Currently, English learners must take state reading tests after attending U.S. schools for one year, at which point schools are accountable for the results under the No Child Left Behind Act. Reading proficiency levels are not taken into account before assessment.
Researchers--including University of California professor Jamal Abedi, George Washington University director Charlene Rivera, and WestEd senior researcher Robert Linquati--called for change and gave several recommendations on how to proceed:
- Use English-language-proficiency (ELP) tests as proxy to state tests until students have enough proficiency to "meaningfully" take the state tests.
- Set a minimum score on the ELP tests to indicate whether or not a student is ready for the state tests--tests that traditionally have not addressed the needs of English learners.
- Administer computer-adaptive tests that would adjust for a student's language-proficiency level and give a more accurate score.
- Align ELP standards and English language arts standards. Language acquisition experts were not consulted in the development of the first set of common core standards, even though, as Ellen Forte commented, "academic language proficiency affects the performance of all students, not just English learners."
When looking at the possibility for Setting " a minimum score on the ELP tests to indicate whether or not a student is ready for the state tests--tests that traditionally have not addressed the needs of English learners", it will be important to especially address the student's literacy ELP (combination of reading and writing) because those are the primary tasks involved in state testing.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, we couldn't agree more. Once students reach a certain literacy level (as evidenced by ELP scores), their scores on state tests will more accurately reflect what they've learned.
ReplyDeleteResearchers-- Abedi, Rivera, and Linquati--are correct in calling for changes in the state testing of English Language Learners. Research has shown that Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency takes between five and seven years to attain for those student who are literate in their native languages. It takes even longer to develop this in youngsters that come to us without literacy in their first languages. Our district has an abundance of Somali refugees coming to us from camps where they have had limited and/or interrupted schooling at best. How is it acceptable to test these youngsters after only being in our country for a year and to hold them, their teachers, and schools accountable for their inability to perform at the level of their native English speaking peers?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous has it right in suggesting that considering a minimum score on the ELP assessments alone is not enough. Rather we need to consider English Language Learner performance on the Reading and Writing sub-tests in particular when determining preparedness for taking state mandated tests.
I feel hopeful that researchers are taking it upon themselve to address these issues to get policy changed.