Using a sociocultural approach with Indigenous epistemology, we examine language policies related to Lau. We researched how Lau impacted Native language policies through the "Sinajini v. Board of Education of San Juan School District." Native education rights are embedded in treaty rights. As such, Native students have unique statuses…

Our current high-stakes accountability system for too long has allowed officials in positions of power and oversight to discard students viewed as too much of a liability as a practice of policy and pedagogy. This practice especially has altered how English learners are taught and the lens through which they are viewed. The authors present how a…

In the United States (US), an increase in standardization, quantification, competition, and large-scale comparison--cornerstones of neoliberal accountability--have been accompanied by devices of transparency, through which various forms of school data are made available to the public. Such public reporting, we are told by politicians and education…

Everyone agrees that family participation is paramount to student achievement. Much has been written about the importance of parent collaboration in the schools. Yet, less has been written about the family who does not speak English and also has a child with disability. This article reviews the research on involvement of parents in the schools,…

Commissioner's Rules Concerning the State Plan for Educating English Language Learners (ELLs) states that all school districts that are required to provide bilingual education and/or English as a second language (ESL) programs establish and operate a Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). The LPACs are charged with reviewing all…

This article describes one researcher's journey as an experimental psycholinguist through changes in practice and policy in the education of English language learners in the United States from the 1970s to the present day. The development of key debates on issues such as bilingualism, language of instruction, and the inclusion of English language…

In this research investigation of score comparability for language minority students (English language learners [ELLs] and former English language learners), we examined 3 indicators of score comparability (reliability, internal test structure, and differential item functioning) for 4th and 8th grade students who took the NCLB-mandated content…

A critical look into assessing the Standardized Test and Reporting (STAR) test data among English language learners gives educators a chance to examine the cultural biases present within the standardized test movement started by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In particular, The STAR test results seem to reflect that the test is geared…

This paper examines the long-term effect of enrollment in center- or school-based care programs on the academic performance of language minority students in the USA. The study applies a longitudinal multilevel analysis to a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). Of particular interest are the…

Racial and language minority students who must repeat high school exit exams are at increased risk of dropping out of school. Each time students fail an exit exam, they become less confident that they will ever pass and more unsure about their ability to graduate and their postsecondary plans. The relationship between students' culture and their…

Language education for students of color is a neutral process. The education of linguistically diverse students is situated in larger issues concerning white supremacy and the distribution of wealth and power. In this article, I argue that the English-only language policy contained within No Child Left Behind (NCLB) justifies a hierarchical racial…

For this report, CEEP staff collected information on testing timelines, subjects, grade configurations, names, and SEA testing contacts. As with the 2003 report, discussion in this report is limited to the testing components of state assessment programs, such as Indiana's ISTEP+ program, used for compliance purposes with state and federal…

This study seeks to investigate the implications of high stakes state-mandated testing on the educational future of language minority learners. It sets off with a definition of high stakes state-mandated testing and proceeds with an in depth review of the incidence and ramification of high stakes testing and its impact on Less English Proficient…

This brief details the history of the federal government's stance with language minority students, and analyzes the implications of changes to its guiding principles made by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. With every federal re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act prior to 2001, the importance of bilingual…

Changes in demographics are having a profound affect on education. Hodgkinson (1997) stated that the United States is the "first world nation in this history of humanity" (p. 3), where every nation in the world has a resident in this country. Former Governor of North Carolina and Chairman of the National Commission on Teaching and…