Federal

Ed. Dept. to Fund ELL Tests Tied to Common Standards

By Mary Ann Zehr — January 18, 2011 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The federal government plans to pay for states to work together to create English-language-proficiency tests for the Common Core State Standards Initiative, according to a notice for proposed grant priorities published in the Federal Register this month.

The plan calls for a minimum of 15 states to join together in each consortium that applies to create an English-proficiency test, prompting some observers to speculate that federal officials favor the idea of having a very limited number of such tests, if not one national test.

“It’s going to start looking like a single national assessment for English-language proficiency, which it should,” said Robert Linquanti, a senior research associate for WestEd, a San Francisco-based education research firm. “To the extent we have common standards and a common definition for [English-language learners], it’s only going to help.”

Currently, states can choose from a wide variety of English-proficiency tests that were developed by state consortia or commercial publishers for accountability purposes under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. States such as California, New York, and Texas even developed their own individual English-proficiency tests.

The U.S. Department of Education said in the Jan. 7 notice that it plans to add the development of English-proficiency tests based on the common-core standards as a priority to an existing competitive-grant program called the Enhanced Assessment Instruments Grant program. The notice proposes that members of any consortium getting a grant must agree to a common definition of ELLs and common criteria for such students to move out of that status.

The federal government since 2008 has strongly encouraged states to standardize their definitions for ELLs and criteria for such students to exit special programs within states, but it’s new for federal officials to push for such uniformity among states.

August Roll-Out

Grants for the English-proficiency tests based on the common-core standards would likely total about $10.3 million, Carlos Martinez, the group leader for standards and assessments for the Education Department, said in a phone interview. He said the department hopes to roll out the new grants by the end of August. The deadline for comment on the notice is Feb. 7.

Experts in the education of English-language learners praised the federal government for its plans to finance an important piece ofthe implementation of common-core standards, but also said it is unfortunate that the focus on ELLs seems to be separate from other standards-implementation efforts.

“I guess we are once again in a situation where the train has left the station, and here we are again (now with five-plus million students) watching it leave and trying to jump on,” wrote Kenji Hakuta, an education professor at Stanford University, in an e-mail message to Education Week.

When asked whether the federal government was trying to float the idea in the notice that the nation should have a limited number of English-proficiency tests, if not only one, Mr. Martinez stressed that the notice is “not a policy statement in any way.”

Mr. Martinez said that for research purposes, it’s important that states cooperating to create the new English-proficiency tests use the same definition and exit criteria for ELLs so researchers can better judge if the resulting tests are high quality.

The new English-proficiency tests are meant to complement the academic tests for common-core standards now being createdby two consortia with federal Race to the Top assessment grants.

Some states formed consortia to create the English-proficiency tests that are now used by states. The largest consortium is the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment, or WIDA, consortium, which has 24 members that have adopted the same English-proficiency test. The Council of Chief State School Officers, which helped lead the initiative to develop the common-core standards, has also managed a consortium of states to create an English-proficiency test.

Timothy Boals, the executive director of WIDA, declined to comment on the specifics of the federal notice because he said his organization aims to apply for a grant in the proposed competition. He added that states in the WIDA consortium use the same English-proficiency scale and standards but have their own definitions for ELLs and exit criteria.

Mr. Linquanti warned that some states that permit school districts to set their own criteria for when English-learners should exit programs may resist giving up flexibility.

A version of this article appeared in the January 19, 2011 edition of Education Week as Ed. Dept. to Fund ELL Tests Tied to Common Standards

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
How to Leverage Virtual Learning: Preparing Students for the Future
Hear from an expert panel how best to leverage virtual learning in your district to achieve your goals.
Content provided by Class
English-Language Learners Webinar AI and English Learners: What Teachers Need to Know
Explore the role of AI in multilingual education and its potential limitations.
Education Webinar The K-12 Leader: Data and Insights Every Marketer Needs to Know
Which topics are capturing the attention of district and school leaders? Discover how to align your content with the topics your target audience cares about most. 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Biden Credits School Shooting Survivors as He Creates Gun Violence Prevention Office
President Biden announced the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, fulfilling a long-time goal of school shooting survivors.
5 min read
President Joe Biden speaks about gun safety on Sept. 22, 2023, from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., applauds at left.
President Joe Biden speaks about gun safety on Sept. 22, 2023, from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., applauds at left.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal A Flood of Public Feedback Has Delayed a Title IX Change Covering Trans Athletes—Again
The Biden administration has not taken the final step to adopt long-awaited Title IX changes that would explicitly protect LGBTQ+ students.
5 min read
Isaya S. waves out the window of a Seattle Public Schools bus while participating in the annual Seattle Pride Parade on June 25, 2023, in Seattle.
Isaya S. waves out the window of a Seattle Public Schools bus while participating in the annual Seattle Pride Parade on June 25, 2023, in Seattle.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Federal Is Funding for School Archery and Hunting Programs Really at Risk?
A U.S. Department of Education document led to confusion among school administrators about funding for archery and hunting programs.
4 min read
Students participate in a school archery program. A group of congressional lawmakers are working to amend federal law to ensure schools can purchase bow and arrows and other supplies for archery, sharp shooting, and hunting programs in schools.
Students participate in a school archery program. A group of congressional lawmakers are working to amend federal law to ensure schools can purchase bow and arrows and other supplies for school archery, sharp shooting, and hunting programs with federal education funds.
Courtesy of the National Archery in the Schools Program
Federal A Senate Committee Takes Up School Book Wars, Complete With Sharp Partisan Divisions
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "book bans" included one Republican senator reading sexually explicit passages.
4 min read
Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois secretary of state, talks with Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill., right, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature," in Hart Building on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.
Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois secretary of state, talks with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., right, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature," on Sept. 12, 2023.
Tom Williams/AP