Reporting Test Results for Students with Disabilities and English-Language Learners

Reporting Test Results for Students with Disabilities and English-Language Learners
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2002-09-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309169380

At the request of the U.S. Department of Education, the National Research Council's (NRC) Board on Testing and Assessment (BOTA) convened a workshop on reporting test results for individuals who receive accommodations during large-scale assessments. The workshop brought together representatives from state assessment offices, individuals familiar with testing students with disabilities and English-language learners, and measurement experts to discuss the policy, measurement, and score use considerations associated with testing students with special needs.

Reporting Test Results for Students with Disabilities and English-Language Learners

Reporting Test Results for Students with Disabilities and English-Language Learners
Author: Board on Testing and Assessment
Publisher:
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2002-09-06
Genre:
ISBN: 9780309381789

At the request of the U.S. Department of Education, the National Research Council's (NRC) Board on Testing and Assessment (BOTA) convened a workshop on reporting test results for individuals who receive accommodations during large-scale assessments. The workshop brought together representatives from state assessment offices, individuals familiar with testing students with disabilities and English-language learners, and measurement experts to discuss the policy, measurement, and score use considerations associated with testing students with special needs.

Special Education Considerations for English Language Learners

Special Education Considerations for English Language Learners
Author: Else V. Hamayan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781934000113

This important guide shows how to determine appropriate interventions for ELLs with academic challenges. It includes extensive new discussions of RtI and standardized testing used for diagnostic purposes and and reviews consequences for ELLs. The ensuring a continuum of services model featured in the book is a strong collaborative framework that takes teams of educators step-by-step through gathering information about and implementing effective interventions for ELLs with learning difficulties.

State Assessment Policy and Practice for English Language Learners

State Assessment Policy and Practice for English Language Learners
Author: Charlene Rivera
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2014-05-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134813821

State Assessment Policy and Practice for English Language Learners presents three significant studies, each examining a different aspect of states' strategies for including English language learners in state assessments. *an Analysis of State Assessment Policies Regarding Accommodations for English Language Learners; *a Survey and Description of Test Translation Practices; and *an Examination of State Practices for Reporting Participation and Performance of English Language Learners in State Assessments. With the rise in population of English language learners and the subsequent stepped-up legislative focus on this student population over the past decade, states have been challenged to include English language learners in state assessment programs. Until now, the little data available on states' policies and practices for meeting this challenge has been embedded in various reports and professional journals and scattered across the Internet. This volume offers, for the first time, a focused examination of states' assessment policies and practices regarding English language learners. The three studies were supported by OELA, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students. State Assessment Policy and Practice for English Language Learners is of interest to researchers and professionals involved with the assessment of English language learners; state- and district-level policy makers; and academics, teacher educators, and graduate students in a number of fields, including educational and psychological assessment, testing and measurement, bilingual education, English as a second language, and second language acquisition.

Testing Students With Disabilities

Testing Students With Disabilities
Author: Martha L. Thurlow
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2003
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0761938095

This book is intended to facilitate the meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities in district and state assessments as required by the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. First, an introductory chapter offers reasons for including students with disabilities in district and statewide accountability systems. Chapters 2 through 6 address the specifics of including children with disabilities, such as deciding how students participate in district and state tests, eligibility for assessment accommodations, how to decide which accommodations are appropriate for use in assessments, the characteristics of alternate assessments, and including English language learners with disabilities in assessments. Chapters 7 through 10 address using assessment results, how the Individualized Education Program (IEP) can be restructured to promote greater participation in the accountability system, teacher and service provider collaboration, gaining support from administrators, parent involvement in testing decisions, and the legalities of restructuring accountability systems that include all students. Extensive appendices include sample forms and worksheets for participation decision making, IEP development, assessment accommodations, and student feedback; checklists of criteria for deciding about participation, accommodations, and assessment type; a guide to staff development; and a list of Technical Assistance and Dissemination Networks. (Individual chapters identify additional resources.) (CR).

Assessment and ESL

Assessment and ESL
Author: Barbara Law
Publisher: Portage & Main Press
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2007
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1553790936

The revised and expanded edition of this bestseller is a comprehensive, easy-to-read resource that explores the theory and practice of ESL assessment. Written for anyone working with English-language learners (elementary and secondary, mainstream and ESL), this new edition of Assessment and ESL presents ideas and tools for alternative assessment. The authors offer methods of documenting the learning and progress of second-language learners-learning and progress that may not always be apparent at first glance. Like the previous edition, the new edition is filled with real stories about students who take baby steps, progress in leaps and bounds toward proficiency, and eventually learn to fly on their own.

Testing English-Language Learners in U.S. Schools

Testing English-Language Learners in U.S. Schools
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2001-01-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309072972

The Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity was created under the auspices of the National Research Council (NRC), and specifically under the oversight of the Board on Testing and Assessment (BOTA). The committee's charge is to explore the challenges that face U.S. schools as they work to achieve the related goals of academic excellence and equity for all students. This report provides not only the summary of a workshop held by the forum on the testing of English-language learners (students learning English as an additional language) in U.S. schools, but also a report on the committee's conclusions derived from that workshop and from subsequent deliberations.

Voices from the Field

Voices from the Field
Author: Kristin K. Liu
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities are an increasing presence in schools in the United States. Title I and Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act require that these students meet the same academic grade-level standards and participate in content assessments as their fluent-English speaking peers without disabilities. Nevertheless, ELLs with disabilities are among the lowest achieving students. In addition to taking content assessments, they must also meet English proficiency standards and participate in English proficiency assessments. Still, many states do not have established assessment participation criteria and accommodation policies for ELLs with disabilities in their accountability systems in spite of this growing student population in schools across the states. The Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for ELLs with Disabilities (IVARED) project is a consortium of the five states of Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington, led by Minnesota. In collaboration with the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO), these states sought to understand ways to make state accountability assessments more valid and reliable for ELLs with disabilities. This report describes one of the project's activities undertaken to better understand the current assessment and accommodation decision-making process, test score use practices, and issues and challenges educators face in making appropriate decisions for ELLs with disabilities. Online focus groups of 232 school and district practitioners were conducted in each of the five states. Four major themes from the study's findings are highlighted in this report. These were common in the responses of participants from all five states: assessment validity, assessment participation decision making, accommodations decision making, and leadership: (1) Participants questioned the validity of standardized tests, particularly state academic content assessments. This was especially true because the educators believed that the cultural and linguistic complexity of the test items and test format were not designed for ELLs with disabilities; (2) Participants expressed confusion about federal assessment policies and their states' exemption practices for assessment participation requirements. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) was the primary process used for assessment participation decision making. Although, the IEP was typically idealized as collaborative and multi-disciplinary, this was not consistently realized in practice according to focus group participants; (3) Participants stated that the IEP process served primarily to make decisions about accommodations on content assessments, but less so for state English language proficiency assessments and accommodations; and (4) Participants described needs specific to ELLs with disabilities for support and guidance from school and state education leaders on assessment and accommodations. The needs were for additional qualified staff and training, clear and consistent written assessment policies, and appropriate uses of state accountability test scores. Based on the focus group findings, several recommendations for state departments of education are provided. "Focus Group Questions" are appended. [This report was produced by the Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for English Language Learners with Disabilities (IVARED) project of the National Center on Educational Outcomes. Alternate Title: "Voices from the Field: State Assessments for ELLs with Disabilities."].

Testing, Teaching, and Learning

Testing, Teaching, and Learning
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 136
Release: 1999-10-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309172861

State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadvantaged students to be held to the same standards as other students. The new requirements come from provisions of the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, the largest federal effort in precollegiate education, which provides aid to "level the field" for disadvantaged students. Testing, Teaching, and Learning is written to help states and school districts comply with the new law, offering guidance for designing and implementing assessment and accountability systems. This book examines standards-based education reform and reviews the research on student assessment, focusing on the needs of disadvantaged students covered by Title I. With examples of states and districts that have track records in new systems, the committee develops a practical "decision framework" for education officials. The book explores how best to design assessment and accountability systems that support high levels of student learning and to work toward continuous improvement. Testing, Teaching, and Learning will be an important tool for all involved in educating disadvantaged studentsâ€"state and local administrators and classroom teachers.

2010-11 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities. Technical Report 68

2010-11 Publicly Reported Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities. Technical Report 68
Author: Deb Albus
Publisher:
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

This is the fourteenth report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that analyzes public reporting practices for assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. This report includes information about both the 50 regular states and the 11 unique states (American Samoa, Bureau of Indian Education, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Department of Defense Education Activities, District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Palau, Puerto Rico, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) require states to disaggregate performance data at the state and district level. For the 2010-11 school year, 53 of the 61 states reported participation and performance data for students with disabilities for all general assessments within the ESEA accountability system. Fifty-one states reported participation and performance data for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) that were within the ESEA system. Information about state assessments outside of ESEA is also presented. Reporting for English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities also was examined in this report. Only four states reported both participation and performance for the general assessment for this group. More states (n = 20) reported both participation and performance data for ELLs with disabilities on the AA-AAS. Most states reported participation and performance data by individual grade and test for students with disabilities, though a few only reported data that merged grades or tests. Forty-seven of the regular states reported student performance by achievement level, and 39 reported the percent proficient. Many states reported data on accommodations use. This report also presents the results of an analysis of the ease of finding publicly reported data for students with disabilities on states' websites. This involved counting the number of mouse clicks that it took to arrive at public reports for the general and AA-AAS assessments on state department of education websites. For 33 of the regular states it took 1-2 clicks to find the general assessment information; 5 or more clicks were required in 11 states. The following appendices are included: (1) Example letter to Assessment Director and Special Education Director; (2) Example Verification Tables Sent to States; (3) Status of Disaggregated Data (Participation and Performance) for Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners with Disabilities on Regular State Tests in the Fifty States and Unique States for 2010-2011; (4) Status of Disaggregated Data (Participation and Performance) for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities on State Alternates Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) in the Fifty States and Unique States for 2010-2011; (5) Status of Disaggregated Data (Participation and Performance) for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities on State Alternates Based on Modified Achievement Standards (AAMAS) in the Fifty States and Unique States for 2010-2011; (6) Status of Disaggregated Data (Participation and Performance) for Students with Disabilities and ELLs with Disabilities on English Language Proficiency Assessments for Fifty States and Unique States for 2010-2011; (7) Ways States Disaggregated Participation Data for Students with Disabilities for Regular Assessments; (8) How Participation was Reported in States Using Any Reporting Method on Regular Assessments in the Fifty States, 2010-2011; (9) Participation "Reported by Grade and Test" for Students with Disabilities on Regular Assessments, 2010-2011; (10) Participation Reported "by Grade and Test" for Students with Disabilities on Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS), 2010-2011; (11) Summary of How States Reported Participation Rates on the Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS), 2010-2011; (12) Key for State and Unique State Abbreviations; (13) Ways States Disaggregated Performance Data for Students with Disabilities for Regular Assessments, 2010-11; (14) How Performance was Reported in States Using Any Reporting Method on Regular Assessments in the Fifty States, 2010-2011; (15) How Performance Was Reported "by Grade and Test" for Students with Disabilities on Regular Assessments in the Fifty States and Unique States, 2010-2011; (16) How Performance Was Reported "by Grade and Test" for Students with Disabilities on the Alternate Assessment Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) in the Fifty States and Unique States, 2010-2011; (17) Number of States Reporting Different Accommodation Status Categories for Any Population, 2010-2011; (18) Number of States Reporting Participation and Performance by Accommodated Condition for Any Student Population; and (19) How States Reported Accommodations Data by Test and Grade for Participation and Performance, 2010-2011.