National Foreign-Language Assessment Delayed Indefinitely

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

The first national assessment in foreign language, which was set to be given to 12th graders next fall, will be postponed indefinitely. Participation in a pilot test fell short of the necessary standard for ensuring the validity of test results.

At its meeting this month, the board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress voted to put off the test, which was to be given for Spanish, pending further study. Since the administration of other NAEP tests is scheduled for 2005, the foreign-language test could not be rescheduled until at least 2006.

The assessment was to be given once every 10 years. Tests of other...