Special Topic Area:
Reporting Educational Results for English Language Learners

Introduction

Public reporting of educational results is becoming an increasingly important tool for ensuring that public schools are accountable for helping students meet higher educational standards.  New federal mandates, too, emphasize the importance of establishing on-going reporting systems that include all students, including English language learners.

Most states publish reports on student performance.  In the past, few publicly reported the educational results of English language learners.  In fact, most state agencies did not even keep track of the rate at which these students participated in testing.  Low rates of participation and variability from one place to the next prevents policy-relevant conclusions to be drawn about the extent to which students with limited English proficiency are benefiting from their educational experiences.

Failure to report scores of all students sends the message that some students are not important—that the students do not count.  What is reported is what the public knows, and what the public reacts to.  Some say that “what is measured is what is treasured.”   It is probably valid to say that what is reported is what we attend to in educational reform.

Policymakers clearly took this to heart with recent legislation.  The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires states to ensure that students with limited English proficiency participate in  assessment systems; it also requires public reporting.  NCLB requires that programs report student performance on the state assessment, and that the performance of English language learners be disaggregated.  Public reporting requirements for English language learners with disabilities are also evident in the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which supports special education programs.

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This page was last updated on July 15, 2008