Setting literacy competency standards for students

Hi. I am currently enrolled through an online master's degree course, and this is one task I've been looking forward to--the chance to discuss some of the learning objectives placed on us as teachers to meet.

Upon working with various districts, students labeled, and I do hate this term, but, as ESL because their first home-language is not English, are yet required to show proficiency at the same rate as their peers upon passing certain tests to exit them from the required service program as ESL students. However, the questions run somewhat like those for naturalization in that students must be able to identify their own written name, decipher colors, etc. The majority of state standards testing involve far more than this however, I'm certain most would agree.

So, along with such limitations on them as the prescribed learners, plus many coming from economically strained environments, and I do not have specifics, what should the proficiency rate be for them, knowing that language development and literacy involve far more than one's ability to pronounce words and identify the word's syntax? We as teachers strive for the ultimate, the application level and evaluation level for effective learning, thereby all involved becoming effective communicators.

Therefore, I'd enjoy someone's insight into the ESL plus low economic status factors and how these affect such learners proficiency rates. Also, some input into setting a more reasonable passing rate for such learners would be appreciated. I mean to say, many foreign-speakers may arrive in their new country or are born into families as "first-generationers" struggling to meet both sides of the spectrum, i.e., speaking in their family's native tongue along with English so that they may do well in school, both, then being motivated by different reasons to acquire and learn their new language, in this case, English. My question is not just about reading and writing, then, but the whole idea of becoming effective communicators.