Special Topic Area:
English Language Learners

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How will English language learners be affected by the standards-based movement?
A major benefit of the standards-based movement is the emphasis on the inclusion of English language learners and equal opportunity to learn challenging content material. In the past, many English language learners graduated from high school without having taken the types of courses needed to prepare them for higher education. These students were kept in separate classrooms in the belief that they did not have enough English to participate in grade-appropriate content courses. Experts in the fields of English as a Second Language (ESL) and Bilingual Education now emphasize that English language learners do not have enough time to achieve high fluency in academic English first and then start taking content courses. These students need to learn language and content at the same time and all teachers, not just ESL and bilingual teachers, need to share responsibility for teaching them the language and skills needed to achieve high standards.

The greatest challenges of the movement toward standards-based instruction for English language learners surround assessments that are being used to make high stakes decisions for students (e.g., graduation and promotion exams).

For more about the demographic characteristics of ELLs and ELLs with disabilities in the U.S. public school system see:

Zehler, A., Fleischman, H., Hopstock, P., Stephenson, T., Pendzick, M. and Sapru, S. (2003).  Descriptive study of services to LEP students and LEP students with disabilities:  Volume 1 Research Report.

2. Most large-scale assessments are unfair to English language learners because they test content the students may not have had access to and English skills that students are still learning. Why should ELLs be included in these assessments?
First, we should clarify that there are different types of assessments for different purposes. It is important to keep the purpose of the assessment in mind. If an assessment or system of assessments provides data on student achievement for accountability purposes (e.g., to determine whether school programs and services are effective), all English language learners, including those with disabilities should participate. They are not penalized for doing so and the information the school receives about student performance will be useful in program planning. If the purpose of the assessment is to determine whether an individual student has sufficient skills in basic subjects like math and reading and is eligible to graduate, an English language learner's proficiency in academic English becomes a factor.

It is important to include English language learners in large-scale assessments so that these students are not left out of educational reform efforts. A lack of academic preparation and a lack of access to content courses already negatively impact many English language learners. Excluding them as an entire group from large-scale assessments only continues the lack of equal educational opportunity. It is also likely that excluded students will be viewed as a lower priority in educational programming decisions and may receive fewer resources as a result.

3. The current emphasis in education is on the inclusion of English language learners and English language learners with disabilities in standards-based education, and on their test participation rates and performance. Doesn’t this just emphasize that these students are different from their peers?
It is important to disaggregate participation rates and test scores to show how ELLs and ELLs with disabilities are doing so that the educational community focuses on the unique needs of this population. It is also useful to report data by specific language groups because not all English language learners are the same. For example, the educational needs of a group that is well educated in their native language and has high literacy levels in that language can differ substantially from the needs of a group with no written first language and no tradition of formal schooling prior to coming to the United States.  Furthermore, it is important to show participation and performance data for ELLs with different types of disabilities when the numbers of students are sufficient to do so.

4.  Tests are often unnecessarily challenging for English language learners because they assess content in a language that, by definition, the students do not yet speak fluently.  How can tests be developed to allow English language learners to better show what they know?
In the last few years, NCEO has done a great deal of work in the area of universally designed assessments.  Assessments that are universally designed are created to be maximally accessible to a wide variety of students, without reducing the difficulty of content assessed.  For example, English language learners often have a limited knowledge of English vocabulary and can perform poorly on a mathematics item if there are too many new words even when they know the mathematics content. A universally designed mathematics assessment would limit or eliminate the use of new and unfamiliar or unnecessary vocabulary to get a more accurate assessment of students’ mathematics ability.  Other areas of focus for universally designed assessments can be formatting, use of extraneous or unclear visuals, length of texts, cognitive demand of texts, etc.  Consideration of these items as the test is being developed can reduce students’ need for accommodations and allow them to more accurately demonstrate what they know.  Universally designed assessments do not necessarily raise students’ scores, but do provide a more accurate assessment of student achievement.  See universally designed assessments for more information.

5. NCEO has a reputation for doing research related to students with disabilities. How long has it been publishing reports on English language learners?
Since the mid-1990’s, NCEO has been involved in doing research related to English language learners (ELLs) in large-scale assessments. At that time, the Minnesota Assessment Project examined ways to better include ELLs in the large-scale assessments administered in one state. Major efforts since then have included an examination of a state-developed English language proficiency test, two federally-funded research grants relating to standards-based instruction of ELLs with disabilities, and a third grant examining state assessment policies for ELLs with disabilities. Documents from all of these projects are available on our publications page. See the sections on the Minnesota Assessment Project, the ELLs with Disabilities reports, and the Limited English Proficiency reports.

For more detailed information, as well as reports that you can download, follow the links below to the topic areas listed.

• Accommodations
• Accountability
• Participation
• Reporting

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This page was last updated on April 02, 2008