Learning the Language

Mary Ann Zehr is an assistant editor at Education Week. She has written about the schooling of English-language learners for more than nine years and understands through her own experience of studying Spanish that it takes a long time to learn another language well. Her blog will tackle difficult policy questions, explore learning innovations, and share stories about different cultural groups on her beat.

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The Aftermath of the Storm in Storm Lake

Do you remember the teenager of Lao descent who refused to take an English-language-proficiency test in Storm Lake, Iowa?

Well, her protest caused her school district to review and revise its policies on English-language learners. This sounds to me like a case in which administrators realized that the student, U.S.-born Lori Phanachone, had a point that their one-size-fits-all policy for identifying and testing ELLs wasn't working well in all cases.

Here's recent coverage of the matter by an Iowa radio station, KMEG, the Sioux City Journal and a blog, angry asian man. Update: Here's coverage from the Des Moines Register as well.

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Mary Ann Zehr

Mary Ann Zehr
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