Consistent ELL Guides Proposed

‘Interpretation’ of NCLB Law Seeks Statewide Yardsticks

In a move that could prompt major changes in the way states measure the achievement of English-language learners, the U.S. Department of Education is planning to tell states they must each use a consistent yardstick in determining when a child is fluent in English and when that child no longer needs special ELL services.

A proposed “interpretation” of the No Child Left Behind Act’s Title III—the conduit for most federal funding for ELL programs—says that states must further standardize the criteria they use to report how well such students are learning English.

That’s likely to reduce the flexibility that states typically have given school districts in assessing the progress of their English-learners and to have a big impact on how school systems decide when those students are ready to leave ELL programs, experts in the field say. “It’s going to clarify things but require states to reconsider their accountability systems,” Robert Linquanti, a senior research associate at WestEd, an Oakland, Calif.-based research organization, said about the notice published May 2 in the Federal Register .