STEP Framework 

Ontario school boards use the Ministry's STEP Framework to describe and track the academic language proficiency of multilingual learners from grade 1-12.  

STEP - Steps to English Proficiency

Is a framework of tools created by the Ontario Ministry of Education for Ontario educators supporting English language learners in grades 1-12.

ESL - English as a Second Language  - are intended for students whose first language is a language other than English or is a variety of English significantly different from that used for instruction in Ontario schools. Students in these programs have age-appropriate first-language literacy skills and educational backgrounds. 

ELD - English Literacy Development - are intended for students whose first language is a language other than English or is a variety of English significantly different from that used for instruction in Ontario schools. Students in these programs are most often from countries in which their access to education has been limited, so that they have had limited opportunities to develop language and literacy skills in any language. Schooling in their countries of origin has been inconsistent, disrupted, or even completely unavailable throughout the years that these children would otherwise have been in school. As a result, they arrive in Ontario secondary schools with significant gaps in their education. 

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Language assessment in Ontario: Looking back & moving forward -

by:  Eunice Eunhee Jang - OISE - May 2021 at the Multilingual Approaches to Assessment and Education Symposium