Guidelines for Intake and Class Placement:

• Create a welcoming, comfortable environment for the student.
  
  Explain the structure and expectations of the program. If this is an ESOL program, whenever possible, include a staff member who can answer questions in the native language for students.
  
  Provide opportunities to talk to students about any concerns they have about the program and any barriers to successful attendance. Offer support in overcoming those barriers.
  
  When making decisions on class placement, you need to consider the range of classes that you offer. This will vary from program to program. For example, some programs have separate literacy classes for ESOL students with low literacy, while others do not make that distinction.
  
  Informal assessments (e.g. an oral interview, completing a registration form, a writing sample, an in-house math assessment) are fine for placement. Once students are in class, be prepared to change their class levels based on teacher recommendation as appropriate.
  
  To get a fuller picture of the student, assess in several skill areas. For example, for ESOL students you could include an oral interview, a writing sample, and some graded reading selections. For ABE students, you could include reading, writing, and math.
  
  
• Rather than giving a long battery of tests, which could alienate a new student, give short exercises and discuss the results with the student after each part. For example, give a short writing sample and analyze it, then give a reading selection and go over the answers. With a graded series, you can stop whenever the person is having difficulty.