One of the big questions about the implementation of new comprehensive English-proficiency tests for ELLs under the No Child Left Behind Act is how they can be useful. A study by one of the regional laboratories of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences has explored whether students’ scores on one of those English-proficiency tests can be used to predict how well they will do on regular state content tests. I blogged about the study’s findings back in February.
The test they chose is ACCESS for ELLs, which is used by 19 states and the District of Columbia, making it the most popular English-proficiency test used for accountability under NCLB. It’s developed by the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment consortium.
The study found that students’ scores on ACCESS for ELLS are pretty good at predicting how well they’ll perform on regular state content tests.
The researchers are holding a free Webinar on Sept. 16, noon to 1 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss their findings.
If you’re from a state where officials are thinking about jumping ship from the English-language-proficiency test currently being used, you might want to tune in.