Resources:      Assessment in California      Accountability in California

Summary: Districts need to involve ELLs in the standards-based reform process and assess them in both their content area knowledge and in academic English performance. However, accommodations must be available for ELLs and evaluations of their performance that are gained by using assessments normed on native English speakers cannot be used for high-stakes purposes.

• It is very difficult to separate out the problems a student has that are related to his/her English comprehension from those that reflect his/her difficulty in mastering the content.  The issue becomes even more critical when these content area assessments are used for high-stakes purposes (i.e., for student grade promotion, etc.).
• There needs to be an end nationwide to the use of standardized tests like the SAT-9 as high-stakes tests for ELLs and alternative assessments need to be developed for ELLs, particularly ones to be used specifically for redesignation and accountability purposes.
• By not including this population in assessments, one creates a recipe for the provision of a sub-par education without accountability.
• States must acknowledge that when ELLs are assessed, consideration must be given to the appropriateness of accommodations that might be made for this particular group of students.
• In order to get an accurate picture of ELLs’ English language proficiency level for classroom placement purposes, states should support the supplemental use of more authentic assessments of students’ academic language that more closely mirror classroom demands.

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