English Language Learners and Standardized Testing in Vermont ...

by Linda Walsleben, Ed.D. ELL Coordinator, April 2012

English language learners in Vermont participate in two types of large-scale, high stakes assessments each year. Like all students, ELLs participate in annual standardized content assessments that measure students? attainment of academic content standards. In addition, ELLs participate in an annual standardized assessment that measures their attainment of English language proficiency standards. States administer both kinds of assessments as required by the federal education funding law, No Child Left Behind, passed in 2002.

To measure achievement in the content areas, ELLs in grades 3-8 and 11 are assessed in math, reading, writing, and science with the NECAP, the standardized content assessment given in four New England states. Only students in the US less than one year are exempt from participating in the reading and writing tests. Results from the NECAP tests are used to determine if all students in a school or district have made the expected progress in the content area. Scores for students identified as English language learners are included in the individual school and district reports and are also disaggregated for reporting on the ELL subgroup when there are at least 40 ELLs in a school or district.

To measure achievement in learning English, ELLs in grades K-12 are assessed with the ACCESS for ELLs test, a standardized language assessment developed by the WIDA Consortium and given in 27 states in the US. All ELLs participate in the ACCESS for ELLs test. Results from the test are used for two purposes: to determine progress in learning English and to determine eligibility for ELL services. In Vermont, students who receive a composite score of less than 5.0 and scores of less than 4.0 on the reading and writing subtests are considered limited English proficient and are eligible for ELL services. These eligibility guidelines are set by the state of Vermont as required by the federal government.

While the intent of the NCLB law is to hold all students to high standards, many educators and researchers have concerns about assessing English language learners, specifically whether assessments in English can accurately measure students? content knowledge (Kopriva, 2000). English language learners typically score less well on standardized assessments than their English only peers (Abedi & Dietel, 2004). Researchers find that language proficiency is related to academic achievement, i.e., as language difficulty of test items increases, the gap between the performance of ELLs and non-ELLs widens (Abedi, Leon, & Mirocha, 2003). Because language proficiency is related to academic achievement as measured by standardized assessments, researchers question the validity of scores for English language learners; with language as a confounding factor, the scores may not accurately reflect what the student knows or can do (Abedi, 2006).

Consequently, researchers have focused on determining whether test accommodations may reduce the impact of language background on assessment. While most test accommodations are intended to support students with disabilities, some accommodations do provide either direct or indirect linguistic support which may help ELLs (Center for Equity and Excellence in Education, 2005). While not an accommodation, linguistic modification, i.e., simplifying the language of a test item, has been found to help ELLs perform better (Abedi, Courtney, & Leon, 2003). Determining how the language of a test item impacts scores has led to further research on academic language: how it is conceptualized, taught, and assessed (Bailey, 2007).

To conclude, it is well established that language background or language proficiency is related to academic achievement. While ELL students will continue to participate in standardized content assessments, as required by law, the results of these assessments may not accurately reflect what students know and can do. Educators must consider the assessment results of ELL students in light of their language background. ELL students will continue to participate in standardized English language proficiency testing, as well.

Watch the ELL page off the District web page www.bsdvt.org for more information on our ELL program, and for references for this article.

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Source: http://collinsj.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/english-language-learners-and-standardized-testing-in-vermont/

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