The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by Section 3113 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires state educational agencies (SEAs) to establish and implement standardized, statewide entrance and exit procedures for English learners (ELs). WIDA provides the English language proficiency placement and annual…

This "Guide" is an update to the State Guide to Universally Designed Assessments produced by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) in 2006 (Johnstone et al.). It provides a brief overview of what a universally designed assessment is, followed by a set of steps for states to consider when designing and developing, or…

In conducting this review, we examine literature that explores the merits and shortcomings of ELP test design and testing as they have evolved over time through the current era of CCR standards. In the first section, we situate the role of language testing in its broader historical and policy context. In the second section, we examine the evolving…

This study focused on the aspect of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) that require the inclusion of all limited English proficient (LEP) students in testing situations, simultaneously making an effort to close the achievement gap. NCLB indicates that each state is to assess students in a language…

In K-12 environments in the US, classroom tests are a central means by which teachers assess English Language Learner (ELL) content knowledge. Performance on routine classroom assessments is often a contributing criterion for school based decision-making and can affect decisions relating to academic tracking, retention, and access to academic…

In meeting the inclusion provisions for English language learners (ELLs) in state assessment systems, it is important to assure the meaningful representation of what students know and can do. States have relied on accommodations as one of the principle means to increase the validity of ELL test scores. Yet current knowledge about effective…

English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing group of students in American public schools. According to Payan and Nettles (2008), the ELL population doubled in 23 states between 1995 and 2005. Yet ELL achievement remains among the lowest of all students. For example, on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 72% of…

English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing group of students in American public schools. According to Payan and Nettles (2008), the ELL population doubled in 23 states between 1995 and 2005. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2050, the Hispanic school-age population will exceed the non-Hispanic white school-age public school…

The literature suggests that peer assessment contributes to the development of student learning and promotes ownership of assessment processes. These claims emerge from research conducted primarily in Western contexts. This exploratory paper reports on the perspectives that a class of Hong Kong primary school students and their teachers have on…

Charged by the U.S. Department of Education, The George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education (GW-CEEE) developed a Guide for state education agencies (SEAs) to use to improve state assessment policies for accommodating English language learners (ELLs). As a foundation for the Guide, GW-CEEE designed two studies, the…

The 1979-80 South Carolina Statewide Testing Program assessed the achievement of students in public school grades 3, 6, and 11. Results were used to facilitate the decision-making process of educators at the state, district, and school levels. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) were used to measure achievement in the basic skill areas…

Increased attention to large-scale assessments, the growing number of English language learners in schools, and recent inclusionary policies have collectively made assessment accommodations a hotly debated issue, especially regarding the validity of test results for English language learners. Decisions about which accommodations to use, for whom,…

This is one of ten papers commissioned to investigate research needs and to stimulate planning activities. The paper assumes that the primary current goal of foreiqn/second language instruction in the United States is to produce citizens who have a usable command of one or more languages other than their native language. The implications of this…

Nearly 15,000 Wisconsin public school students in grades 4, 8, and 12 were tested in Spring, 1977, as part of the Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program. Objectives were: (1) to measure student progress in attaining specific mathematics objectives; (2) to determine how students compared nationally in reading, language, and mathematics; and (3) to…

The test reviews in this guide are intended to be used by school personnel charged with locating and administering appropriate assessment instruments to limited-English-speaking elementary school children. Assessment instruments are reviewed for native speakers of Chinese, French, Italian, Navajo, Portuguese, Spanish and Tagalog. Each instrument…