permission.

Each of the ESL core classes—ESL 100, 103, 106, and English 110 has a prerequisite. This means that you must have passed the class before it with a "Cr" or a "C" or better, or must have scored into this level on the ESL assessment. If you try to skip yourself to the next level and register, you will hear a message on the phone telling you that you do not have the prerequisite for this course. You may not enroll in the class. The instructor will not allow you to stay in the class unless you see Virginia Berger, the ESL Coordinator, and get your placement reviewed.

Another problem may occur if you do not follow the ESL assessment advice and place yourself in a writing/grammar/reading class that is a lower level than your placement results. If you are receiving financial aid, you will not receive any help for a class that is below the level you placed in. For example, a student who received a placement of ESL 103 would not receive financial aid for ESL 100.

Contact Information:
Pat Bennett, ESL Coordinator
Phone: (619) 644-7561
Email: Pat.Bennett@gcccd.edu

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