Content Areas: Science

Language Accommodations for English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments

by Jamal Abedi, Mary Courtney, James Mirocha, Seth Leon, and Jennifer Goldberg National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST)/University of California, Los Angeles

Abedi, J., Courtney, M., Mirocha, J., Leon, S., and Goldberg, J. (2005). Language Accommodations for English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments. National Center for Research on Education, Standards, and Student Testing: Los Angeles, CA.

Topics Covered: Assessment and Accommodations;

Tags: Comprehension; Content Areas: Science; Intervention; Vocabulary;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses:

1. Do accommodation strategies help reduce the performance gap between ELL and non-ELL students? (Effectiveness)
2. Do accommodation strategies impact the performance of non-ELL students on content-based assessments? (Validity)
3. Do student background variables impact performance on the accommodated assessments? (Differential impact)
4. Are accommodations easy to implement or use? (Feasibility)

Summary: How to measure the skills and knowledge of ELLs effectively has been a continuing point of debate for educators. How do we create accurate assessments of students' abilities when their experiences with a particular academic subject have been in another language? If we account for this difference using accommodations, do the accommodations themselves have an unintended impact on the results? A study by the National Center for Research on Education, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles, measures the effectiveness, validity, differential impact, and feasibility of accommodations for ELLs.

Findings:

• Accommodation effectiveness varies by type;
• Accommodation

Policy Recommendations:
n/a

• Download full report (128KB PDF)*

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Center for the Study of Evaluation
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1522
(310) 206-1532

Language Test

by National School Boards Association, Naomi Dillon

Dillon, N. (2005). Language Test. American School Board Journal, 192(8). National School Boards Association.

Topics Covered: Access, Equity, and Adequacy; NCLB and AYP;

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Content Areas: The Arts; Curriculum; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency;

Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: The report uses the example of Coachella school district's legal battle to examine if state assessments fair to English language learners.

Summary: The report examines the challenges associated with preparing a population that is 70 percent ELL to meet the demands of state and federal laws. Under California law, all ELL students must take state tests in English after only one year of instruction — a requirement that perpetually leaves districts like Coachella "in need of improvement." The report uses the Coachella district's case as a lens to examine the challenges we face in preparing ELL students to perform highly as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different types of assessment and accounting formulae to determine performance.

Findings:
n/a

Policy Recommendations:

• The lawsuit asks the state to develop primary language tests for students who have recently arrived or enrolled in bilingual classrooms—an NCLB supported provision.
• The suit also calls for a new standardized test that is more linguistically friendly and appropriate.

• Purchase Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a

Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Part One: Focus on Motivation and Engagement

by Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB), The Education Alliance at Brown University, Julie Meltzer and Edmund Hamann

Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part one: Focus on motivation and engagement. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory.

Topics Covered: Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Adolescent (7-12);

Tags: Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Motivation; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: Review of the literature concerning student motivation and engagement on literacy development of adolescents and research on the schooling of adolescent ELLs.

Summary: This article reviews the major research findings as they relate to engagement and motivation of ELL adolescents. The highlighted research is meant to explore the confluence of two areas of study—literacy development and schooling practices for ELLs and native English speakers—and serve as a guide for professional development for secondary teachers. The literature review explores school and classroom contexts; instructional principles like relevance, choice, and student-centered classrooms; and instructional practices like scaffolding and activating prior knowledge as they relate to adolescent ELLs.

Findings:

• literacy development and effective instruction for ELL and non-ELL adolescents alike share many commonalities;
• isolated ELL students are further negatively impacted as a result of these findings; and
• content-area teachers may benefit from research and practices designed for ELL teachers

Policy Recommendations:
n/a

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 800.521.9550
Fax: 401.421.7650
E-mail: info@alliance.brown.edu

Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Part Two: Focus on Classroom Teaching and Learning Strategies

by Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB), The Education Alliance at Brown University, Julie Meltzer and Edmund Hamann

Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part two: Focus on classroom teaching and learning strategies. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory .

Topics Covered: Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Adolescent (7-12);

Tags: Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Motivation; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What instructional practices dovetail in both the ELL adolescent literacy literature and non-ELL adolescent literacy literature?

Summary: As with part one of this publication, part two amounts to a literature review. Part two looks for congruous instructional practices that are good for secondary ELL and native English speakers alike. The article shifts through a series of discussions about a variety of domains related to teaching and arrives at a conclusion in support of strategies beneficial to ELL students and native English language students.

Findings:
Eight instructional approaches are supported in both literatures (what's good for ELL adolescents and adolescent native English speakers):

1. teacher modeling, strategy instruction, and using multiple forms of assessment;
2. emphasis on reading and writing;
3. emphasis on speaking and listening/viewing;
4. emphasis on thinking;
5. creating a learner-centered classroom;
6. recognizing and analyzing content-area discourse features;
7. understanding text structures within the content areas; and
8. vocabulary development.

Policy Recommendations:
n/a

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 800.521.9550
Fax: 401.421.7650
E-mail: info@alliance.brown.edu

National Literacy Panel's Executive Summary
Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth.

by National Literacy Panel, Diane August, Timothy Shanahan

August, D. and Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Center for Applied Linguistics, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Content Areas: The Arts; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Placement; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: How do ELL students acquire literacy in a second language?

Summary: The National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth systematically and rigorously examined the research on acquiring literacy in a second language. The full report was never published but the executive summary is useful for its vision and purposeful intent.

Findings:

• Instructional approaches that focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension-have clear benefits for ELLs. Like their native English speaking peers, ELLs benefit from these strategies as well as writing instruction.
• For students to become literate in English several instructional qualities need to be met including: content coverage, intensity and thorough instruction,
• ELL specific instruction, monitoring learning, and teacher preparation.
• Oral proficiency and literacy in the first language can be used to facilitate literacy development in English.
• Researchers have documented few sociocultural impacts on literacy achievement or development. However, researchers have found that home language experiences can have a positive impact on literacy achievement.

• Link to Full Report

The Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners (ELLs)

NCTE ELL Task Force. (2006). NCTE Position Paper on the Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners. National Council of Teachers of English: Urbana, IL.

Topics Covered: Best Teaching Practices / Professional Development; Bilingual Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Language of Instruction; Reading; Struggling Readers; Vocabulary; Writing;

Summary:

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has pulled together information from a broad range of research on how to support English language learners in the classroom. It takes into account the variety of skill levels and background knowledge of ELL students and suggests best practices for teaching language, reading, writing, and content.

• Read full report