Grant Rules Push for Common Criteria for ELL Pupils

States that join together to apply for federal funding to create English-language-proficiency tests as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative will have to agree on a common definition for English-language learners and criteria to determine when such students must leave special programs to learn English.

Under final regulations published last week for a $10.7 million grants competition to enable state consortia to devise a new generation of tests, participating states must apply an exact definition to identify students as English-language learners and reclassify them as proficient in the language. The notice was published April 19 in the Federal Register , and states have until June 3 to apply.

The federal government already requires the two consortia crafting assessments pegged to the common-core content standards to have a “common definition” for ELLs. Those two consortia are the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. The new regulations appear to be a step further toward bringing more consistency to the instruction of English-language learners nationwide. ( "Draft Rules Could Shift ELL Policies," ...