State Assessment Policy and Practice for English Language Learners : A National Perspective

State Assessment Policy and Practice for English Language Learners: A National Perspective 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: A National Perspective 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. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 3 ISBN 0-8058-5569-6......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 List of Tables......Page 14 List of Figures......Page 20 Preface......Page 24 About the Contributors......Page 30 Introduction: Including and Accounting for English Language Learners in State Assessment Systems......Page 34 Study 1: An Analysis of State Assesssment Policies Regarding the Accommodation of English Language Learners......Page 50 Study 2: Test Translation and State Assessment Policies for English Language Learners......Page 224 Study 3: State Practices for Reporting Participation and Performance of English Language Learners in State Assessments......Page 364 Conclusion......Page 476 Author Index......Page 484 Subject Index......Page 488