Special Topic Area:
Accommodations for English Language Learners

Introduction

Accommodations are changes in testing materials or procedures that enable students to participate in assessments in a way that allows abilities to be assessed rather than limitations in English skills.  They are provided to “level the playing field.”  Without accommodations, the assessment may not accurately measure the student’s knowledge and skills.

In the past, most states only had accommodations policies for students with disabilities.  State policies have begun to address English language learners as well.  However, most of our knowledge about accommodations still is based on students with disabilities.

Accommodations generally are grouped into the following categories:

• Native language accommodations (e.g., bilingual dictionaries, translated directions, etc.)

• English language accommodations (e.g., allowing questions to be read orally in English, explaining directions, etc.)

• Non-linguistic accommodations (e.g., extended testing time on same day, small group or individual administration, extra breaks, etc.)

There is considerable variability in the categories used across states, and often there is extreme variability in specific accommodations allowed.  However, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 legislation supports the use of accommodations by students with limited English proficiency.  Although this law supports providing students with accommodations, it does not define which types of accommodations are acceptable and which are not.

Research on accommodations for English language learners is growing.  The research includes policy studies, evaluation studies and experimental comparisons.  To date, there has been no research specifically on accommodations for students who are English language learners and who also have a disability.

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This page was last updated on April 02, 2008