GUIDELINES FOR THE
INCLUSION
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
LEARNERS (ELLs)
IN K-12 ASSESSMENTS
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION
State of Iowa
Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
Des Moines, Iowa
50319-0146
State of Iowa
Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
Des Moines, Iowa
50319-0146
State
Board of Education
Gene E. Vincent, President, Carroll
Sally J. Frudden, Vice President,
Charles City
Jim Billings, West Des Moines
Charles C. Edwards, Jr., Des Moines
Sister Jude Fitzpatrick, Davenport
Rosey Hussey, Mason City
Gregory D. McClain, Cedar Falls
Mary Jean Montgomery, Spencer
Megan Srinivas (Student Member),
Fort Dodge
Wayne Kobberdahl, Council Bluffs
Administration
Judy A. Jeffrey, Interim Director
and Executive Officer of the State
Board of Education
Gail Sullivan, Chief of Staff
Division
of Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
Judy Jeffrey, Administrator
Jim Reese, Chief, Bureau of
Instructional Services
Carmen P. Sosa, Ph.D., Consultant,
Bureau of Instructional Services
Tom Deeter, Ph.D., Consultant,
Bureau of Instructional Services
2004
It is the policy of the Iowa Department of Education not to
discriminate on the basis of
race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion,
creed, age or marital status in its
programs or employment practices. If you have questions or
grievances related to this
policy please contact the Legal Consultant, Department of
Education,
Grimes State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0146,
(515) 281-8661.
Iowa Department of Education
Acknowledgements
The Iowa Department of Education is
grateful for the assistance of the following members of the Iowa ELL Assessment
Subcommittee in the revision of this document.
Jeanne I. Angel, Waterloo Community
School District
Barbara Berry Whitley, AEA 12
Kathy Brenny, AEA 8
LaDonna Brunk, AEA 267
Dania S. Clark-Lempers, AEA 11
Tom Deeter, IDE
Donna Eggleston, IDE
Shelley Fairbairn, The University of
Iowa, ad hoc
Bill Griffin, Des Moines Independent
Community School District
Helene Grossman, AEA 11
Sharon Halcomb, AEA 9
Robert L. Mata, Davenport Community
School District
Anna Mary Mueller, Iowa City
Community School District
Carmen Sosa, IDE
Guidelines for the
Inclusion of English Language Learners
(ELLs) in K - 12 Assessment
Part
I: Questions and Answers
1.
Must English Language Learners
(ELLs) / LEP (Limited English Proficient) / ESL (English as a Second Language)
students be included in assessments?
2.
Which
specific students does this include?
3. In which assessments must ELLs be included?
4. What about Non English Proficient students?
5. How are ELLs identified and placed?
6. What do you need to communicate to parents?
7. What are the requirements for language proficiency assessment?
8. What assessments are accepted for measuring growth in English
language proficiency?
9. What are the requirements for academic
assessment?
10. What about multiple measures?
11. What about the
NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)?
12. What is an accommodation for academic content
assessment?
13. Who should be
involved in making decisions about accommodations?
Figure
II. Inclusion of ELL in District-Wide
Accountability Assessments
14. What factors need
to be considered in determining accommodations?
15. What types of accommodations can be used?
16. What are some examples?
17. What about accommodations for ELLs with
special needs (IEPs or 504 plans)?
18. Can we test
students out of level?
19. What is an alternate assessment?
20. What is the difference between an alternative
and an alternate assessment?
21. How does language proficiency in English and
in native (first) language affect assessment?
22. What happens after three years of receiving
State ELL weighted funds?
Part
II: References
Part
III: Appendices
B.
Definitions
C.
Typical Bilingual Program Designs
D.
Typical ESL Program Models
E. Language Acquisition Stages
F. Iowa
Title III Enrollment Descriptors
G.
Cross Referencing Language
Proficiency Levels and Reasonable Expectations of English
Language Learners
in Content Areas
H. TESOL
(Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Goals
Part I: Questions
and Answers
1. Must English Language Learners (ELLs)1
/ LEP (Limited English Proficient)[1]
/ ESL (English as a Second Language) students be included in assessments?
YES.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
stipulates in Section 1111(b)(3)(C)(ix)(I) that all students (including ELLs) must participate in state assessments
of math, reading, and (beginning in 2007-2008) science (No Child, 2002). (In Iowa’s case, this refers to
ITBS/ITED.) Currently, reading and math
tests are required at grades 4, 8, and 11 in Iowa (refer to the annual letter
available at www.state.ia.us/educate/ecese/
nclb/documents.html).
Furthermore, if your district assesses other grade levels, all students
(including ELLs) in those grade levels must be tested.
However, Federal Register Proposed Rule (Title I, 2004)
provides for the following flexibility beginning with the 2003-2004 school
year:
- There
is flexibility for recently-arrived ELLs during their first year of
enrollment in U.S. schools (defined as up to 180 dates of enrollment);
they may be excused from participation in ONE administration of the
districtwide reading assessment (ITBS/ITED).
- If
a student is excused from an administration of the districtwide test
(ITBS/ITED), that year would still count as the first year (of three)
during which the student could take the reading assessment in his/her
native language. (Case-by-case
waivers would still be available for two additional years.)
- Recently-arrived
students are still required to take the districtwide math assessment
(ITBS/ITED).
Regarding AYP, the Proposed Rule clarifies that:
- Scores
for recently-arrived ELLs (during their first year of enrollment) need not
be included for AYP decisions.
- Recently-arrived
ELLs’ participation in math testing should be counted for AYP
participation rates.
- Recently-arrived
ELLs’ participation in English language proficiency testing (if they do
not participate in the districtwide reading assessment) can be counted for
AYP participation rates in reading.
- The
scores of recently-arrived ELLs who participate in districtwide reading
and math assessments need not be counted for the proficiency component of
AYP, though they can be. This
provision must be applied consistently by districts – either all scores of
recently-arrived ELLs are counted for proficiency or none are. (Iowa
Department of Education, 2004b, slides 45 & 47)
- Reading
and math scores for ELLs who have been exited from limited English
proficient (LEP) status during the last two years can be counted in determining
AYP for the LEP subgroup (though these students need not be included in
order to achieve a statistically viable number of students).
In addition, all ELLs must participate in English language
proficiency testing of their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills
each year. “Comprehension” scores are
required for Title III, but there is no separate test for comprehension; it is
a combination of listening, speaking, reading, and writing scores.
2. Which specific students does this include?
All
current and former ELLs must participate in assessments. See Appendix F: Iowa
Title III Enrollment Descriptors for guidance regarding which ELLs should
receive testing accommodations.
3. In which assessments must ELLs be included?
Both Title I and Title III require two
types of assessments (academic content and English language proficiency) for
students with limited English proficiency (LEP):
·
LEAs must
annually assess their LEP students (K-12) in English language proficiency.
- Districts must include all limited
English proficient students in their academic content assessments in
reading and mathematics (although there is flexibility
for recently-arrived ELLs [those who have been enrolled in U.S. schools
for less than 10 months]; they can be excused from participation in ONE
administration of the ITBS or ITED reading assessment [refer to detailed
explanation in Question 1])
·
Beginning in
2007-2008, LEAs must also add science.
·
“Inclusion of
ELLs can take the form of providing appropriate accommodations and/or using an
assessment in the student’s native language that is aligned to . . . [local]
content and achievement standards.” If students are being assessed in their
primary language, after three years of attending a school in the United States,
students must be assessed in reading using a test in English. “This does not exempt students from
participating in the . . . assessment system in their first three years of
attending schools in the United States. Inclusion in the . . . [district]
academic assessment system must begin immediately when the student enrolls in
school.” (quoted portions from U.S. Department of Education Office of
English Language Acquisition, 2003, p. 10)
·
The only flexibility regarding academic
achievement testing is for recently-arrived ELLs who may opt out of
districtwide reading assessment (ITBS/ITED) one time. The reading portion of the English language proficiency test can
serve as a substitute for the ITBS or ITED reading score. (See Question 1 for a detailed explanation.)
Current
ELLs only (those participating in English
language acquisition programs):
1.
Placement (Title III) – Recommended Tests: Language
Assessment Scales (LAS) / IDEA Proficiency Tests (IPT) (For other tests,
contact the IDE.)
§
Important note: The Home Language Survey is the means for
determining which students should be tested for placement in English
acquisition programs. According to Iowa Administrative Code 281—60.3(280)(60.3)(1)(a), this
document should be used when registering ALL students, not only those who may
“seem” to need special English programming. The Home Language Survey is available in 22
languages at no charge to Iowa districts on the TransACT website at www.mynclb.com. (Contact your AEA if you need assistance in accessing the site.)
2.
English language proficiency (assessment of listening,
speaking, reading, writing, and a score for comprehension) (Title I and Title
III). Assessments designed to monitor
growth are forthcoming; wait for guidance from the IDE.
All
students (including current and former ELLs):
1.
District-wide assessments
2.
ITBS / ITED (NCLB), although there is flexibility for
recently-arrived ELLs (those who have been enrolled in U.S. schools for less
than 10 months); they can be excused from participation in ONE administration
of the ITBS or ITED reading assessment (refer to detailed explanation in
Question 1)
3.
Multiple measures (content-area tests) (Iowa Chapter 12)
4.
Alternate assessments for special education students (NCLB)
5.
Other assessments as required by your district
6.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Figure
I: Title III and Title I Requirements for ELLs
Title
I Title
III
Requirements
Requirements
4. What
about Non English Proficient students?
All ELL students must be given the opportunity
to participate in district-wide assessments, with the exception of
recently-arrived ELLs, who are allowed flexibility regarding the districtwide
reading assessment; they may be excused from participation ONE time. (See Question 1 for a detailed explanation.)
Students who have been determined to be Non English Proficient on the English
language proficiency test should be given the opportunity to engage the test
with accommodations. Students will
count as having participated if they are given the opportunity to demonstrate
their knowledge and abilities on the test section. This is a special arrangement for ELLs; mainstream and special
education students are NOT counted as participating unless they fill out
answers for the test section.
Important
note: This opportunity to
demonstrate knowledge and abilities does not mean that students whose level of
English precludes their meaningful participation in testing must sit in front
of a blank answer sheet for the entire testing period; once such students have
demonstrated their knowledge and abilities on the test section, they are
finished with that section. If students
demonstrate that they are unable to engage a given test section at all, they
are still counted as participating in that test section and the remaining
testing time can be used for other purposes.
5. How are ELLs identified and placed?
Use an
English language proficiency test (see Appendix A) to determine if students are
Non English Proficient, Limited English Proficient, or Fluent English Proficient
within the first 30 days of school (Sec. 3302[a]) or within the first two weeks
after enrolling in the district if they enroll after the beginning of the
school year (Sec. 3302[d]).
Regarding placement, NCLB clarifies that “A
child shall not be admitted to, or excluded from, any federally assisted
education program on the basis of a surname or language-minority status” (Sec.
3302[f]).
6. What do you need to communicate to parents?
The
following are guidelines regarding Title III parental notification
requirements:
Section 3302 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires that districts notify students’ pa